The Division of Pediatric Pathology is affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh Department of Pathology. It is located within the UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. The state-of-the-art clinical and anatomic pathology laboratories provide a full range of consultative and diagnostic services including automated testing technologies, routine histopathology, molecular diagnostics, cytology, immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization, ultrastructural pathology, microbiology, and virology, which are vital in guiding the diagnosis and therapy of our patients. Our educational mission includes training of residents, fellows, and visiting pathologists by individual case discussions, conferences, teaching sets, handouts, and web-based educational material. Our research mission centers on the field of pediatric pathology, including developmental, malformative, tumoral, metabolic, infectious, and all other forms of disease affecting children. We have extensive expertise on organ transplant pathology and associated conditions. All members of the Division are engaged in research, covering topics such as pathologic and clinical aspects of pediatric cancer, defects of neural crest cell migration (congenital melanocytic disorders), vascular tumors and malformations, pediatric rheumatology and nephrology, pediatric skin disorders, stem cell biology and cellular therapeutics, and pathology and biology of post-transplant tumors.
Clinical Services
The Division of Pediatric Pathology offers a full array of state-of-the-art diagnostic services in the areas of Anatomic and Clinical Pathology for patients of the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, one of the premier pediatric hospitals in the nation. Consultative services at the national and international levels are also provided. Classic and modern techniques are available, including an extensive immunohistochemistry menu, in situ hybridization and ultrastructural pathology. Molecular diagnostic techniques are also offered with support from the Division of Molecular Genomic Pathology. Pediatric and perinatal postmortem examination and fine needle aspiration resources are included in our services. Online informatics consultation is available with support from the Department of Pathology.
Highlights
- National and international Pathology consultation in all areas of pediatric disease
- Pediatric tumors, with active participation in the Children's Oncology Group (COG)
- Pathology of transplantation, including heart, lung, liver, bowel, kidney, bone marrow and post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders
- Bowel motility disorders, including classic and modern approaches to diagnose Hirschsprung disease and associated disorders
- Pediatric melanocytic disorders, including giant nevi and neurocutaneous melanocytosis
- Pediatric testicular pathology, including Disorders of Sexual Development (DSDs)
- Pathology of pediatric rheumatologic diseases
- Molecular diagnostic services for pediatric infectious disease
- Pediatric Dermatopathology
- Pediatric Renal Pathology
- Pediatric Bone and Soft Tissue Pathology
- Pediatric Gastrointestinal and Liver Pathology
- Pediatric Fine Needle Aspiration and Cytology
Special Procedures
- Immunohistochemistry, including bright field immunohistology and immunofluorescence, with special panels applicable to pediatric diseases
- Electron microscopy for tumors, metabolic, muscle, renal, and ciliary diseases
- In situ hybridization for Epstein-Barr virus and specific chromosomal aberrations
- Hirschsprung disease and other intestinal motility disorders: comprehensive diagnostic workup, including enzymatic histochemistry for acetylcholinesterase, and immunohistochemical detection of other relevant molecules
Consultation Services
The Department of Pathology at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh is staffed by a core of six board-certified Anatomic Pediatric Pathologists, and a team of Clinical Pathologists. In addition, a large group of associated Faculty from the Divisions of Neuropathology, Hematopathology, and others, allows for world-class specialized support. The interests of the staff cover all areas of pediatric diagnostic pathology, and a range of special procedures applicable to pediatric surgical pathology. Special handling is necessary for some studies; therefore, it is advised to call ahead for specific requirements.
Research Activities
- Pathology of pediatric neoplasia: melanocytic pediatric neoplasia
- Pediatric Testicular Pathology; Disorders of Sexual Development
- Ciliopathies
- Pediatric pathology of transplantation: liver, small bowel, heart, lung and kidney
- Epstein-Barr virus-related diseases
- Pediatric solid and soft tissue tumors (including, but not limited to, Ewing sarcoma/primitive neuroectodermal tumor, rhabdomyosarcoma, neuroblastoma, Wilms tumor and lymphoma)
- Pediatric liver diseases
- Pediatric brain tumors
- Pediatric hematopathology
- Molecular diagnosis of pediatric infectious diseases
- Congenital heart disease
- Pediatric skin disorders
- Pediatric immunologic and autoinflammatory disorders
Training
Residents from the Pathology Residency Program at the Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, rotate for six weeks in our Division, gaining exposure to essential elements in the sub-specialty.
In addition, we offer an ACGME-approved Fellowship Program in Pediatric Pathology, one of the oldest and most prestigious in the country. This is a one-year postgraduate course for trainees who have graduated from a general pathology residency, are Board eligible in AP or AP/CP, and wish to pursue a career in academic pediatric pathology.
This program is designed to give participants guided and supervised exposure to the practice of complex, hospital-based pediatric pathology in all its facets. With an emphasis in academic initiatives, there is broad exposure to the surgical and autopsy pathology of children, including developmental, fetal, placental and perinatal areas. Our trainees are mentored and encouraged to participate in academic and research projects, as well as to present their work at national and international meetings and publish it. They also participate in the teaching of rotating AP or AP/CP residents. Our Fellowship graduates are expected at the end of their training to have acquired enough expertise to function as independent practitioners in pediatric patient care. Managerial aspects in Pediatric Pathology are included in our training, covering quality improvement and compliance practices, which should help them in becoming leaders in the specialty.
Highlights
- Six week resident rotation offered in the third or fourth year
- ACGME approved Fellowship program in pediatric pathology
- Electives for international residents and students
Faculty
- Dipanjan Basu, PhD
- Hannah Creager, PhD
- Steven Dobrowolski, PhD
- Catherine Gestrich, DO
- Justin Kurtz, MD
- Qian Wang, MD, PhD
- Sarah Wheeler, PhD