I came to UCLA in the fall of 1993, excited to embark on what I thought was the beginning of the journey to reach my career goal of becoming an engineer. However, after taking a few prerequisite courses, I quickly realized that I needed to do a bit of soul searching as I did not enjoy the curriculum one bit.  At that point, I was left wondering about what I was going to do with my life. Since I always liked biology in high school, I decided to change my major to general biology with the intention of using the remainder of my time in undergrad to figure out exactly what I would ultimately do with that major.

Throughout the remainder of my college career, while fulfilling the requirements for my newly selected major, I took a variety courses including plant physiology, the biology of evolution, and histology, just to name a few. As one might imagine, histology was one of my favorite courses, almost ranking up there with Ellingtonia. 

Toward the end of my third year in undergrad, I started volunteering at the Los Angeles Free Clinic, an experience that completely changed my career trajectory as I was able to see the tremendous impact the wonderful primary care physicians had on their patients. At that point, it became clear, I wanted to follow in their footsteps. Consequently, I decided to apply to medical school to pursue a career as a physician. However, as my decision to do so did not occur until my final year in college, I took the following year off to complete the application process.

At that point, I also had to figure out what else I was going to do for that year. As I had always enjoyed tutoring both junior high and high school students while volunteering during undergrad, I decided to take the credentialing exam for teachers. After obtaining my teaching credentials, I accepted a position teaching 7th and 8th grade science at Audubon Middle School. Having also applied to medical school during this year, I eventually received the terrific news that I had been accepted into the UCLA/Drew Medical Education Program for the following year. 

During my pre-clerkship years, I was exposed to a variety of interesting subjects which included histology, pathology, physiology, pharmacology, and biochemistry, among others.  However, the histology and pathology lectures/lab sessions were the ones I always looked forward to the most. These sessions were taught by pathologists who would run their sessions and then disappear. I knew they were MDs, but I was always left wondering:  What do pathologists do besides teach? (I will come back to this later in the story). 

Once I began my clerkships, I quickly realized that pursuing a career in primary care was not for me. Luckily, I remembered Dr. Scott Nelson coming into one of our lectures during the previous year to talk about the post-sophomore/junior pathology fellowship at UCLA.  Since I was once again at a crossroads, unsure of what path I was going to take moving forward, I decided to apply for the pathology fellowship, which I began after completing my clerkships. During my fellowship year, in addition to having the opportunity to learn about every facet of pathology (answering my previous question above, “what do pathologists do besides teach?”), I realized that pathology was the specialty I wanted to pursue.

After subsequently completing both my AP/CP residency and dermatopathology fellowship at UCLA, I decided to remain in academics and stay on as a faculty member. In doing so, I was able to continue pursuing my professional career goals while also fulfilling my desire to both teach and work with medical students. Consequently, I became involved in medical education during my first year, volunteering in the histopathology labs with Dr. Tom Drake, working as a problem-based learning tutor, and eventually becoming a Co-Chair of the Human Biology and Disease Course in the Legacy Curriculum. As my career evolved, I decided that I wanted to have a longitudinal presence in the academic careers of medical students, which ultimately led me to pursue an opportunity to become an Assistant Dean of Student Affairs, a position I currently occupy. In this role, it has been extremely rewarding to serve as a mentor and advisor to a diverse group of students during all four years of their medical school education. Although my journey to get where I am today has been a bit circuitous, I am happy those twists and turns led me to a place where I am truly satisfied with my career and delighted that it all happened at UCLA.

Department Summer Picnic

Thank you to all those who attended the 2024 Department Summer Picnic! We are thrilled to have received great feedback on the selection of food trucks, the photo/video booths, lawn games, and the silent disco!

Please enjoy the pictures and videos from our interactive photo booth and 360 video booth here.

Our Summer Picnic Committee (Anastasia Gustafson, Heidi Martinez, Elijah Williams, Kelli Scott, Mary Alice Mita) spent many hours planning and coordinating this event. If you see them, please thank them for all their hard work and the wonderful event!

