The

Laboratory Report Fall 2011

A Publication of the Department of Pathology and Genomic Medicine

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First Clinical Genome Sequenced at Methodist

Second Opinion Consultations Improve Outcomes

Dr. Powell Receives Resident Advocate Award from CAP

New Diagnostic Test Offerings

New Faculty Join Department

Mass Spectrometry Takes Flight

New Instruments and Laboratory Renovations at San Jac

West Houston Laboratory Sees Major Volume Increases

Trainee Spotlight

Department Adds New Clinical Chemistry Fellowship

First Resident Begins Resident Research Program

Dr. Peterson Receives Trainee Award

Department Acquires New Trans-mission Electron Microscope

OAD Conducts Writing Seminar

Philip T. Cagle, M.D.

Table of Contents Dr. Philip Cagle is One of America’s Top Doctors

D r. Philip Cagle, medical director

of Pulmonary Pathology for the

Department, was selected in

July by U.S. News and World Report and

Castle Connolly Medical, Ltd. as being

among the top 1% in the nation in his

specialty. Castle Connolly bases its Top

Doctors selections on nominations sub-

mitted by other doctors and reviewed by

its physician-led research team.

“I am humbled to receive this prestig-

ious designation,” said Dr. Cagle. “It is an

honor to be among such a distinguished

group of doctors, many of whom are also

here at Methodist.”

In addition to being Editor-in-Chief of

Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medi-

cine, Dr. Cagle is on the editorial board of

CAP Today and Human Pathology, and is

the only pathologist serving on the edito-

rial board of the Journal of the American

Medical Association. Dr. Cagle's research

interests focus on biomarkers of progno-

sis and potential targets of molecular

therapy in lung cancer and diffuse malig-

nant mesothelioma, pathogenesis of pul-

monary adenocarcinoma, and the pathol-

ogy of lung transplantation.

To access the U.S. News Top Doctors di-

rectory, please visit health.usnews.com/top-

doctors . For more information about Dr.

Cagle, please visit methodisthealth.com/Cagle.

T he Department of Pathology and

Laboratory Medicine has been

renamed the Department of Pa-

thology and Genomic Medicine to reflect

the changing discipline of pathology and

Methodist’s continuing commitment to

lead medicine.

“The discipline of pathology is chang-

ing very rapidly and is expanding into

new areas at an unusually brisk pace,”

said Dr. James Musser, chair of the De-

partment of Pathology and Genomic

Medicine for The Methodist Hospital

System. “One key growth area is the ap-

plication of genome-scale analyses to

highly diverse diagnostic and therapeu-

tic problems such as cancer, infectious

New Name for Department

agents, inherited diseases, and diseases

of unknown etiology, to list just a few.”

The Department name change reflects

the tectonic shift now underway in pa-

thology, and one that will continue un-

abated well into the future. The Depart-

ment plans to expand its genomic medi-

cine capacity by adding infrastructure

and faculty in this exciting area as it con-

tinues to adapt to the changing

diagnostic and therapeutic landscape

and better serve its patients and medical

colleagues. These plans and their pro-

gress will be highlighted in a future issue

of this newsletter.

For more information on the Depart-

ment of Pathology and Genomic Medi-

cine, visit methodisthealth.com/

pathologyandgenomicmedicine.

The

LABORATORY REPORT

2

First Clinical Genome Sequenced at Methodist

For access to the early online release of

the article, visit archivesofpathology.org/.

For more information on Dr. Musser, visit

methodisthealth.com/Musser.

Second Opinion Consultations Improve Outcomes and Save Lives

I n healthcare, obtaining the opinion of

physician colleagues is a necessary

and routine practice, especially when

confronted with a rare condition or a po-

tentially misleading disease presentation.

Situations like these require a level of

pathology diagnostic expertise that is not

commonly found in every hospital, refer-

ral pathology service, or even some aca-

demic medical centers. In many cases, a

members of our department

contributed to the success of this

investigation, including Drs.

