Faculty Highlights Page 2 Pathology News Faculty Highlights V O L U M E 9 I S S U E MAY 1 22, 2015 Page 2-3 Dear Colleagues: Grant Administration Page 4-5 SURP and CMP Grad Program Page 6 With the summer upon us, I extend to all of you my deepest thanks for your collaboration to make this a very successful year for our department. Mentors and trainees, medical and technical personnel, researchers and research specialists, administrative colleagues, each and every one of you have given your best and we appreciate it. The department was able to meet all its responsibilities in research, teaching and diagnostics, as well as our financial goals while maintaining and flying orbits at times of high turbulence. On May 20, 2015 we had a research retreat, with invited keynote speaker Dr. Kojo Elenitoba-Johnson speaking on proteomics in lymphoma research, and Page 7—8 internal invited speakers Drs. Mark Gladwin, the new Chair of the department of Medicine, Miguel Reyes-Mujica, Chief of Pediatric Pathology, and Alex SotoGutierez, assistant professor in Experimental Pathology. There were also multiResidency/Fellowship ple presentations from all groups of trainees (graduate students, post-doctoral felPage 9-10 lows, pathology residents and fellows) with presentations of posters providing an extended opportunity to interact with the presenters two hours in the evening at the University Club. The department always looks at its best in these sessions, and Medical Student Update the excitement was palpable as for many of the trainees, this was their first formal presentation. Page 11 PIRRT Presentations Page 12-14 Publications Page 15-20 Personal Page 20 Administrative Updates Page 21 ECU Update Page 22 I am ending this note and reassuring everyone that the department is standing strong and with everyone’s support I am looking forward to what the next academic and fiscal year is going to bring. In my 24 years as Chair of this department, I have never seen so many forays of direct application of deep science to everyday diagnostics. There is finally a fusion coming between all acets of “Pathology” that were previously mostly non-overlapping. These are exciting times. I hope that everyone’s summer will be just as exciting and will get everyone in the spirit of the new year starting July 1 st. With best regards, George Michalopoulos Pathology Professor and Chair Department of Pathology Bad times have a scientific value. These are occasions a good learner would not miss. Ralph Waldo Emerson Holiday Reminders The University of Pittsburgh and UPMC will be closed Monday, May 25, 2015 in observation of Memorial Day The University of Pittsburgh and UPMC will be closed Friday, July 3, 2015 in observation of Independence Day. The University of Pittsburgh and UPMC will be closed on Monday, September 7, 2015 in observation of Labor Day. PAGE 2 Faculty Highlights Charleen T. Chu, MD, PhD Elected to The Pluto Society of the American Association of University Pathologists. Marie DeFrances, M.D., Ph.D. Has been appointed as a Master Educator which is awarded based on the recommendation of the School of Medicine’s Academy of Master Educators Committee. This is a five year term effective July 1, 2015. Members must be involved with the education of medical students, graduate students, and residents for the duration of the appointment. Michael Landau, M.D. Selected to participate in the 2015 Marshall W. Webster Physician Leadership Program. Satdarshan (Paul) Monga, M.D. Medical Student Research Mentoring Merit Award. This award is presented to a Scholarly Project (SP) mentor of a graduating Pitt Med student in recognition for outstanding mentoring over the course of the SP. Joseph Newsome, DVM Editorial Board(s) 1/2015 - Present Journal of Microbial Pathophysiology and Pathogenesis National Academies of Science – ILAR appointment as a member of the Roundtable Committee on Science and Welfare in Laboratory Animal Use. My appointment will began Dec 1, 2014 and will end on November 30, 2017. Jeffrey Nine, M.D. Delivered the Invocation at the Celebration of Life Ceremony on April 28, 2015. The Ceremony, sponsored by CORE and UPMC, honors organ, tissue and eye donors and their families, attended by members of CORE, UPMC Transplant Surgery and many transplant recipients and donor families. Liron Pantanowitz, M.D. “Emerging Infections and the Cytology Laboratory” in Cancer Cytopathology and selected to be profiled on the April 2015 cover of the journal as a featured article. Cancer Cytopathology is a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. It is the elite journal in its field, offering the highest impact factor (3.807) among cytopathology journals. Michael