JULY 2024
WELCOME TO OUR NEW TRAINEES
& FACULTY
As we begin the new academic year, I would like to provide a warm welcome to our new Residents, Fellows, and Faculty. Additionally, I would like to highlight the Farewell Ceremony awards and recipients.
NEW TRAINEES
Please join me in welcoming our new PGY1 Residents and new Post Junior Fellows, ACGME Fellows, Non-ACGME Fellows, and Clinical Post Docs!
Dr. Liang Ding will be joining the division of Anatomic Pathology as an Assistant Professor, starting July 1, 2024.
Dr. Ding obtained his medical training from Nanjing University School of Medicine in Jiangsu province, China. He obtained his PhD in molecular medicine from Nanjing University and King's College London, UK. He completed his AP/CP Pathology Residency training at the State University of New York.
Additionally, he completed a Surgical Pathology Fellowship at UCLA as well as a Cytopathology Fellowship at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. We are delighted to welcome Dr. Ding in his new role as AP Quality Faculty Lead. He will also be providing clinical service coverage in the sections of Breast, GYN Pathology, and Cytopathology.
Dr. Teresa Kim will be joining the division of Anatomic Pathology as an Assistant Professor, starting July 11, 2024.
Dr. Kim obtained her medical training from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, New York. She completed her AP/CP Pathology Residency training at UCLA, where she also became a Chief Resident.
Additionally, she completed a Cytopathology as well as a Surgical Pathology/GYN Pathology Fellowship at UCLA. We are delighted to welcome Dr. Kim in her new role in the sections of Breast, GYN Pathology, and Cytopathology.
Dr. Kenechukwu Ojukwu will be joining the division of Anatomic Pathology as an Assistant Professor, starting July 1, 2024.
Dr. Ojukwu obtained her medical training from Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science and through the UCLA Medical Education Program. She completed her AP/CP Pathology Residency at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.
Additionally, she completed a Surgical Pathology Fellowship at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. She also completed a fellowship at UCLA in the National Clinical Scholars Program with an emphasis in academic and community medical education. We are delighted to welcome Dr. Ojukwu in her new role as a Bruin Scholar in patient-centered health education research, focusing on interventions that engage populations affected by health inequities. She will also be providing clinical service coverage as a General Pathologist at Northridge Hospital.
Dr. Daniel Stefanko will be joining the division of Anatomic Pathology as a Clinical Instructor, starting July 1, 2024.
Dr. Stefanko obtained his medical training from the University of Southern California. He completed his AP/CP Pathology Residency training at the University of California San Diego (UCSD).
Additionally, he completed a Cardiovascular/Pulmonary Pathology as well as a Gastrointestinal (GI) and Liver Pathology Fellowship at UCLA. We are delighted to welcome Dr. Stefanko in his new role in the sections of Cardiovascular/Pulmonary Pathology, Autopsy, and Gastrointestinal (GI) Pathology.
Dr. Sarah Zhang will be joining the division of Anatomic Pathology as an Assistant Professor, starting July 1, 2024.
Dr. Zhang obtained her medical training from New York University School of Medicine. She completed her AP/CP Pathology Residency training at UCLA where she also became a Chief Resident.
Additionally, she completed a Gastrointestinal (GI) and Liver Pathology Fellowship at UCLA. We are delighted to welcome Dr. Zhang in her new role in the sections of Gastrointestinal (GI) and Liver Pathology.
Dr. Anamaria Munteanu will be joining the division of Anatomic Pathology as a Clinical Instructor, starting August 1, 2024.
Dr. Munteanu obtained her medical training from Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Bucharest, Romania. She completed her AP/CP Pathology Residency training at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.
Additionally, she completed a Hematopathology Fellowship at the City of Hope Medical Center as well as a Molecular Genetic Pathology Fellowship at UCLA. We are delighted to welcome Dr. Munteanu in her new role in the sections of Hematopathology and Molecular Pathology.
Dr. Chana Sachs will be joining the division of Anatomic Pathology as an Assistant Professor, starting August 1, 2024.
Dr. Sachs obtained her medical training from Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa. She completed her AP/CP Pathology Residency training at UCLA, where she also became a Chief Resident.
Additionally, she completed a Surgical Pathology Fellowship at UCLA. We are delighted to welcome Dr. Sachs in her new role in the sections of General Pathology and Head & Neck Pathology.
Dr. Olga Timofeeva will be joining the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine as a Health Sciences Clinical Professor, starting August 4, 2024.
Dr. Timofeeva earned her M.S. in Molecular Biology at the Novosibirsk State University in 1995 and Ph.D. in Biochemistry at the Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine, Novosibirsk, Russia in 2000. She was a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Pathology, Oslo University Hospital - Rikshospitalet, Norway in 2001, National Institute of Cancer, National Institute of Health between 2001-2006 and Georgetown University between 2006-2008.
Dr. Timofeeva was appointed as an Assistant Professor at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University in 2009. She was trained in the field of Immunogenetics and Histocompatibility Testing between 2012-2016 and became a board-certified Laboratory Director in Immunogenetics by the American Board of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics in 2014. Between 2016-2019, Dr. Timofeeva served as the Associate Professor at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University. She also directed the Molecular Pathology Laboratory and the Immunogenetics Laboratory at the Temple University Hospital. In 2019, Dr. Timofeeva joined MedStar Georgetown University Hospital as a Director of Histocompatibility Laboratory and a Professor at the Georgetown University School of Medicine.