Angela Wright, Stephen Beres,

Erin Consamus, Randy Olsen,

Roberto Barrios, Kathryn Stock-

bauer, Wesley Long, Rose An-

ton, and Mukul Divatia. Special

thanks to Dr. Phil Cagle, who

rapidly handled the manuscript

for Archives and assured its

timely publication. This was

truly a team effort. I couldn’t be

prouder of the individuals who

contributed so much to this ef-

fort.” The case report and descrip-

tion of the coordinated response

to this event were published online in

August in the Archives of Pathology and

Laboratory Medicine. The print version of

the article will appear in the November

issue of the journal.

F or the first time, pathologists at

The Methodist Hospital sequenced

the genome of a clinical bacterium

obtained from a patient with a life-

threatening infectious disease.

“The genome data permitted us to rap-

idly identify this strain, rule out the likeli-

hood of bioterrorism, and help coordinate

an appropriate clinical and public health

response. Next-generation genome se-

quencing is playing an increasingly im-

portant role in all areas of pathology,

including infectious disease events such

as these,” said Dr. James Musser, chair of

the Department of Pathology and Ge-

nomic Medicine for The Methodist Hos-

pital System and director of the Center

for Molecular and Translational Human

Infectious Diseases Research at The Meth-

odist Hospital Research Institute. “Having the full-genome data allows us

to determine if the organism has been

genetically altered for malicious purposes

– and that is vital information. So many

second opinion can change

disease management deci-

sions significantly, whether

it be to treat a disease that

wasn’t originally diag-

nosed or to spare a patient

a challenging treatment

protocol (such as chemo-

therapy) for a disease that

the patient does not actu-

ally have.

“To treat a patient effec-

tively, you must start with

the correct diagnosis,” said

Dr. Alberto Ayala, deputy-

chief of pathology for the Department.

“We have many pathologists on our fac-

ulty that have a rare level of diagnostic

expertise that you simply don’t find in

many other departments. That is why so

many patients and doctors from other

hospitals come to us.”

The faculty in the Department of Pa-

thology and Genomic Medicine at Meth-

odist include two Lifetime Achievement

Award recipients from the College of

American Pathologists, and recipients of

the prestigious Koss Medal from the In-

ternational Society of Urologic Pathology

and the Director’s Award from the Na-

tional Institutes of Health. The faculty

expertise is paired with outstanding fa-

cilities and instrumentation, including

state-of-the-science molecular genetic

diagnostic technology.

For more information on the second

opinion consultation service, visit method-

isthealth.com/secondopinion. For more in-

formation about Dr. Ayala, visit method-

isthealth.com/Ayala.

Dr. Ayala in his office at The Methodist Hospital.

Anthracotic pigment with numerous rod-shaped organisms seen in the patient’s bronchoalveolar fluid stain with an overlay of

the genetic dendrogram showing the estimated genetic relation-

ship of the pathogen from the patient with other Bacillus group strains.

The

LABORATORY REPORT

current chair of the Residency

Program Directors of Pathology

(PRODS) Council and the Resi-

dency Review Committee for Pa-

thology of the ACGME, where she

also serves on the Executive

Council of Review Committee

Chairs as the Representative of

Hospital-Based Specialties of the

ACGME. She is a member of

other national committees includ-

ing the CAP Neuropathology Re-

source Committee, the Histology

Committee of the American Soci-

ety of Clinical Pathologists, and is

the vice-chair of the CAP Gradu-

ate Medical Education Committee.

For more information on the

College of American Pathologists, visit

cap.org. For more information on Dr.

Powell, visit methodisthealth.com/Powell.

3

Dr. Suzanne Powell Receives Resident Advocate Award from CAP

D r. Suzanne Powell, chief

of neuropathology, vice-

chair of education, and

director of the AP/CP residency

program in the Department, re-

ceived the Resident Advocate

Award from the College of Ameri-

can Pathologists (CAP) during an

event on September 10th at the

CAP Annual Meeting in Grape-

vine, Texas. The award is pre-

sented to a member of the College

who has demonstrated out-

standing contributions to and sup-

port of pathology residents and

fellows.

“I am grateful to my peers at the

College of American Pathologists

and, specifically, the Residents Forum,

for this prestigious award,” said Dr.