 

 

The Glomerular Disease Study & Trial Consortium (GlomCon) is a mission-driven nonprofit charitable 501(c)(3) organization. Their mission is "to provide medical education based on the best available evidence, free of commercial and ideological bias, and create a platform for research collaboration among clinicians and academics guided by patients’ and their caregivers’ needs."

 

The GlomCon annual conference took place in Maui, Hawaii. Dr. Jonathan Zuckerman (featured below) presented a lecture on the pathology of IgA nephropathy and served as a panelist for several clinical pathologic discussions including IgA nephropathy, membranous nephropathy, and C3 glomerulopathy. 

 

Photo Courtesy of GlomCon on X

National Medical Association (NMA) Annual Conference - New York, NY

Dr. Kene Ojukwu and PGY3 Dr. Erica Fermon participated in the National Medical Association (NMA) annual conference held in August in New York, NY.

The conference fostered mentoring relationships and shared educational content in anatomic pathology and laboratory medicine. Dr. Ojukwu and Dr. Fermon are grateful for the support to be able to attend and present work on community-centered pathology, reconnect with 'day one' mentors, make new interdisciplinary friends and meet wise alumni physicians!

A special thank you to the "Pathology Activity Booths Used to Promote Colon Health" poster contributors Dr. Anamaria Munteanu, Dr. Irene Riahi, and Dr. Bita Naini. Dr. Ojukwu and Dr. Fermon are featured below, along with their conference colleagues and mentors.

Dr. Jitin Makker Instrumental in USCAP Slide Scanning Launch

Dr. Jitin Makker had the privilege of being part of the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology (USCAP) slide scanning launch, which took place at the beginning of August in Palm Springs, CA. He was honored to join their efforts and contribute to the initial setup of their advanced digital pathology scanner. This initiative represents a significant step forward in modernizing how pathology slides are managed, analyzed, and shared within the community. 

During the event, Dr. Makker had the pleasure of connecting with the exceptionally talented USCAP team, including Claire Kilfoyle, Christian Giangreco, Andrea Lindhardt, Susanna Martinez, Dillion Phillips, and Cindy Pugh. 

The digital scanning system will also serve as a valuable resource for upcoming interactive microscopy courses to be held at the USCAP location. By integrating this technology into the courses, participants will benefit from an enhanced learning experience, as well as improved accessibility to pathology resources. We are excited about the impact this will have on both the educational and professional development aspects of our field. Dr. Makker would like to thank our chair, Dr. Sarah Dry, for supporting his involvement in this exciting initiative.

Dr. Jitin Makker with slide scanning equipment at the USCAP Headquarters in Palm Springs, CA.

Dr. Precious Fortes Learns the Art of Ultrasound-Guided Fine Needle Aspiration

Cytopathology Fellow, Dr. Precious Fortes, spent four weeks in July at Dr. David Lieu’s Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA) clinic, working at both the Alhambra and Los Alamitos locations. She is grateful to Dr. Lieu and his incredible team for teaching her the art of ultrasound-guided FNAs, an essential part of the cytopathology fellowship at UCLA. She is especially thankful to the patients who allowed her to perform their FNAs. With over 2,000 biopsies performed annually at the clinic, the hands-on experience was invaluable and will be instrumental in caring for patients at UCLA.

 

Our Trainees participated in a required CPR training as to renew their skills every two years.
Featured below, left to right:

 

Top Left: Drs. Sophia Hwang, Rosa Valencia, Irene Riahi, Precious Fortes, Yuan Shui

Bottom Left: Drs. Yuan Shui, Irene Riahi, Rosa Valencia, Sophia Hwang, Precious Fortes

Right: Dr. Precious Fortes with unnamed CPR manikin

 

We’re thrilled to unveil our newly renovated spaces! Our resident work room now features permanently assigned height adjustable standing desks, individual microscopes, and a shared multi-head microscope with a camera to meet individual ergonomic needs as well as enhance learning and productivity. Our residents now will have the same desk throughout residency, allowing them to customize their workspace. The new conference room boasts modern finishes, a multi-head scope, multiple screens, and a whiteboard, as well as two separate rooms with a microscope, camera and computer for tumor boards, interviews or other resident needs. The new resident hoteling room offers remodeled finishes, a coffee/tea station, comfortable couches, work stations, a TV, and lockers, providing a cozy and functional space for our trainees to relax and recharge. Thank you to our Pathology Facilities Team (Lindy Coe, Joe Church, Jessica Martinez, Teresa Mejia, Amari Moore, Chris Pang-Gonzalez, Maya Rivers, and Ricky Zaragoza) for ensuring everything was ready for the start of the academic year!