Shurin, M.D., Ph.D. Shurin MR: Organizer, Fourth International Conference “Cancer Immunotherapy and Immunomonitoring (CITIM)”, Ljubljana, Slovenia, April, 2015. Darrell Triulzi, M.D. Served as Co-Director of the NHLBI Transfusion Medicine State of the Science meeting on the NIH campus March 25 and 26 2015. The two day meeting is a culmination of six months of work and provided a forum to discuss the NHLBI transfusion medicine research agenda over the next 5 - 10 years. The proceedings will be published in the journal Transfusion. PAGE Promotions Jon Davison, M.D., promoted to Associate Professor of Pathology Marina Nikiforva, M.D., promoted to Professor of Pathology Sarangaranjan Ranganathan, M.D. , promoted to Professor of Pathology Jian Yu, Ph.D., promoted to Professor of Pathology New Faculty Hunching Guo, M.D., Ph.D. from Mount Sinai in New York will join the Division of Pathology Informatics as an Assistant Professor of Pathology July 1, 2015 and will be based at Shadyside Hospital. Thu Phuong Tran, M.D. from Indiana University in Indianapolis will join the Anatomic Pathology Division at Shadyside Hospital July 1, 2015. Dr. Tran is presently a fellow in Genitourinary Pathology. Departing/Retiring Faculty Anil Parwani, M.D., Ph.D., MBA, Professor of Pathology, will relocate to Ohio State University effective July 17, 2015 as Vice Chair of Anatomic Pathology and Director of Pathology Informatics. Frank Schneider, M.D., Assistant Professor of Pathology, Division of Anatomic Pathology, relocated to Kaiser Pernmanente Oakland, California. Eizaburo Sasatomi, M.D., Assistant Professor of Pathology from the Division of Transplant Pathology, relocated to Dept. of Pathology and Lab Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel. Kumiko Isse, M.D., Assistant Professor of Pathology, Division of Transplant Pathology, relocated to California to be with her family. Thomas Talamo, M.D., Clinical Assistant Professor, Mercy Hospital, retired. Gutti Rao, M.D., Professor of Pathology, VA Medical Center, retired. Manjit Singh, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Pathology, MSTP Program, will retire June 30, 2015. 3 PAGE Grant Administration “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” Current research support Funding Agency: NIH-ORIP Grant Number: 1G20 OD020257-01 Title of Grant: Modernization of Environmental Monitoring and Controls: BST-S Vivarium Principal Investigator: Newsome, Joseph T Newsome Role on Grant: PI (sole) Years Inclusive: 4/15/2015 - 4/14/2016 Total funded Direct Costs: $498,627 Total project costs: $1,466,550 Alpha-1 Foundation Pilot & Feasibility Grant PI: Zahida Khan, MD, PhD Title: “Hepatocyte repopulation by liver progenitor cells in A1AT deficiency” $40,000 for 1 year (7/1/15-6/30/16) Shadyside Pathology received a Frontline Innovation Grant from The Beckwith Foundation to support Ultrasound guided FNAs at UPMC Shadyside $10,000 Albert Einstein Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF), Program Project Development Grant (2015-2017) Proposal #: 327038 “Microenvironmental control of premalignant lesions in ovarian cancer” (Shurin – Project 1 Leader) Research Award, Ministry of Education, Republic of Kazakhstan. Almaty University (2015-2017) “New mechanism of molecular abnormalities of innate Immunity in cancer” (Shurin – PI, Zakiryanova - PI) Cláudia M. Salgado, MD, PhD, was awarded a $95,000 Grant from the Morgan Family Foundation. 4 PAGE 5 GUIDELINES TO ENSURE A PERFECT SUBMISSION Conflict of Interest (COI) The following are extremely important compliance reminders for all researchers and anyone participating in the design of sponsored research project. These compliance modules and forms are necessary in order for the Office of Research to process proposals of not only Pathology faculty but any proposals involving your participation. Any investigator planning to participate in or who is currently participating in a PHS funded research project (i.e. NIH) must complete: COI Superform for PHS Funded Researchers CITI Conflict of Interest Module (Basic Course) PIs and CO-PIs conducting research projects involving human subjects must also complete the following: CITI Responsible Conduct of Research CITI Human Subjects Training The above CITI module requirements for human subject research are in addition to the current requirements. If the training requirements are not completed, access to OSIRIS (IRB on-line application) will be blocked. Go to www.citi.pitt.edu for detailed information. The training guidelines required for research involving animal models are listed at the following website: http://www.iacuc.pitt.edu/node/220 The Office of Research will not submit any proposal that includes faculty