Powell. “Representing the needs of the

next generation of pathologists is an im-

portant responsibility and something we

will all benefit from. These residents and

fellows are the future of pathology.”

Dr. Powell is especially involved in the

mentoring of pathology trainees. In addi-

tion to her leadership roles in the resi-

dency programs at Methodist, she is the

Cancer Antigen 19-9

The Cancer Antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) is

an electrochemiluminescent immunoas-

say that is used to monitor pancreatic,

hepatobiliary, gastric, hepatocellular,

and colorectal cancers. It tests for the

presence of the cancer antigen 19-9 pro-

tein that is shed into the circulation by

specific tumor cells. The test is not in-

tended to be used to determine the pres-

ence or absence of cancer, only to moni-

tor it after its presence has been con-

firmed by other methods.

The test, which was previously per-

formed at a reference laboratory, was

brought in-house in August. Providing

the test in-house will allow Methodist

physicians faster access to laboratory

results so patient care decisions can be

made in a more timely manner. Because

the relationship between the new in-

house test and original send-out test re-

sults are not linear, both tests will be

orderable in MethOD until November 3rd

to allow physicians to re-establish base-

line levels for their patients.

Dr. Powell receives her Resident Advocate Award at the CAP’11 meet-ing in Grapevine, Texas from (L-R) CAP President-Elect, Dr. Gene

Herbek, CAP President, Dr. Stanley Robboy, and (far right) Dr.

Stephen Bauer.

New Diagnostic Test Offerings:

For more information on the CA19-9

assay and the transition to the in-house

test, please contact Dr. Ping Wang at

pwang@tmhs.org.

Mycoplasma pneumoniae molecular

assay

The Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory at

The Methodist Hospital System has im-

plemented a new real-time PCR assay to

detect Mycoplasma pneumoniae. M. pneu-

moniae is the causative agent of “atypical

pneumonia,” also known as “walking

pneumonia,” due to its characteristically

mild but prolonged disease course.

Studies suggest that M. pneumoniae may

cause up to 50% of adult and pediatric

cases of pneumonia. Real-time PCR is a

highly sensitive method to detect the

presence of DNA in clinical specimens.

M. pneumoniae is the first in a series of

new molecular microbiology tests

planned for our laboratory. This test,

which was previously performed at a

reference laboratory, was introduced in-

house on September 1st. Performing the

test at Methodist will be more cost effi-

cient and improve patient care by sig-

nificantly decreasing turnaround times.

For more information on this assay or

other tests offered by the Molecular Di-

agnostics Laboratory, contact Dr. Ran-

dall Olsen at 713-441-6802

(rjolsen@tmhs.org) or Brant Hilson at 713-

441-5725 (bhilson@tmhs.org).

H&E stain of colorectal cancer cells (provided by Dr. Kelly Khan, cytopathology fellow).

The

LABORATORY REPORT

4

New Faculty Join Department

T he Department of Pathology and Genomic Medicine continues to grow. Four new physicians have joined our faculty in recent

months:

Blythe K. Gorman, M.D.

Staff Pathologist

This is Dr. Gorman’s first faculty appointment. She joins us after completing surgical pathology

and cytopathology fellowships here at Methodist. Dr. Gorman received her medical degree from the

Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans in 2005, and completed her residency

in anatomic and clinical pathology at The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston,

TX. She earned numerous honors and awards during her education and training, including the

UTMB Department of Pathology Teaching Award in 2007 and a first place medal for her podium

presentation at the Texas Society of Pathologists John R. Rainey, MD Trainee Seminar in 2011.

For more information about Dr. Gorman, visit methodisthealth.com/Gorman.

Blythe K. Gorman, M.D.

Yingchao Piao, M.D., Ph.D.

Staff Pathologist

Dr. Piao joins the Department from a private pathology practice group in Dallas, Texas. She re-

ceived her M.D. degree from the Yanbian Medical School in Yanji, China and her Ph.D. in molecular

biology from the University of Paris VII in Paris, France. Dr. Piao completed a pathology residency at

The State University of New York at Buffalo, a hematopathology fellowship at New York-

Presbyterian Hospital of Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons and Cornell Uni-

versity's Weill Medical College, and a cytopathology fellowship at The University of Texas M.D.

