Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Launches New Fellowship Program in Neuropathology

The University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine is offering a new fellowship program in neuropathology. The education team was notified of an award of initial accreditation status by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education after a two-year development and application process. This is one program of only 38 in the country, and the only one in South Florida.

“We are thrilled to be offering an ACGME-accredited neuropathology fellowship program,” said Sakir Gultekin, M.D., professor and director of neuropathology, who will be leading the new fellowship. “Throughout the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, UHealth, and Jackson Health System, we encounter a wide gamut of neurological conditions that uniquely enriches the training program, providing the trainees with exposure to a variety of rare diseases as well as common conditions.”

Neuropathology is the study of neurological disease with an emphasis on diagnosis based on morphology. Neuropathology practice involves tissue diagnosis of all types of neurological disorders, ranging from tumors of the nervous system to infections, cerebrovascular disease, dementia, autoimmune disease, and neuromuscular disorders.

Intraoperative consultations, biopsy diagnosis of CNS lesions, muscle biopsies, perinatal disease, and autopsy diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases constitute the bulk of modern neuropathology practice. Accurate tissue diagnosis of neurological disease helps formulating precision treatment, prognostication, and family counseling, as well as preventing unnecessary testing and treatment.

“Our teaching faculty has expertise in different and complementary aspects of neuropathology,” Dr. Gultekin said. “In addition, the Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery are very supportive of neuropathology and collaborate with us in many clinical and teaching conferences, as well as numerous research projects.”

Carmen Gomez-Fernandez, M.D., professor and vice chair of education, said, “Our entire faculty is also excited to see this new fellowship join our already strong and diverse training programs. Our trainees benefit from world-class faculty and a one-of-a-kind case load unique to our medical center and its international influences.”

Both Drs. Gomez-Fernandez and Gultekin expressed gratitude for the efforts of Adriana Zanaty, senior manager of education programs, who shepherded the application from start to finish.

The fellowship is a two-year program offering advanced study in diagnostic neuropathology and will launch in July 2023. The faculty include Dr. Gultekin and Ali Saad, M.D., professor, both of whom are board certified neuropathologists.

The program will have positions available annually for two fellows, one junior and one senior. There are currently openings for first-year fellows in July 2023 and July 2025. The program has already filled the first-year fellow position for the 2024-25 academic year. Applicants must be American Board of Pathology eligible or certified in anatomic and clinical pathology or anatomic pathology.

Candidates should submit the CAP fellowship application, CV, and three letters of recommendation addressed to the program director, Dr. Sakir Gultekin, to [email protected].

Tags: Adriana Zanaty, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Dr. Ali Saad, Dr. Carmen Gomez-Fernandez, Dr. Sakir Gultekin, neuropathology