Hematopathology Clinical Fellowship Program

The hematopathology fellowship at UPMC Presbyterian is a broad-based experience in all aspects of both clinical and anatomic hematopathology. The Fellowship is fully approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The program stresses a multiparameter approach to both bone marrow and solid tissue diagnostic hematopathology combining standard morphologic techniques with data obtained from ancillary immunohistologic, in situ hybridization, flow cytometric, molecular and cytogenetic investigations. Bone marrow sign out includes review of peripheral blood and marrow aspirate smears, marrow histologic preparations and other ancillary studies.

The fellowship includes rotations in the following areas: lymph node (and related tissue) sign out, adult bone marrow sign out, flow cytometry, molecular and genomic pathology, cytogenetics, pediatric hematopathology, general and special laboratory hematology, coagulation and immunohistochemistry. Management training is also an integral part of the fellowship training, which is spread across several of the more laboratory based rotations. The precise duration of each rotation is flexible. After the first two months, fellows also participate in the on-call schedule (with faculty supervision and back-up). The fellow is expected to actively participate in a variety of hematopathology teaching conferences. The fellow is also expected to participate in the teaching of medical students, pathology and non-pathology residents, hematology/oncology fellows, and medical technologists. He/she will also interact with hematologists, oncologists, and other interested clinicians. Fellows are expected to undertake at least one investigational project and are strongly encouraged to present at national meetings. The nature of the project will depend on the fellow's interest and the amount of time they wish to devote to it. Fellows are expected to perform marrow aspirates and biopsies in the Internal Medicine Hematology Section.

Conferences include a Hematopathology Case Conference (weekly), a biweekly Journal Club, a bi-weekly Patient Safety and Risk Management Conference, a Molecular Hematopathology Conference (monthly), a Pediatric Leukemia Tumor Board (monthly), an adult Hematologic Malignancy Conference (bimonthly), and other departmental AP or CP oriented conferences. Fellows take advantage of the department's informatics resources including image archiving, electronic medical record system and other web-based resources.