who have not completed the appropriate compliance training for their specific part of research. eRA Commons – GSRs and PostDocs The NIH requires an eRA Commons ID for all individuals in graduate and undergraduate student roles who participate in NIH-funded projects for at least one person month or more. Any Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) lacking the eRA Commons ID for graduate and undergraduate students will receive an error and the RPPR will not be accepted by the NIH. A cautionary note, please make sure your GSRs and PostDocs register with eRA Commons before graduating or leaving your lab. Mary Lou Benedetti, MHR/IR PAGE SURP AND CMP GRADUATE PROGRAM From the desk of Dr. Wendy M. Mars …. CMP and Related News of Note: The numbers are in! This year there will be 26 NEW students matriculating to the IBGP program in the fall so soon we will be ACTIVELY seeking mentors who wish to host a graduate student in their lab next year. To assure that the students know you are interested, contact me and also, be sure you have your projects registered on the web site: https://somgrad.wufoo.com/forms/update-faculty-information/ Since last fall, 2 students have formally graduated and one has formally joined, making our current number of CMP students 25; however, this summer a record number of students (FIVE) will be leaving us. On the other hand, we anticipate adding another 8 new students from the MSTP (3) and IBGP (5) parent programs by September, so CMP remains one of the strongest graduate programs at the University. The Pathology Research Seminar and Retreat was held this year on Wednesday, May 20, 2015 from 12-7:30 PM. Our keynote speaker was Dr. Kojo S. Elenitoba-Johnson from the University of Michigan who spoke on “Integrated genomic and proteomic analyses for identification of oncogenic drivers in lymphoid malignancies”. ECU credits are offered for the oral presentation portion of the meeting so remember to turn your information in for credit. The poster session (refreshments included!) was held at the University Club and the winners were: Graduate students: First place: Abby Stahl Second place: Erin Steer Third place: Tie between Emma He, Beth Oczypok and Jackie Russell Post-graduate trainee (basic and clinical): First place: Amanda Clark Second place: Tie between Rebecca Ocque and Dane Olevian Third place: Tie between Christopher Griffith and Daniel Rhoads The CMP arm of the School of Medicine Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SOM-SURP) will run from May 26 until July 31 this year. We have a total of 6 students participating from across the country, including 2 from an ASIP-sponsored program (SROPP). The SOM-SURP is a highly competitive program. This year there were 570 applicants to SURP overall, with 283 indicating an interest in CMP. SURP isn’t the only summer training program in the Pathology Department! This summer we will have several other students working with Pathology faculty. There will be three first year medical students working on summer research projects and funded through the Klionsky Pathology fellowship. Additionally, Klionsky fellowships have been offered to another 4 college undergraduates who plan to attend medical school and have an interest in Pathology. This continues to be one of the strongest recruiting programs we have for the discipline of Pathology. If you are interested in having issues brought before the CMP committee, please share them with our CMP administrator, Tara Rohall (rohallta@upmc.edu), or me (wmars@pitt.edu). Also, please continue to make me aware of any outstanding faculty members who are not currently members of CMP but who would be eligible and have a possible interest in joining our program. Thanks so much! Wendy M. Mars, Ph.D. Director, Pathology SURP and CMP graduate program 6 PAGE The PIRRT program allows Pathology residents and fellows at the University of Pittsburgh to construct individualized research training experiences with the goal of “fast-tracking” to faculty positions to pursue combined research and diagnostic careers. Trainees are generally admitted to the program as first year residents, electing to take their research year after PGY1 or PGY2, or before continuing to diagnostic fellowship training here. Following their PIRRT research year, our trainees have been wellpositioned for K08 and K99/R00 applications. For those wishing to transition to independence directly after primary residency (AP, CP, AP/CP or combined AP/NP), the NIH Director’s Early Independence Award is another option. In September 2014, the American Board of Pathology officially sanctioned a “Physician-Scientist Pathway”. The structure of this pathway is identical to