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Welcome to Pathology's Bi-Weekly Bulletin | Oct 18, 2024

Traveling to Sanctioned or High-Risk Countries: UBC Security Guidelines

UBC advises faculty, staff, and students traveling to sanctioned or high-risk countries to use encrypted loaner devices for security. These devices can be requested through our MED IT helpdesk and they are free of sensitive UBC data. When you return, the loaner device must be wiped by IT before it reconnects to UBC's network, and you should change any passwords used during the trip. For added security, use UBC’s VPN service, myVPN, though access may be blocked from certain countries due to sanctions affecting Cisco Duo, UBC's MFA provider. For more information:

Weekly Province-wide Pathology Rounds Return

Date & Time: October 18th, 12:00PM | Presenter: Dr. Cheryl Wellington, Vice Chair of Research, and Dr. Mike Nimmo, Vice Chair of Clinical Education, will provide the Department with an update on the Department’s research and clinical education strategies at the October 18th Department rounds.

Invited Guest Lecture: Date & Time: October 25th, 12:00PM | Presenter: Dr. Peter Boor, MD, PhD, Professor and Chair of Translational Nephropathology at RWTH Aachen University, Germany. Dr. Boor will deliver a guest lecture titled "Deep Learning 4 (Nephro)Pathology… the future begins now", discussing the future of AI in pathology. For more about Dr. Boor, click here .

Learning objectives: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Deep Learning (DL) hold great promise to transform pathology practice. Currently, the majority of commercially available products and AI research focuses on end-to-end AI, i.e., an approach in which the model learns all the steps between the initial input and the final output, providing qualitative or semiquantitative (class) data. An alternative approach to analyze histomorphology is using DL-based segmentation of relevant histological compartments and cells, followed by extraction of relevant quantitative data (features). If done on a large scale, it is termed pathomics, representing a novel -omics approach for morphology at the microscopical level. Pathomics complements molecular omics, like genomics or transcriptomics, but radiomics, which aims at quantifying radiology images, i.e., at the macroscopic level. This lecture will provide comparisons between end-to-end models and pathomics, examples of pathomics in research, and examples of challenges in bringing DL into clinical practice.

You can also view previous rounds here. Rounds.

We welcome your participation and suggestions for topics or speakers. Please email your ideas to pathassist@pathology.ubc.ca.

The same Zoom link will be used for all rounds: Join Zoom Meeting
https://ubc.zoom.us/j/61199076992?pwd=3Ix1R2FwPB9rwimuOEfPmfhaO6onAa.1
Students in class listening to a lecturer

Dr. Arun Garg Honored with Fraser Health Lifetime Achievement Award

We are proud to announce that Dr. Arun Garg, Clinical Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, has been recognized by Fraser Health with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his remarkable 54 years of service. Dr. Garg has been a visionary leader, particularly in promoting culturally sensitive healthcare for South Asian communities and advancing medical education both in Canada and internationally. His dedication to healthcare innovation has left an enduring legacy in the medical community.

Students in class listening to a lecturer

Congratulations to Forouh Kalantari – Award Recipient and Heading to Mayo Clinic!

We are happy to announce that Forouh Kalantari, a PhD student supervised by Dr. David Huntsman, has been awarded the 2024 Nancy McKinstry Trainee Excellence Award. The Nancy McKinstry Trainee Excellence Award was established this year to foster the training of the next generation of ovarian cancer researchers. It recognizes graduate students who demonstrate exceptional research excellence and potential. In addition to this $5,000 award, Forouh will be pursuing clinical chemistry training at the Mayo Clinic. Please join us in congratulating Forouh on this incredible achievement!

Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Key Issues for UBC in 2024

This month, UBC is spotlighting critical cybersecurity challenges affecting the university community. Learn about the latest threats and how we can all stay protected by following best practices. Please view the presentation for more details.

Upcoming BMLSc Program Presentations

The UBC Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine invites you to attend the mock lectures and vision presentations by three candidates for the role of Assistant or Associate Professor of Teaching and Director of the BMLSc Program:

Students in class listening to a lecturer

Update on BMLSc Co-op

BMLSc Co-op Student: Rachael ’s Story

Rachael, a 4th-year BMLSc student, secured a Co-op placement at STEMCELL Technologies Inc. this summer. She shares how Co-op has helped her grow personally and professionally, while gaining hands-on experience in the field. Rachael 's full story.

Students in class listening to a lecturer

Notable Cases by Dr. Habib Moshref Razavi:

In December 2023, a 74-year-old man presented with persistent fevers and bicytopenia, revealing splenomegaly and elevated inflammatory markers. Initial bone marrow findings raised the possibility of VEXAS syndrome; however, further testing identified intravascular large B-cell lymphoma (IVLBCL) with hemophagocytic syndrome. Despite a positive response to R-CHOP chemotherapy, he relapsed and ultimately passed away in July 2024.

This case underscores the complexities of diagnosing IVLBCL, particularly in distinguishing it from other syndromes like VEXAS. I want to take a minute and remember this patient and say a prayer for him. Behind every case there is a patient and they are why we do what we do. This was just published in lancet oncology (Lancet Oncol. 2024 Oct;25(10):e526. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(24)00500-X. Read more.

Seed Grant Workshop Announcement

We are excited to announce the PGAP - Pathology Grant Application Practicum, led by Dr. Cheryl Wellington, Professor and Vice Chair of Research, starting in January 2024. This workshop is open to clinical and academic faculty, as well as graduate students, research assistants, and postdocs. The workshop will cover key aspects of grant writing, culminating in the awarding of two $15,000 seed grants.

  • Workshop Dates: Jan 10, Jan 24, Feb 7, Feb 14, Feb 28, Mar 14, Mar 28, Apr 11, Apr 25 and May 9
  • Time: Fridays, 9-11 am
  • Location: UBC Hospital G226 Vassar Seminar Room (hybrid format available)

Please visit this link to register. For more details, refer to the workshop outline.

Feel free to reach out to Dr. Cheryl Wellington or Genevieve Macmillan for any questions. We look forward to your participation!

Pathology Picks:

Here are some additional reads you might be interested in:

  • CMPT’s annual report for program year 2023-24 Full Report.
  • Upcoming Zoom wellbeing workshops Read more.
  • Refreshing Our UBC Strategic Plan: join the conversation and help shape UBC's future. We're refreshing our strategic plan, and we want your input. Attend pop-up events and workshops happening across both campuses and online. Read more.
  • New Funding Opportunity: Canadian Precision Health Initiative Read more.
  • New Funding Opportunity - Healthy Outcomes Initiative Read more.
  • Coaching Internship Program: attend an upcoming info session Read more.