Anderson Cancer Center. She will primarily provide anatomic and clinical pathology services at

Methodist Willowbrook Hospital and Methodist West Houston Hospital.

For more information about Dr. Piao, visit methodisthealth.com/Piao.

Nour Sneige, M.D.

Staff Pathologist

Dr. Sneige joins the Department from The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

where she is a professor in the Department of Pathology, Section of Pathology/Laboratory Medi-

cine. Dr. Sneige received her M.D. degree from the Damascus University School of Medicine in

Syria. She then completed a residency in anatomic and clinical pathology at the Wilmington Medi-

cal Center in Wilmington, Delaware and at Barnes Hospital and Washington University School of

Medicine in St. Louis, MO followed by a surgical pathology fellowship at M.D. Anderson. She was

recently honored with the Harlan J. Spjut Award, bestowed by the Houston Society of Clinical

Pathology, and has received many other awards in her career.

For more information about Dr. Sneige, visit methodisthealth.com/Sneige.

Yingchao Piao, M.D., Ph.D.

Nour Sneige, M.D.

Arthur W. Zieske, M.D.

Arthur W. Zieske, M.D.

Co-Director, Hematopathology

Dr. Zieske joins the Department from the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New

Orleans where he was an associate professor in the Department of Pathology, the director of Hemato-

pathology, and the medical director of flow cytometry and the cytogenetics and FISH laboratories.

Dr. Zieske received his M.D. degree in 1993 from the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Cen-

ter (LSU-HSC) in New Orleans, LA. He remained there for his residency in anatomic and clinical

pathology, and then completed a fellowship in hematopathology at the Yale University School of

Medicine in New Haven, CT.

For more information about Dr. Zieske, visit methodisthealth.com/Zieske.

The

LABORATORY REPORT

5

The BioTyper MALDI-TOF MS identi-

fies bacteria, yeast, and fungi by creating

a unique spectral fingerprint based on

the molecular mass and charge of intact

proteins from the unknown microorgan-

ism. The characteristic pattern of each

isolate is then electronically compared to

an extensive database to identify it. Cur-

rent methods of pathogen identification

rely on a combination of colony

Mass Spectrometry Takes Flight

T he Microbiology Labo-

ratory of The Method-

ist Hospital is nearing

completion of clinical valida-

tion studies of the BioTyper

MALDI-TOF (matrix-assisted

laser desorption/ionization-

time of flight) mass spectrome-

ter made by Bruker Daltonics.

Methodist is one of only a half-

dozen institutions in the

United States, and the first in

Texas, to implement this new

technology.

“The BioTyper will make

critical laboratory results

available to physicians in min-

utes rather than days. This is a tremen-

dous improvement in patient care,” said

Dr. Randall Olsen, associate medical di-

rector of the Microbiology Laboratory.

“Implementation of mass spectrometry-

based diagnostics represents the cutting

edge in clinical microbiology, and The

Methodist Hospital is leading patient

care by bringing this instrument online

now.”

morphology, Gram stain inter-

pretation, and biochemical

tests. Although these conven-

tional methods are accurate,

they can be costly and time

consuming.

“The BioTyper is able to go

directly from culture to species

identification in one step,” said

Dr. Bryan Janssen, fourth-year

pathology resident.

“The BioTyper pairs greater

sensitivity with faster species

identification,” said Dr. Daniel

Wimmer, second-year pathol-

ogy resident. “This is critical

for enhanced patient care and

will be an incredibly useful tool for The

Methodist Hospital System.”

For more information on the BioTyper

MALDI-TOF MS or to see the new in-

strument, please contact Patricia Cernoch

at 713-441-0333.

Drs. Wimmer (left) and Janssen conduct validation studies on the new MALDI-TOF mass spectrometer.

T he Pathology Laboratory at

San Jacinto Methodist Hospi-

tal has been renovated and

acquired two new coagulation instru-

ments for hematology.

“The communities of East Houston

continue to grow and so must our

hospital and department,” said Dr.