what we have been offering in the PIRRT program. While it does not increase the GME time allowed for research, it reflects the Board’s commitment for increasing the numbers of physician-scientists that chose Pathology as a career path. In October 2014, the PIRRT co-directors, Charleen Chu and Tim Oury, submitted input representing our department for the NIH Request for Information (RFI) on Physician-Specific Grant Program to Facilitate the Transition from Training to Independence, as well as contributing to the official ASIP response. The results from our first trainee impact and satisfaction survey, which was presented to participants in the UPMC-PSD/Katz Marshall W. Webster Physician Leadership Program can be viewed at this link: http://path.upmc.edu/pirrt/Chu_UPMC-Katz_PosterDec2014.pdf Trainee updates: Jason Cheng-Hsuan Chiang (NP fellow) Jason is completing his PIRRT and NP research year in Charleen Chu’s laboratory, making the novel discovery of synaptic activity-dependent changes in mitochondrial respiratory complex structure and function in neurons. His abstract, "Sensitivity of Mitochondrial Respiratory Chain Complex I to Toxin Inhibition is Activity-Dependent in Neurons" has been selected for platform oral presentation in 2015 Annual Meeting of the American Association of Neuropathologists (AANP) in Denver, CO on Saturday, June 13, 2015. He has also published a case report in Brain Pathology. Jason is currently preparing a manuscript and a grant proposal for the NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00). He plans to study the impact of Parkinson disease-linked LRRK2 mutations on activity-dependent changes in neuronal mitochondrial function using rodent and iPSC-derived neurons. He will continue his training in clinical neuropathology starting July 2015. 7 PAGE Grzegorz (Greg) Gurda (Breast/Gyn fellow)Greg finished advanced post-residency training in Breast/Gyn pathology as a clinical instructor at Magee-Women’s Hospital of UPMC, and plans to pursue Molecular Genetic Fellowship in 2015-2016, and the PIRRT research year in 2016-2017. He published 4 research articles in the 2014-2015 academic year. My clinical and research interests lie at the intersection of endocrinology, metabolism and neoplasia. My past work has addressed diet and hormonal milieu as important components of diagnosis and disease management within oncology, gastroenterology and women's health. My ongoing work with Dr. Peter Lucas (breast pathology and molecular diagnostics) and Dr. Jeffrey Fine (pathology informatics) attempts to incorporate traditional anatomic histopathology features including hormone, growth receptors and proliferative markers, together with molecular and image informatics driven approaches. The goal of this work is to improve the characterization of heterogenous breast and GYN tumors and to develop better, tumor-subtype specific diagnostic tools, prognostic, and treatment paradigms. I enjoy spending time with my family and outdoor activities like hiking, biking and golf. I also enjoy playing & listening to music, dabbling with computer programming and cultural outings like classic movies, theater and summer festivals. Thomas Pearce (AP/NP) I am currently nearing the end of my first year of Anatomic Pathology training. In preparation for a year of research through the PIRRT track during my third year of residency, I have been meeting with potential mentors and collaborators. I have decided to join the laboratory of Rob Turner, who studies the motor-system neural circuitry that is affected by Parkinsonism by performing electrophysiological recordings from multiple brain areas simultaneously. I am also excited for potential future collaboration with Marlene Cohen's laboratory, which uses large-scale multichannel recording techniques to great effect. ALUMNI NEWS: Edward Plowey, Assistant Professor at Stanford University Received the 2015 Young Physician-Scientist Award from the American Society of Clinical Investigation (ASCI), on April 25, 2015. He was invited to present his work on: BECN1 sorts surface Amyoid Precursor Protein for endolysosomal and autophagic degradation. K08 from NIH/NINDS to study the role of BECN1 in NMDA receptor regulation Intramural funding from Stanford Brain Rejuvenation Project and the Stanford University Mass Spectrometry Laborator – Vincent Coates Foundation. Attended 2014 Charleston Conference for Alzheimer Disease Early Career Investigator 2014-15 – Four publications including research papers in Autophagy, Biochim Biophys Acta and JAMA Ophthalmology. Julia Kofler, Assistant Professor at University of Pittsburgh was elected to the Neuropathology Steering Committee for the NIH Alzheimer’s Disease