Pathology Fellowship

A one-year ACGME-accredited pediatric pathology fellowship program is offered at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, the children’s hospital for McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University.

The program is designed to provide comprehensive training in both diagnostic and investigative pediatric pathology and to substantially enhance the basic knowledge of pediatric pathology acquired by a general surgical pathology trainee. The fellowship provides exposure to all aspects of pediatric pathology including general pediatric surgical pathology, hematopathology, cytology, perinatal pathology, molecular techniques/cytogenetics, microbiology and immunology. The material is diagnostically challenging. Ancillary tests to work up cases are available in the department and medical center: molecular diagnostic laboratory techniques are frequently part of the work-up of tumor diagnosis in our PCR lab.

The modern management of pediatric diseases requires an in-depth knowledge not only of pathology but general pediatrics, surgery, oncology, neonatology, genetics, metabolic diseases, immunology, transplant-associated disorders. Opportunities exist to develop refined diagnostic skills through interaction and close collaboration with several divisions including pediatric surgery, hematology-oncology (including neuro-oncology), transplant surgery, gastroenterology, and radiology.

Program Setting

The fellowship program is based primarily at Lurie Children’s, although some specialized rotations may be provided through Northwestern Memorial Hospital. The faculty is knowledgeable in all areas of pediatric pathology and their interests include pediatric soft tissue tumors, liver and gastrointestinal diseases, genitourinary diseases, cardiac pathology, hematopathology, neuropathology, perinatal pathology, chemistry, microbiology, molecular pathology, cytogenetics, histocompatibility and immunogenetics.

There is exposure to all aspects of pediatric pathology, including general surgical pathology, neuropathology, hematopathology, cytology, perinatal pathology, molecular techniques and pathology informatics. The material is diagnostically challenging. The department evaluates approximately 7,000 complex surgical specimens, 1500 non-gynecologic cytology, 700 cytogenetic studies, 425 outside consults, 200 fine needle aspirations/core biopsies and 40 autopsy cases per year.

The perinatal pathology rotation takes place at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where approximately 3,500 placentas and 100 perinatal autopsies are evaluated annually.

Additional materials available for study include a collection of over 2,500 congenital cardiac specimens in The Farouk Idriss Cardiac Registry, as well as collections of several hundred microscopic slides of pathologic lesions organized by organ systems. The department also holds the Children’s Oncology Group Renal Tumor Pathology Center and the J.B. Beckwith Developmental/Renal Tumor Collection, a comprehensive registry of over 53,000 pediatric renal tumor cases dating back to 1969. Furthermore, the department serves as the pediatric pathology branch of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University.

Administrative Structure

The fellowship is part of the Northwestern/McGaw Medical Center Graduate Medical Education Program. All policies of the Northwestern/McGaw Medical Center GME program will apply to the fellowship, fellows and faculty. On-site administration is conducted by the Fellowship Program Director and the Manager for Academic and Professional Affairs/Fellowship Program Coordinator.

Requirements

Candidates must have completed at least two years of training in an ACGME accredited residency program in anatomic and clinical pathology or anatomic pathology, in accordance with current ABP stipulations, and eligible for board examination and have a valid Illinois State License.

Education

The Division of Pathology at Lurie Children's offers numerous opportunities for education in pediatric pathology:

How to Apply

Interested candidates should forward a letter of interest, a current CV and three letters of reference to:

Bradley Lynk
Division Administrator
Department of Pediatric Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
225 East Chicago Avenue, Box 17
Chicago, Illinois 60611
Email: blynk@luriechildrens.org
Telephone: 312.227.3973