Joyce Maldonado, medical director of

Laboratory Services at San Jacinto

Methodist Hospital. “This renovation

and the new instrumentation allow

us to expand our infrastructure and

continue providing the high level of

service that our patients and medical

staff have come to expect.”

Dr. Joyce Maldonado with Histology Coordinator, Donna Landrum, in the new laboratory space.

New Instruments and Laboratory Renovations at San Jacinto

The renovation of the 6,182 sf facil-

ity included a 785 sf expansion that

added new office and working space

for laboratory staff and pathologists,

as well as additional storage space.

Two new Sysmex CA-1500 fully

automated coagulation analyzers

were acquired in June and enable the

laboratory to analyze larger volumes

of samples in a more efficient manner.

For more information on San Jacinto

Methodist Hospital, visit sanjacin-

tomethodist.com .

The

LABORATORY REPORT

West Houston Laboratory Sees Major Volume Increases

Department Adds New Clinical Chemistry Fellowship

Services at Methodist West Houston

Hospital.

Overall growth continues with

anatomical pathology billable tests

increasing by 45% and clinical labo-

ratory billable tests having nearly a

70% increase since the beginning of

the second quarter of 2011. Noted

sources of this growth are the addi-

tion of the Cardiovascular Service

Line with CABs and other CV

procedures each week as well as

expansion of the Family Birthing

Center with additional OB/Gyn prac-

tices on campus.

For more information on Methodist

West Houston Hospital, visit methodist-

westhouston.com.

G rowth has been the hot

topic at the Methodist West

Houston Hospital Labora-

tory this summer. Recent campus

openings of the J.C. Walter Trans-

plant Center Clinic and the Method-

ist Weight Management Center have

led to a 500% increase from April to

August in the number of outpatients

served in the Laboratory Patient

Service Center located in the Medical

Office Building.

“As expected, with our new hospi-

tal growing and continuing to bring

new service lines on, we have seen

tremendous increases in units of

service in the laboratory,” said Dr. Thu

Ngo, medical director of Laboratory

Dr. Ngo and Medical Technologist, Juvy Binag, run patient specimens through one of the automated chemistry analyzers in

the West Houston laboratory.

and translational research. It is im-

portant to have training and experi-

ence in these areas to assist our pa-

tients and support our clinical col-

leagues.”

Dr. Shu joins the program from the

University of Washington where she

recently completed her doctoral

studies in chemistry. The fellowship

is a two-year commitment and offers

elective rotations in select laboratory

areas of interest, such as molecular

diagnostics, clinical microbiology,

and flow cytometry.

For more information about train-

ing programs offered by the Department,

visit methodisthealth.com/pathologytraining.

6

T he Department recently

added a clinical chemistry

fellowship program under

the direction of Dr. Ping Wang. The

program’s first fellow, Irene Shu,

Ph.D., began training on September

1st.

“Our program is designed for

postgraduate trainees who are inter-

ested in pursuing a career in clinical

chemistry at a major academic medi-

cal center,” said Dr. Ping Wang,

medical director of Clinical Chemis-

try for the hospital. “Our program is

particularly strong because it in-

cludes special emphasis on laboratory

management and self-initiated clinical

Dr. Wang trains Dr. Shu in the Diagnostic Immunology Labora-tory.

D r. Angela Wright, a PGY3 resident, has published her first peer-reviewed manuscript as

first author. The paper, entitled “Rapidly progressive, fatal, inhalation anthrax-like infec-

tion in a human”, was recently published online and will appear in the November print

issue of Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. It is a case report that includes use of the first

clinical genome at Methodist. Dr. Wright has also published a book chapter on lymphangioleiomyo-

matosis with Dr. Philip Cagle, medical director of Pulmonary Pathology for the Department. That

chapter will be published in 2013 by Springer as part of The Encyclopedia of Pathology.

Dr. Wright received her bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of North Texas in

Denton and her medical degree from The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. She

entered the AP/CP residency program at Methodist as a PGY1 resident in 2009.

Trainee Spotlight:

Angela Wright, M.D. PGY3 Resident

Angela Wright, M.D.