Centers (ADC) Program for a 3-year term, and is serving as Chair for this committee. Craig Horbinski, Associate Professor with tenure at University of Kentucky is moving to Northwestern University to join the Brain Tumor Institute as Director of the Tumor Bank. Charleen T. Chu and Tim Oury PIRRT Co-Directors 8 PAGE RESIDENCY AND FELLOWSHIP From the desk of Dr. Trevor Macpherson….. Residency Program: New PGY-1 Class – July 2015 Nine new residents have been recruited as follows: Dayne Ashman, MD – University of the West Indies, Jamaica Nicholas Barasch, MD – The School of Medicine at Stony Brook University Medical Center Shweta Bhavsar, MD – B.J. Medical College, India Sarah Booker, MD – Emory University School of Medicine Li Liu MD, PhD – China Medical University, China Oscar Lopez, MD – Universidad Dr. Jose Matias Delgado, El Salvador Daniel Marker, MD, PhD – University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry Eric Statz, MD – University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health Bryan Stevens, MD – The University of Toledo College of Medicine Fellowship Program: Fellows – July 2015 Nine fellows have been recruited from outside programs together with six internal candidates. A total of fifteen trainees will begin their fellowships on July 1, 2015. Aaron Berg, MD (Cyto) – UPMC – AP/CP residency Jason Chiang, MD, PhD (NP) – UPMC – AP residency Kossivi Dantey, MD (BST) – University of Vermont College of Medicine & Fletcher Allen Health Care – AP/CP residency Navid Farahani, MD (Info) – Cedars-Sinai Medical Center – AP/CP residency Grzegorz Gurda, MD, PhD (MGP) – The Johns Hopkins Hospital – AP/CP residency Alicia Hunt, MD (MGP) – UPMC – AP/CP residency Bryon Jackson, MD (BB) – Thomas Jefferson University Hospital – AP/CP residency Jiancong Liang, MD, PhD (Peds) – SUNY Downstate Medical Center – AP/NP residency Mitra Mehrad, MD, MHA (Thor) – Washington University in St. Louis – AP/CP residency Sohail Qayyum, MD (MGP) – University of Tennessee Health Science Center – AP/CP residency Lisa Radkay-Gonzalez, MD (Cyto) – UPMC – AP/CP residency Akeesha Shah, MD (H&N) – University of Virginia – AP/CP residency 9 PAGE 10 RESIDENCY AND FELLOWSHIP From the desk of Dr. Trevor Macpherson….. Clinical Instructors – July 2015 Nine clinical instructors have also been recruited as follows: Stacey Barron Miller, MD (SP) – UPMC – AP/CP residency Casey Gooden, MD (Heme) – Emory University – AP/CP residency Rebecca Leeman-Neill, MD, PhD (Heme) – UPMC – AP residency Ioana Moisini, MD, PhD (GYN/Breast) – St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital – AP/CP residency Erika Moore, MD (Heme) – Hospitals of the University of Pennsylvania – AP/CP residency Bing Ren, MD, PhD (GI) –University of Rochester Medical Center – AP/CP residency Kate Serdy, MD (GYN/Breast) – UPMC – AP residency Catherine Stoos, MD (GYN/Breast) – Sanford USD Medical Center – AP/CP residency Michelle Xia, MD (GI) – University of Texas Medical Branch – AP/CP residency Residency Program ACGME Items: Core faculty ACGME survey response 95% Resident ACGME survey response 100% Under new ACGME accreditation system next site visit is 2020 but annual metrics reporting has resulted in ongoing accreditation with commendation and no citations New program requirements effective July 2015 – we are already compliant Humberto Trejo Bittar, MD Resident, Anatomic Pathology, UPMC Department of Pathology Appointed Junior Member of the CAP Histotechnology Committee. 2 years appointment starting January 1st 2015. USCAP Boston 2015 Presentation: Humberto Trejo Bittar, Pimpin Incharoen, Andrew Althouse, and Sanja Dacic. "Accuracy of the IASLC/ATS/ERS Histological Subtyping of Stage I Lung Adenocarcinoma on Intraoperative Frozen Sections." American Thoracic Society International Conference. D. Doberer, MD, MSc, H.E. Trejo Bittar, MD, C.W. Baffi, MD, C.A. Vitari, BSN, RN, A.R. Parikh, BS, F. Holguin, MD, MPH, S.E. Wenzel, MD. Treatment-Resistant Severe Asthma is Associated with Autoimmune Disease. Denver May 15-20th. Published Review: Trejo Bittar HE, Yousem SA, Wenzel SE. Pathobiology of severe asthma. Annu Rev Pathol. 