 

Photos, graphics, & content provided by Dr. Cullen Lilley

 

 

We are pleased to announce Dr. Bita Naini has been appointed as Vice Chair, Anatomic Pathology! In this role, Dr. Naini will continue to provide leadership & oversight of the department’s AP clinical activities in support of exemplary patient care.

Congratulations to Dr. Sandra Orsulic on being appointed to the Tina's Wish Scientific Advisory Board! The Tina’s Wish Scientific Advisory Board is a team of scientific and medical ovarian cancer experts who provide strategic and scientific guidance to the foundation.

Congratulations to Dr. Allison Chambliss and collaborators on their article featured in Archives "Reported Awareness and Use of Pyridoxal-5′-Phosphate Supplementation in Alanine Aminotransferase and Aspartate Aminotransferase Assay Reagents: A Survey by the College of American Pathologists Clinical Chemistry Committee."

 

Dr. Chambliss and her co-authors from the CAP Clinical Chemistry Committee, published their findings from a survey about awareness and adoption of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) reagents that are supplemented with pyridoxal-5’-phosphate (P5P), the active form of vitamin B6. P5P serves as a catalytic cofactor for the enzymatic reactions that occur with ALT and AST testing. Currently, AST and ALT reagents are sold both with and without P5P supplementation. Non-supplemented assays may miss ALT or AST elevations in patients with vitamin B6 deficiency. The study found that only 38% of responding laboratories use supplemented reagents and highlighted a need for clearer reagent labeling and standardization of reagent products. 

 

 

Congratulations to Dr. Chambliss and collaborators on their article published in Clinics in Laboratory Medicine "Promoting Health Equity Through Effective Laboratory Stewardship Strategies."

 

Congratulations to PGY2 Dr. Cullen Lilley and collaborators on their article "Clinicopathologic Insights and Molecular Oncogenesis: Understanding Epstein-Barr Virus-Induced B-cell Lymphoproliferations" as featured in the International Journal of Surgical Pathology.

 

 

 

Congratulations to our Caption Contest Winner, Kelly Bartlone, with the caption “When the PATH to the punchline is clear to everyone but you.”

 

The picture features from L to R: Dr. Scott Nelson, Dr. David Dawson, Dr. Nagesh Rao, & Dr. Dinesh Rao at our annual Welcome Breakfast.

 

The below photo captures Dr. Dry enjoying the Silent Disco at the Summer Picnic.

 

Please send your captions to Anastasia (agustafson@mednet.ucla.edu) by Monday, September 16, 2024 for a chance to win a prize!

 

We are delighted that, as of August 2024, our Grand Rounds series now provides CME credits to participants! We want to thank Elijah Williams, Elton Hom, Victoria Amador, Dr. Bita Naini and Kelli Scott for their work to make this possible. Be sure to sign up for the CME app to facilitate your ability to register for credit – if you need this information, please view the instructional CME slides. We are looking into the possibility of a subset or the entire series of Grand Rounds also being eligible for continuing education credit for our staff members, and will update you as appropriate.

 

Clinical Seminar Series – Topic: Lab Stewardship

University of California San Francisco
"Diagnostic Errors – Moving Towards Solutions"

 

Research Seminar Series

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
"Innate Immune Sensors of Transfused Red Blood Cells"

 

 

Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Series

Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Friday, September 27, 2024 at 8:00 AM PT – Virtual
Clinical Seminar Series – Topic: Bone & Soft Tissue
Nicole Riddle, MD
University of South Florida Health
”A Journey in Bone and Soft Tissue: Focus on Pitfalls Encountered In Practice”