She is passionate about clinical diagnostics in solid organ and hematopoietic cell transplantation, teaching immunology and histocompatibility for healthcare professionals, participating in the transplant multidisciplinary research and serving on ASHI committees. Currently, Dr. Timofeeva serves as a Program Director for the ASHI Proficiency Testing Committee, a Middle Co-Chair of the Quality Assurance and Standards Committee, a member of the ACHI Portfolio Committee, and an active ASHI and CAP inspector. Her current research is focused on the understanding of HLA immunogenicity in transplantation and the use of HLA antibody test results as predictive biomarkers for pre-transplant desensitization and treatment of antibody-mediated rejection to improve long-term transplant outcomes.
Please join us in welcoming Dr. Timofeeva to the UCLA Immunogenetics Center and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.
Dr. Diana Vulcain will be joining the division of Anatomic Pathology as an Assistant Professor, starting August 1, 2024.
Dr. Vulcain obtained her medical training from Howard University College of Medicine. She completed her AP/CP Pathology Residency training at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.
Additionally, she completed a Breast Pathology Fellowship at Weill Cornell Medical Center. We are delighted to welcome Dr. Vulcain in her new role in the sections of Breast Pathology and Autopsy.
Dr. Harry Pickering will be joining the Division of Immunogenetics as an Assistant Professor, starting September 2, 2024. Dr. Pickering obtained his BSc in Biological Sciences and Immunology at the University of Edinburgh and MSc in Molecular Biology of Parasites and Disease Vectors at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, both in the UK. He completed his PhD in Infectious & Tropical Diseases at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
Dr. Pickering was a post-doctoral research scholar in the Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine at UCLA from 2020, initially as a Postdoctoral Researcher before progressing to Project Scientist in 2023. Dr. Pickering’s current research focuses on understanding the interaction between the innate and adaptive immune responses in viral infection in immunosuppressed transplant recipients. His research utilizes modern systems immunology approaches including multiparameter immunophenotyping, transcriptomics, proteomics and epigenetics coupled with bioinformatics and computational modeling to understand disease mechanisms and for predicting clinical outcomes.
Please join us in welcoming Dr. Pickering to the UCLA Immunogenetics Center and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.
Please join me in honoring our Farewell Ceremony award recipients and graduating Trainees!
As we start anew, I look forward to our department focusing our continued excellence and advancement in clinical care, education, and research.
Justine Pomakian Memorial Award - Lindy (Weber) Coe
We are delighted to announce that Lindy (Weber) Coe is the 2024 recipient of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine’s Justine Pomakian award!!
Justine Pomakian was a longtime employee in the Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine until her untimely passing in 2020. She worked in the Section of Neuropathology and subsequently in many senior administrative and managerial capacities in the Department. The Justine Pomakian Memorial Award honors the remarkable qualities that made Justine special: kindness, generosity, and a commitment to helping others.
All members of our Department are able to nominate individuals for this award. Lindy joins prior award winners Toshi Ching (2020), Shih-Mao Teng (2021), Anastasia Gustafson (2022) and Jessica Jones (2023).
Lindy, thank you for your commitment to the Cultural North Star values, “Do What’s Right, Make Things Better, and Be Kind.” Your continued dedication, commitment to creative problem solving, compassion, and kindness truly honor Justine’s legacy and positively impact all of us who work with you!
The CAP’s Distinguished Medical Student Award honors the student's initiative in learning about pathology and participating in pathology-related activities. It intentionally elevates the specialty by leveraging the involvement of pathologists in medical students' training as they interact prior to and during the selection process."
L to R: Dr. Zhen Mei, Victoria Lee, Dr. Elena Stark
The DGSOM Pathology Interest Group offered a Dermatopathology lunch event on May 30, 2024. Dr. Peter Sarantopoulos and Dr. Greg Gates were the presenting faculty members, along with Dr. Elena Stark, our Pathology Interest Group faculty advisor. The goals for the session were to introduce interested MS1 students to Dermatopathology, help connect students interested in the field with faculty in the area, and have a panel FAQ with pre-prepared questions and questions from the audience. The panelists discussed a wide range of topics related to Dermatopathology including their own journey to becoming experts in this field, research advances, a day in the life of a dermatopathologist, and their passion for this subspecialty. The event was a success based on all the positive comments our faculty sponsor and coordinators received after the event.
Photos below (L-R): Dr. Peter Sarantopoulos, Dr. Greg Gates and Dr. Elena Stark.
Life Science Alliance is the new online journal published by Rockefeller University/Cold Spring Harbor/EMBO press.
Oscar is a UCLA undergraduate student who worked in the Dorshkind lab for 3 years. He graduated in June 2024 with a 4.0 GPA and is currently applying to medical school.
Enca, a recalled Full Researcher in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, has collaborated with Dr. Kenneth Dorshkind for over 30 years. She is well known across campus as a go-to person for assistance with manipulation of hematopoietic cells and their resolution by flow cytometric analysis.
Congratulations to Dr. Zhen Mei and Dr. Vivian Chang, Pediatric Hematology Oncology, on being awarded a $30,000 grant from the American Society of Hematology to revise blood cell ranges for people with Duffy-null Associated Neutrophil Count, which is also known as Duffy-negative.
Under current blood cell ranges, Duffy-negative people are often misdiagnosed with neutropenia, leading to unnecessary medical procedures, exclusion from clinical trials and undue stress. To amend the ranges, the study team will collect and test blood samples for Duffy status, and assess the normal neutrophil count for the population group.
Read the UCLA Newsroom Article here.