2015;10:511-45. Accepted for Publication: Trejo Bittar HE and Pantanowitz L. Merkel Cell Polyomavirus Is Not Detected in Lung Adenocarcinomas By Immunohistochemistry. Applied Immunohistochemistry & Molecular Morphology (In press). Accepted for publication: Trejo Bittar HE, Incharoen P, Althouse A, Dacic S. Accuracy of the IASLC/ATS/ERS histological subtyping of stage I lung adenocarcinoma on intraoperative frozen sections. Modern Pathology (In press) PAGE Medical Student Update The Pathology Medical Student Interest Group (PMSIG) is wrapping another successful year. They hosted several lunch-and-learn sessions with Pathology Faculty such as Dr. Michalopoulos, Dr. Nine and Dr. Wells and held a Resident Panel discussion for students to gather information about applying for and going through Pathology Residency training. Residents Humberto Trejo Bittar and Russ Silowash served as our department’s first-ever Pathology Resident- Medical Student Liaisons this academic year. They participated in the SOM MS-3 career night, the medical student research fair, the Allegheny Medical Society Career night and PMSIG’s Resident Panel, as well as many other important medical student related-activities during the year. Residents Lama Farchoukh and Dane Olevian are the new liaisons for this coming academic year. Two graduating medical students, Liang-I Kang and Jacob Abel, became members of the ICPI Pathology Honor Society. They will start Pathology Residency training this July at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis, and at University of Tennessee, Memphis, respectively. Marie DeFrances, M.D., Ph.D. Cytology Conference June 6, 2015 8:00 a.m.—5:30 p.m. S-120 Biomedical Science Tower Dr. Paul Ohori, Dr. Sara Monaco, Dr. Liron Pantanowitz and Dr. Juan Xing will present. For more information email Jackie Cuda at cudajm@upmc.edu. CME credit; target audience cytotechnologists, cytopathologists, fellows and residents Dr. David Ellison St. Jude Endowed Chair in Neuropathology, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital was the Martinez Memorial Lecturer February 18, 2015 11 PAGE 12 PRESENTATIONS Charleen T. Chu, M.D., Ph.D. Mitochondrial homeostasis and dendrite maintenance: beyond mitophagy. Symposium on Stress Organelles and Neurodegenerative Diseases. American Society for Neurochemistry, March 17, 2015, Atlanta, GA. Maintaining calcium homeostasis and mitochondrial health in Parkinson’s disease. Minneapolis Veterans Affairs GRECC, March 24, 2015, Minneapolis, MN. Fine-tuning mitochondrial homeostasis in Parkinson’s disease. Presidential Symposium: Advances in Investigative Neuropathology. ASIP/FASEB, March 30, 2015, Boston, MA. Mitochondrial dynamics and dendrite remodeling in Parkinson’s disease. Killam Lecture, McGill University, April 14, 2015, Montreal, Canada. Grand Rounds, Montreal Neurological Institute, April 15, 2015, Montreal, Canada George K. Michalopoulos, M.D., Ph.D. Invited speaker, “Liver Regeneration: From Prometheus to Cell Signaling,” Stockholm Liver Week, Stockholm, Sweden, February 3-6, 2015. Co-Chair Session, “Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Liver Repair, ASIP meeting, SanDiego, CA March 26—April 1, 2015. Sarangarajan Ranganathan, M.D. rd Tamil Nadu-Poducherry Oration: Intractable Diarrheas in Childhood”. Invited Speaker, 63 Annual Conference Indian Association of Pathologists and Microbiologists, Pune, India. Dec 07. 2014. Invited speaker: Pediatric Liver CME. SRM University Medical Center (SIMS), Chennai, India. Nov 28th, 2014. “Cholestatic Diseases in Children” “Pediatric Liver Tumors” Invited Faculty: ‘Pediatric Solid Tumors – Books to Bedside’, Bombay Hospital, Mumbai, Dec 5-6th 2014. “Pathologic Diagnosis in Liver tumors” “Pathology of Wilms Tumor”. Slide Seminar: Pathology of Pediatric Tumors and Liver disease, K.E.M. Hospital, Mumbai. Dec 1st 2014. Drs. Jeffrey Nine, Trevor MacPherson, Jennifer Yoest and Marie DeFrances will be presenting “A Pathology Discovery Project for Pre-Clinical Medical Students” at the Association for Pathology Chairs 2015 Meeting in San Diego. PAGE PRESENTATIONS Jennifer Picarsic, M.D. Disorders of Histiocytosis Workshop, presented at Society of Pediatric Pathology (SPP) 2015 workshop at Boston, 3/22/15. Michael Shurin, M.D., Ph.D. “Nanomaterials and immune regulators in the tumor microenvironment”, Georgia Regent University, invited Lecture, Augusta, GA, February 2015. “Chemomodulation of the tumor microenvironment”, Pathology CLB seminar series, Pittsburgh, PA, March 2015. “Regulation of dendritic cell antitumor activity by the TGF-beta superfamily members”, CITIM-2015 Conference, Ljubljana, Slovenia, April 2015 “Chemoimmunotherapy: modulation of the tumor immunoenvironment”, Cancer Vaccine Institutes 2nd International Symposium on Immunotherapy, The Royal Society London, UK, May 2015. Special Presentation: Faculty member in the Cancer Immunology for the Non-Immunologist - Tutorial Session, at the AACR Annual Meeting 2015, April 2015, Philadelphia, PA. Discussion Leader on the topic, entitled, “Dendritic Cells.” Steven Swerdlow, M.D. Session Chair, “DOUBLE HIT” Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma, American Society of Hematology, ecember 6-9, 2014, San Francisco, California. Lecture, Diagnosis