News

Congratulations to Lauren King, MD on her induction into the UTHSC Academy of Master Educators

Congratulations to Lauren King, MD, Assistant Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine on her induction into the UTHSC Academy of Master Educators!  

The selection process involved a rigorous review by the AME Executive and Selection Committees. The Selection Committee was impressed with the commitment she has shown for medical education throughout her career and the impact it has had on learners. By inclusion in the Academy, Dr. King joins a cadre of like-minded medical educators with whom to collaborate on continuous quality improvement of our medical curriculum.   

On September 28th, Dr. King will join her fellow inductees in a formal induction ceremony for the new class of Academy of Master Educators. The ceremony will be held in the Mooney Library on the Memphis campus.

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Xianfeng Frank Zhao, MD, PhD, MBA, Named the New Chair of the Department of Pathology and Labratory Medicine

Xianfeng Frank Zhao, MD PhD MBA, has been named UTHSC Gerwin Professor of Cancer Research and Chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the UTHSC.

Dr. Zhao brings with him a wealth of experience in accomplishing the education, research, and clinical service missions of the College of Medicine. As the first chair, he founded the Department of Pathology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix.

As the new chair, Dr. Zhao will oversee all the academic activities of the department to ensure a highly reliable pathology laboratory service and continue an excellent research program. He also shoulders the task of building up a high-quality and efficient molecular diagnostics laboratory to serve the need of more demanding precision medicine.

“We are absolutely delighted that Dr. Zhao is joining the UTHSC COM as our chair of pathology.  He is a visionary and energetic leader whose innovative spirit and collaborative approach will advance the Department, our school, and our communities,” stated Executive Dean Scott Strome, MD.
 
Dr. Zhao shared, “Under the leadership of Dr. Scott Strome, Robert Kaplan Executive Dean and Vice Chancellor for Clinical Affairs, UTHSC is experiencing great innovative changes towards a leading healthcare institution in the nation; at this critical time, I am greatly honored and privileged to join such a great institution to contribute my part.”     

Dr. Zhao graduated from the English class of medicine in 1985 at Shandong Medical University, China, obtained his PhD in 1996 at the University of Western Ontario, Canada, and earned his MBA in 2012 at the Robert H. Smith School of Business of the University of Maryland College Park. His graduate medical training includes an AP/CP residency at the SUNY at Buffalo and a hematopathology fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Zhao is American Board of Pathology certified in Anatomic Pathology, Clinical Pathology, and Hematopathology. His academic appointments include assistant professor at the Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, associate professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, clinical professor at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, and professor and chair at the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix. 

Dr. Zhao’s research project was funded by NIH and DoD, and he has published over 80 peer-reviewed research articles and book chapters.

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Pfeffer Awarded $2.6 Million to Continue Glioblastoma Research

Lawrence Pfeffer, PhD, has spent the better part of 20 years trying to improve treatments for glioblastoma, the most common malignancy of the brain and the most lethal. After over 30 years as a professor in the Department of Pathology at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Dr. Pfeffer was nearing retirement and thought he would finish his longtime quest with some wins, but never the big one of a better drug to battle chemotherapy resistance in glioblastoma.

However, his colleagues in the UTHSC Center for Cancer Research convinced him to apply for one more grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to continue his research. As a result, Dr. Pfeffer recently was awarded $2.56 million from the NCI over the next five years to identify and target the molecular pathways that will enhance glioblastoma’s sensitivity to currently approved drug therapies. And so, he is back in the hunt. Read More

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Congratulations to Our 2022 Pathology Residency Graduates!

Five residents will complete their pathology residency training on June 30, 2022. We are so proud of Drs. Alnoor, Laura Bagwell, Shuyu E, Ibrahim Ortanca, and Qandeel Sadiq. Congratulations and best wishes on the next steps of your careers!

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Sadiq Named for Several Awards

Dr. Qandeel Sadiq was named as a resident inductee to the UTHSC Chapter of Alpha Omega Alpha, an honor reserved for high-achieving trainees who were not named to AOA previously in their medical school career.  Dr. Sadiq also received The President's Award from the Pakistani-American Pathologists' Society in March 2022, a high honor from this national organization.

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Dr. Shuyu E Awarded Research Grant, Travel Award

Dr. Shuyu E was awarded a Society of '67 Trainee Project Grant from the Association of Pathology Chairs to fund her research interest in hematology. She also recently returned from an in-depth elective experience at Ventana labs in Arizona after being awarded a 2022 Advanced Training Grant in Translational Diagnostics from the College of American Pathologists.