The

LABORATORY REPORT

“This program is a superb opportunity

for Dr. Long and others like him who

want to pursue clinical, translational, or

basic research as part of their career. We

have tremendous faculty and facilities

7

In Our Next Issue…

First Resident Begins Resident Research Program

T he Resident Research Pro-

gram officially launched in

2008 and its first resident,

Wesley Long, M.D., Ph.D., began

research training on July 1st. Under

the mentorship of Dr. James Musser,

Dr. Long will spend the next two

years developing an independent

research focus and the skills to suc-

cessfully pursue it.

“Wesley is an ideal candidate for

this program. He has outstanding

research training with Dr. David

Walker at UTMB, a strong commit-

ment to patient care, and sustained

interest in scholarly inquiry,” said Dr.

Musser, chair of the Department of Pa-

thology and Genomic Medicine and di-

rector of the Resident Research Program.

here that allow us to train the next

generation of outstanding, NIH-

funded practicing pathologists.”

Program trainees are guided by a

primary research mentor, an inter-

disciplinary mentoring committee,

and a career development committee

to create an individualized program

of study. Dr. Long is studying the

molecular pathogenomics of infec-

tions caused by Staphylococcus aureus,

which are responsible for life--

threatening diseases such as pneu-

monia, meningitis, and sepsis. Dr.

Long’s study focuses specifically on

drug-resistant strains of this bacterium.

For more information about training

programs offered by the Department,

visit methodisthealth.com/pathologytraining.

Dr. Long performs experiments in the laboratory with strains of Staphylococcus aureus.

Dr. Philip Cagle and the Department of Pathology and Genomic Medicine

will host a major symposium at Methodist in 2012 - The Spring Symposium

of the Houston Society of Clinical Pathologists and the Department’s Seminar

on Advances in Lung Cancer will combine for a 2-day event (April 28th and

29th) in The Methodist Hospital Research Institute auditorium. Look for a

complete article on the event in the winter issue of The Laboratory Report!

Dr. Amanda Peterson Receives Department Trainee Award

molecular testing for colorectal

cancer throughout The Methodist

Hospital System. Multiple na-

tional committees now recom-

mend this testing for all newly

diagnosed patients.

Testing for Lynch Syndrome

(hereditary nonpolyposis colorec-

tal carcinoma) is important for

treating a patient’s primary or

metastatic cancer and screening

their at-risk relatives. Even before

her fellowship began, Dr. Peter-

son conducted an extensive litera-

ture review on the subject and began

meeting with vendors. After identifying

the MSI and BRAF test methodologies

that best integrated into our laboratory,

she assembled the validation panels and

completed the validation studies with an

optimized protocol. Both MSI and BRAF

testing will be implemented in the Mo-

lecular Diagnostics Laboratory in October

of 2011.

In the few months since becoming the

molecular genetic pathology fellow, Dr.

Peterson has also given multiple presen-

tations to laboratory staff and pathology

trainee peers.

Dr. Peterson received her M.D. degree

from The University of Texas Health Sci-

ence Center at Houston in 2006 and com-

pleted her AP/CP residency there as well.

Dr. Peterson then completed a surgical

pathology fellowship at Methodist before

pursuing a molecular genetic pathology

fellowship.

D r. Amanda Peterson is the new-

est recipient of the Department

of Pathology and Genomic

Medicine Trainee Leadership and Innova-

tion Award. She received the award for

her efforts to introduce and standardize

Dr. Peterson with Dr. Randall Olsen in the Molecular Diag-nostics Laboratory.

The

LABORATORY REPORT

training is ideal.”

The OAD in the Department of

Pathology and Genomic Medicine

provides assistance to faculty and

trainees to increase their scholarly

activity. OAD staff provides grant,

manuscript, and poster editing ser-

vices, assists in identifying new fund-

ing opportunities, and presents semi-

nars and training in areas such as

grantsmanship and scientific writing.

A seminar on Public Health Service

(PHS) grant writing and peer review

is planned for October.

For more information on the OAD, visit

methodisthealth.com/OAD .

8

Cagle PT, Dacic S, Allen TC. Genomic pathology: challenges for implementation. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2011 Aug;135(8):967-8.