of “DOUBLE HIT” Diffuse Large B-cell lymphoma and B-cell lymphoma, unclassifiable, with features intermediate between DLBCL and Burkitt lymphoma: When and How, FISH versus IHC. American Society of Hematology, December 6-9, 2014, San Francisco, California. The summer begins with the solstice on June 21, 2015 at 12:38 P.M. EDT 13 PAGE 14 PRESENTATIONS Steven Swerdlow, M.D. “T-cell and NK-cell lymphomas involving the gastrointestinal tract: Does lineage matter?” Society of Hematopathology Scientific Symposium, March 2, 2014, San Diego, CA. Grand Rounds “How low can you go? Dissecting the small B-cell lymphomas” SUNY-Upstate Medical University, Department of Pathology, Syracuse, New York, March 19, 2014. “Challenges in Diagnostic Hematopathology”, Resident Microscopic Slide Conference, SUNY- Upstate Medical University, Department of Pathology, Syracuse, New York, March 19, 2014. Co-chair, sessions on follicular lymphoma and “In situ lesions” and other B-cell lesions of low malignant potential”. WHO Clinical Advisory Committee meeting, 3/31/2014, Chicago, IL. “CLL, monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis and prolymphocytic leukemia”, presenter, WHO Clinical Committee meeting, 3/31/2014, Chicago, IL. Advisory “Extranodal marginal zone lymphomas and nodal marginal zone lymphoma and lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma”, Presenter, WHO Clinical Advisory Committee meeting, 3/31/14, Chicago, IL. Transformation of splenic marginal zone lymphoma with phenotypic switch, Splenic lymphoma meeting, Cambridge, England, May 15-16, 2014. Follicular Lymphoma, (Session Chair) International Lymphoma Study Group, 6/2/14, Biarritz, France. MYD88 in lymphomas with plasmacytic differentiation, International Lymphoma Study Group, 6/4/14, Biarritz, France. Course Director & lecturer (5 lectures), Scientific Symposiums International Course, “Diagnostic lymphomas and leukemias that challenge the surgical pathologist”, June 16-19, 20 International Convenor for Hematopathology section, 2014 International Academy of Pathology meeting, Bangkok, Thailand, October 6-10, 2014. Keynote Lecture, “Update on the WHO Classification of Malignant Lymphomas”, 2014 International Academy of Pathology meeting, Bangkok, Thailand, October 8, 2014. Moderator (organizer) Long Course, “Diagnosis of Malignant Lymphomas in 2014”, 2014 International Academy of Pathology meeting, Bangkok, Thailand, October 9, 2014. Panel Member, Moderator and Presenter (Small B-cell lymphomas with plasmacytic differentiation), Redefining the spectrum of small B-cell lymphomas in light of current technology, XVII Meeting of the European Association for Haematopathology meeting, Istanbul, Turkey, October 11-16, 2014. Expectations for the WHO classification of lymphomas update, Department of Pathology, Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel, October 29, 2014. PAGE PUBLICATIONS BB Chen, TA Coon, JR Glasser, C Zou, B Ellis, T Das, AC McKelvey, S Rajbhandari, T Lear, C Kamga, S Shiva, CJ Li, JM Pilewski, J Callio, CT Chu, A Ray, P Ray, YY Tyurina, VE Kagan, and RK Mallampalli. (2014) E3 ligase subunit Fbxo15 and PINK1 kinase regulate cardiolipin synthase 1 stability and mitochondrial function in pneumonia. Cell Reports 7: 476-487. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2014.02.048. PMCID: PMC4085683 KZQ Wang, J Zhu, RK Dagda, G Uechi, SJ Cherra III, AM Gusdon, M Balasubramani & CT Chu. (2014) ERKmediated phosphorylation of TFAM downregulates mitochondrial transcription. Mitochondrion, 17: 132-140. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mito.2014.04.008. PMCID: PMC4134365 VP Patel & CT Chu. (2014) Decreased SIRT2 activity leads to altered microtubule dynamics in oxidativelystressed neuronal cells: Implications for Parkinson’s disease. Exp. Neurol. 257: 170-181. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.expneurol.2014.04.024. PMCID: PMC4141566 A Nuschke, M Rodrigues, DB Stolz, CT Chu, L Griffith & A Wells. (2014) Human mesenchymal stem cells/multipotent stromal cells consume accumulated autophagosomes early in differentiation. Stem Cell Res Ther 5: 140 (14 pages) PMID: 25523618 M Bueno, M Mosher, C Kamga, C Corey, D Stolz, C StCroix, M Rojas, S Shiva, CT Chu & AL Mora. (2015) PINK1 deficiency impairs mitochondrial homeostasis and promotes lung fibrosis. J Clin Invest 125: 521-538. PMCID: PMC4319413 AM Gusdon, F Fang, J Chen, CE Mathews, W Li, CT Chu, JQ Ding & SD Chen (2015) Association of the mtND2 5178A/C polymorphism with Parkinson’s disease. Neurosci Lett 587: 98-101. PMID: 25511548 Reviews EK Steer, MK Dail & CT Chu. (2015) Beyond mitophagy: cytosolic PINK1 as a messenger of mitochondrial health. Antioxidants Redox