2009 ASCP Master

William (Jack) Frable, MD, MASCP, has been described as “a Godfather of Pathology” and “the man responsible for popularizing fine needle aspiration (FNA), which revolutionized the field of cytopathology.” He serves as Professor of Pathology in the Division of Surgical Pathology, Virginia Commonwealth University Medical College of Virginia, Richmond.

His interest in cytology was kindled during the time he spent at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York City. There they had begun a tradition of aspiration biopsies, where definitive breast surgery was based on aspiration biopsy diagnoses. Dr. Frable later visited the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, where cytology was utilized as a primary diagnostic technique. When he returned to the United States, he spoke with surgeons about the potential utilization of FNA to preclude the necessity for small biopsies, thereby freeing up time in the operating room. He helped bring the technique to the mainstream through his many papers and teaching commitments with ASCP and the American Society of Cytopathology (ASC).

Throughout his career, Dr. Frable has contributed to cutting edge publications too numerous to count, including many ground breaking text books. He served as the president of ASC, received the Educator of the Year Award from the Papanicolaou Society of Cytopathology, and was principle editor of Cancer Cytopathology from 1995 to 2008.

Among many other honors and awards, Dr. Frable was honored by the ASCP in 1979 with the Distinguished Service Award of the Commission on Continuing Education (CCE), and in 1989 he received the ASCP CCE Commissioners’ Medal. He currently serves as a member of the ASCP GYN PT & Assessment Committee as a consultant.

Of all his accomplishments, Dr. Frable is most proud that he has provided good patient care. “This is the nuts and bolts of medicine, and if I have been successful in that, then I have been fortunate,” he said.

In his spare time, he is most known for his watercolor paintings, but he is also an art collector, a helicopter skier, a golfer, and he has enjoyed traveling the world with his wife, Mary Ann Smith Frable, MD. He has two daughters and one seven-year-old grandchild.