Drachenberg CB, Torrealba JR, Nankivell BJ, Rangel EB, Bajema IM, Kim DU, Arend L, Bracamonte ER, Bromberg JS, Bruijn JA, Can-

tarovich D, Chapman JR, Farris AB, Gaber L, Goldberg JC, Haririan A, Honsová E, Iskandar SS, Klassen DK, Kraus E, Lower F,

Odorico J, Olson JL, Mittalhenkle A, Munivenkatappa R, Paraskevas S, Papadimitriou JC, Randhawa P, Reinholt FP, Renaudin K,

Revelo P, Ruiz P, Samaniego MD, Shapiro R, Stratta RJ, Sutherland DE, Troxell ML, Voska L, Seshan SV, Racusen LC, Bartlett ST.

Guidelines for the Diagnosis of Antibody-Mediated Rejection in Pancreas Allografts-Updated Banff Grading Schema. Am J Transplant.

2011 Sep;11(9):1792-1802.

Gatalica Z, Lilleberg SL, Monzon FA, Koul MS, Bridge JA, Knezetic J, Legendre B, Sharma P, McCue PA. Renal medullary carcino-

mas: histopathologic phenotype associated with diverse genotypes. Hum Pathol. 2011 Jul 4. [Epub ahead of print]

Ge Y, Mody DR, Smith D, Anton R. P16INK4a and ProEx C immunostains facilitate differential diagnosis of hyperchromatic

crowded groups in liquid based Pap test with menstrual contamination. Acta Cytologica. 2011, In Press.

Continued page 9

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

T he Office of Academic Devel-

opment (OAD) held its first

writing seminar for trainees

on July 5th. The one-hour seminar,

presented by Dr. Kathryn Stock-

bauer, introduced Department resi-

dents and fellows to scientific writing

and, specifically, how to structure

and present research data in a scien-

tific manuscript. The presentation

also covered manuscript submission

and the peer review process.

“Knowing how to present your

research data is a necessary skill in

academic medicine, whether it be at a

podium or in a poster, manuscript, or

grant application,” said Dr. Stockbauer,

Office of Academic Development Conducts Writing Seminar

Dr. Stockbauer takes questions from trainees.

the manager of OAD. “It is best to de-

velop these skills early in training. Pre-

senting this seminar to residents and fel-

lows during their postgraduate medical

Department Acquires New Transmission Electron Microscope

The JEM-1400 transmission electron micro-scope.

not readily amenable to simple histologic

analysis, such as kidney specimens.”

Other diagnostic applications include

imaging of muscle, nerve, and heart biop-

sies. For research, electron microscopy

continues to be an important technology

for investigating new disease processes

and newly-recognized biologic phenome-

non.

For information on how to access the

JEM-1400 at Methodist and for usage

charges, contact Gwen Lusk at

glusk@tmhs.org.

T he Department has obtained a

JEM-1400 transmission electron

microscope (TEM) from JEOL,

Ltd. The TEM will be used for both clini-

cal care and research purposes. For clini-

cal applications, the TEM will mostly be

used to image tissue from needle core

and wedge kidney biopsies.

“Electron microscopy is a valuable di-

agnostic tool for pathologists,” said Dr.

Luan Truong, medical director of Renal

Pathology for the Department. “This

instrument will be very helpful, espe-

cially for certain tissue specimens that are

The

LABORATORY REPORT

Ping Wang, Ph.D. Claudia P. Molina, M.D.

Seema Mullick, M.D.

Thu Ngo, M.D.

Steven Shen, M.D., Ph.D.

Paul Sumby, Ph.D.

The Laboratory Report is a publication

of The Methodist Hospital System

Department of Pathology and

Genomic Medicine.

Hagenkord JM, Gatalica Z, Jonasch E, Monzon FA. Clinical genomics of renal epithelial tumors. Cancer Genet. 2011 Jun;204(6):285-97.

Hanby DF, Gremillion G, Zieske AW, Loehn B, Whitworth R, Wolf T, Kakade AC, Walvekar RR. Harmonic scalpel versus flexible

CO2 laser for tongue resection: A histopathological analysis of thermal damage in human cadavers. World J Surg Oncol. 2011 Aug

1;9:83.

