Next-Gen Oncopathology Program

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The Next-Gen Oncopathology (NGO) program has the overall mission of training young diagnosticians to meet advances in our understanding of the mechanisms of cancer pathogenesis and new oncological interventional approaches thereby leading the field of pathology into the future. Specialized pathologists have been involved in cancer diagnostics by examining tissues and other specimens since at least the 19th century, and training in pathology has been incrementally structured and subspecialized. Pathology training programs traditionally teach residents to examine tissue under the microscope and analyze laboratory data for diagnosis, with pathology research being largely descriptive. This approach is no longer sufficient, and it is essential that we prepare pathologists to understand and apply advanced technologies to perform more precise and personalized diagnostics in addition to utilizing innovative and improved ways to conduct research and diagnose cancer. The Weill Cornell Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine has trained numerous outstanding pathologists in many subspecialty areas, but it is only with the use of an innovative approach incorporating a view towards the future that we will be able to produce leaders that will advance the field of cancer pathology. The NGO program takes a holistic and multidisciplinary approach, where all aspects of a cancer patient are considered, ranging from the tumors themselves, to in vitro and in vivo cancer models, to changes in the patients’ blood and microbial infections. Thus, trainees in both Anatomic and Clinical Pathology (i.e. Laboratory Medicine) will be included, which will be individuals with MD or MD/PhD degrees doing a Pathology Residency or Fellowship, or trainees with PhD degrees doing a clinical fellowship in Laboratory Medicine, who are committed to an academic career that includes cancer research. Our trainees will gain expertise and depth by spending two years in a research laboratory working in one or more of the following major themes: 1) molecular diagnosis and cellular therapies, 2) cancer pathobiology, 3) advanced imaging and 4) tumor microenvironment. The foundational principles of the NGO program will be to ensure that all the pathology projects relate to the study of cancer patient samples as well as the comparative pathology of cancer models. Overarching methodologies that will support all of the projects are: i) biostatistics and data science, ii) machine learning and artificial intelligence, and iii) genomics, epigenomics, proteomics and metabolomics. Faculty in the program have expertise in the major themes and specific methodologies, which will allow for the teaching of foundational skills as well as a highly customized educational plan. This will be accomplished by the establishment of a mandatory NGO Course as well as additional course requirements on data science and career development, which will allow trainees flexibility to design a personalized curriculum with their mentoring committee. We will also leverage the Meyer Cancer Center and the Weill Cornell Clinical and Translational Science Center (CTSC) resources to educate the next generation of pathologists working on cancer.