Since being named a 40 Under Forty in 2016 I have had the opportunity to rise the ranks from assistant to associate and now full professor, while also having the incredible opportunity to hold an endowed Chair of Pediatric Pathology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in the Department of Pathology.

I also was Chair of our Society for Pediatric Pathology Slide Survey CME accredited program (2018-2021), where I was the editor of 18 online pediatric pathology cases and online assessments per year, which served as a clinical competency assessment and CME product for memberships via its web-based curriculum. I served for four years as Treasurer on the Executive Committee for the Histiocyte Society, in which we were able to create new program initiatives for the Society to increase membership and engagement in low-income countries. I served on the board of directors for the Digital Pathology Association and was co-chair of Patient/Public Engagement and Involvement Task Force which has worked with the American Society of Clinical Pathology (ASCP) Patient Champions to increase patient awareness of Digital Pathology and Augmented learning to foster an inclusive learning and understanding of this technology in Pathology to all patients.

What significant/notable achievements or breakthroughs have you had in your work since you were named a 40 Under Forty?   

Since 2016, we have made significant advancements in our understanding of histiocytosis on expanding the pathologic understanding of brain involvement in histiocytic disorders in collaboration with Baylor/Texas Children’s Hospital, expanding the understanding of what constitutes ‘active’ disease involvement in CNS-LCH neurodegenerative lesions, which is now no longer considered a paraneoplastic phenomenon despite lack of lineage markers. This work has led to publications in Immunity (2023) and Nature Medicine (2021). Collaborative work with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center has led to a new understanding of the molecular drivers in juvenile xanthogranuloma family of lesions and their work was awarded the 2018 Histiocyte Society (HS) Nesbit Award for Best Clinical Paper in Lisbon, Portugal and publication in Nature Medicine in 2019. I am the pathology reviewer of the first Children’s Oncology group (COG) study on Langerhans cell histiocytosis (NCT05828069).

Lastly, I was recently recruited back to the University of Pittsburgh by Dr. Liron Pantanowtiz, the Chair of UPMC Pathology, to lead the Division of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine as the Chief and Chair of Pediatric Pathology in August 2024.

Have you won any awards in the years since, from ASCP or other organizations?

Histiocyte Society (HS), Nesbit Award for Best Clinical Paper, 2018: As stated above, previous collaborative work with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center led to a new understanding of the molecular drivers in juvenile xanthogranuloma family of lesions and their work was awarded the 2018 Histiocyte Society (HS) Nesbit Award for Best Clinical Paper in Lisbon, Portugal and subsequent publication in Nature Medicine in 2019 as a co-first author.

Society for Pediatric Pathology (SPP), Lotte Strauss Prize Lecture for best clinical paper, 2022: I was instrumental in organizing a large international collaboration through the Histiocyte Society’s Rare Disease working group, which expanded the clinical characterization and pathologic features for ALK-positive histiocytosis (Blood 2022), which is a now a recognized disease entity in the 5^th edition of the WHO classification of hematolymphoid tumours ‘blue book’ series in part from this work. In 2022, the Society for Pediatric Pathology awarded her the prestigious Lotte Strauss Prize (for a seminal work under 40 years of age) with a keynote lecture given at the annual SPP fall meeting in Rochester, NY for this Blood 2022 paper.

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center Faculty Award: Clinical Care Achievement Award Senior category, 2024: In 2019, I was recruited to University of Cincinnati School of Medicine and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital to expand the reach of their Histiocytosis Center, serving as the co-Director of the Histiocytosis Center. As the Director of Digital Pathology and AP informatics at Cincinnati Children’s, I also had the responsibility of creating a new Digital Pathology service line to enhance clinical workflows and offer new and innovative digital teaching and research opportunities. In recognition of my clinical efforts, the Cincinnati Children’s Faculty Affairs named me the hospital’s 2024 Clinical Care Achievement Award winner, in the senior category, which was the first time this institutional recognition was awarded to a pathologist, which speaks to the integrated clinicopathologic work that was done for the children cared for at Cincinnati Children’s hospital.

Lessons Learned

The biggest lesson I’ve learned since being named a 40 Under Forty is to feel comfortable in the constant uncertainty of our profession and to not be afraid, as you are never alone. Also: big ideas require big jumps and leaps of faith.

I am most proud of being afforded the opportunity to now lead a division of hard working, kind and compassionate people who love pediatric pathology and lab medicine as much as I do.