Homma S, Troxclair DA, Zieske AW, Malcom GT, Strong JP; for the Pathobiological Determinants of Atherosclerosis in Youth

(PDAY) Research Group. Histological changes and risk factor associations in type 2 atherosclerotic lesions (fatty streaks) in young

adults. Atherosclerosis. 2011 Jul 21. [Epub ahead of print]

Kim HJ, Yoo YS, Park K, Kwon JE, Kim JY, Monzon FA. Genomic Aberrations in Salivary Duct Carcinoma Arising in Warthin Tumor

of Parotid Gland: DNA Microarray and HER2 Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2011 Sep;135(9):1088-91.

Kumaraswami M, Avanigadda L, Rai R, Park HW, Howe MM. Genetic analysis of phage Mu Mor amino acids involved in DNA mi-

nor groove binding and conformational changes. J Biol Chem. 2011 Aug 22. [Epub ahead of print]

Masud F, Larson-Pollock K, Leveque C, Vykoukal D. Establishing a Culture of Blood Management Through Education: A Quality

Initiative Study of Postoperative Blood Use in CABG Patients at Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center. Am J Med Qual. 2011

Sep-Oct;26(5):349-56.

Monzon FA, Alvarez K, Peterson L, Truong L, Amato RJ, Hernandez-McClain J, Tannir N, Parwani AV, Jonasch E. Chromosome 14q

loss defines a molecular subtype of clear-cell renal cell carcinoma associated with poor prognosis. Mod Pathol. 2011 Jul 1. [Epub ahead

of print]

Mukherjee A, Peterson JE, Sandberg G, Takei H, Adesina A, Goodman JC, Powell S. Central nervous system pathology in fatal swine

-origin influenza A H1N1 virus infection in patients with and without neurological symptoms: an autopsy study of 15 cases. Acta Neu-

ropathol. 2011 Sep;122(3):371-3.

Panagis L, Zhao X, Ge Y, Ren L, Mittag TW, Danias J. Retinal gene expression changes related to IOP exposure and axonal loss in

DBA/2J mice. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2011 Sep 9. [Epub ahead of print]

Raghunathan A, Barber SM, Takei H, Moisi MD, Mukherjee AL, Rivera AL, Powell SZ, Trask TW. Primary intracranial sarcomatoid

carcinoma arising from a recurrent/residual epidermoid cyst of the cerebellopontine angle: a case report. Am J Surg Pathol. 2011

Aug;35(8):1238-43.

Ryu SY, Hong GU, Kim DY, Ro JY. Enolase 1 and calreticulin regulate the differentiation and function of mouse mast cells. Cell Signal.

2011 Jul 23. [Epub ahead of print]

Si Q, Dancer J, Stanton ML, Tamboli P, Ro JY, Czerniak BA, Shen SS, Guo CC. Small cell carcinoma of the kidney: a clinicopathologic

study of 14 cases. Hum Pathol. 2011 Jul 4. [Epub ahead of print]

Wright AM, Beres SB, Consamus EN, Long SW, Flores AR, Barrios R, Richter GS, Oh SY, Garufi G, Maier H, Drews AL, Stockbauer

KE, Cernoch P, Schneewind O, Olsen RJ, Musser JM. Rapidly Progressive, Fatal, Inhalation Anthraxlike Infection in a Human: Case

Report, Pathogen Genome Sequencing, Pathology, and Coordinated Response. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2011 Aug 9. [Epub ahead of print]

Yang Y, Li F, Gao L, Wang Z, Thrall MJ, Shen SS, Wong KK, Wong ST. Differential diagnosis of breast cancer using quantitative,

label-free and molecular vibrational imaging. Biomed Opt Express. 2011 Aug 1;2(8):2160-74.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS continued

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Editor-in-Chief

April A. Ewton, M.D.

The Laboratory Report

Editorial Committee

Hazel L. Awalt, M.D.

Christopher Leveque, M.D.

The Methodist Hospital

Clare Rose, M.B.A.

Manuel Hinojosa, M.H.A.

Editorial Coordinator

Philip Randall

Department Chair

James M. Musser, M.D., Ph.D.