Signaling 22: 1047-1059. Case Reports NK Mesiwala, CT Chu, LV Raju (2014) Infectious crystalline keratopathy predominantly affecting the posterior cornea. Int J Clin Pathol 7: 5250-5253. PMCID: PMC4152095 W Anani*, C Chu & T Oury. A case of persistent, contact lens-related Acanthamoeba keratitis. Association for Molecular Pathology 2014 Annual Meeting and 20th Anniversary Celebration, National Harbor, MD. CH Chiang, CT Chu & CW Wiley. "A 67-year-old man with longstanding multiple sclerosis and a cerebellar lesion" was published online as the Brain Pathology Case of the Month - March 2015 (http://path.upmc.edu/divisions/neuropath/bpath/cases/case303.html). The printed version will be published in the July 2015 issue. GI and Liver Transplantation in Childhood. In “Pathology of Pediatric Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease” Ed. Russo P, Ruchelli ED, Picolli DA. 2nd ed. Springer 2014. 615-684. 15 PAGE PUBLICATIONS Tao J, Calvisi DF, Ranganathan S, Cigliano A, Zhou L, Singh S, Jiang L, Fan B, Terracciano L, ArmeanuEbinger S, Ribback S, Dombrowski F, Evert M, Chen X, Monga SP. Activation of β-catenin and Yap1 in human hepatoblastoma and induction of hepatocarcinogenesis in mice. Gastroenterology. 2014 Sep;147 (3):690-701. Ranganathan S, Ashokkumar C, Ningappa M, Schmitt L, Higgs BW, Sindhi R. The Transcription Factor, Tbet, Primes Intestine Transplantation Rejection and Is Associated With Disrupted Mucosal Homeostasis. Transplantation. 2015 Apr;99(4):890-4. Courtney R, Ranganathan S. Simultaneous Adrenocortical Carcinoma and Neuroblastoma in an Infant With a Novel Germline p53 Mutation. J Pediatr Hematol Oncol. 2014 Nov 4. [Epub ahead of print] Fan Y, Fang X, Tajima A, Geng X, Ranganathan S, Dong H, Trucco M, Sperling MA. Evolution of hepatic steatosis to fibrosis and adenoma formation in liver-specific growth hormone receptor knockout mice. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2014 Dec 18;5:218. Venkat VL, Ranganathan S, Sindhi R. The challenges of liver transplantation in children with primary sclerosing cholangitis. Expert Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2015 Mar;9(3):289-94. Newsome JT, McDonald K, Gold MS, Thiels E, Mauna J, Janssen C, Rigatti l, Normolle D. Evaluation of CO2 Displacement Rates During Mouse Euthanasia in Balb/C Mice. Presented at: American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine Forum; 2015 May 3-6; New Orleans, LA. Barron S, Austin RM, Li Z, Zhao C. Follow-up outcomes in a large cohort of patients with HPV-negative LSIL cervical screening test results. Am J Clin Pathol. 2015 Apr;143(4):485-91. "BRAF mutations are also associated with neurocutaneous melanocytosis and large/giant congenital melanocytic nevi” which attracted the attention of the magazine “Dermatology Times” and will be featured in the June issue with an editorial. The paper is a collaborative study with colleagues from the NorthShore Health System, in Chicago, and was authored by Salgado CM, Basu D, Nikiforova M, Bauer BS, Johnson D, Rundell V, Grunwaldt LJ, Reyes-Múgica M. Anani W.Q., Ojerholm E.J., Shurin M.R. Resolving Transferrin Isoforms by Agarose Gel Electrophoresis. Lab Medicine, 46(1):26-33, 2015. Shvedova A.A., Tkach A.V., Kisin E.R., Stanley S., Gutkin D.W., Star A., Shurin G.V., Kagan V.E., Shurin M.R. MDSC and TGF-β are required for facilitation of tumor growth in the lungs of mice exposed to carbon nanotubes, Cancer Research, 2015, in press. Kisin E., Yanamala N., Farcas M., Gutkin D., Shurin M., Kagan V., Bugarski A., Shvedova A. Abnormalities in Male Reproductive System after Exposure to Diesel and Biodiesel Blend. Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis, 56(2):265-276, 2015. 16 PAGE 17 PUBLICATIONS ZhaoY., Burkert S.C., Tang Y., Sorescu D.C., Kapralov A.A., Shurin G.V., Shurin M.R., Kagan V.E., Star A. Nano-Gold Corking and Enzymatic Uncorking of Carbon Nanotube Cups. J Amer Chem Soc., 137(2):675-684, 2015. Seo W., Kapralov A.A., Shurin G.V., Shurin M.R., Kagan V.E., Star A. Payload Drug vs. Nanocarrier Biodegradation by Myeloperoxidase- and Peroxynitrite-Mediated Oxidations: Pharmacokinetic Implications. Nanoscale. In press. 2015 Keskinov A.A., Shurin M.R. Myeloid regulatory cells in tumor spreading and metastasis. Immunobiology, 220 (2):236-42, 2015. Books: “Infection and Cancer”, M.R. Shurin, Y. Thanavala, N. Ismail (Eds). Springer Publ., NY, 2015, in press. Swerdlow, S.H.,Jaffe, E.S., Brousset, P., Chan, J.K.C., deLeval, L., Gaulard, P., Harris, N.L., Pileri, S., Weiss, L. on behalf of the International Lymphoma Study Group, Cytotoxic T/NK-cell lymphomas – current questions and controversies, Am J Surg Pathol, 2014, 38:e60-71. Swerdlow, S.H. Diagnosis of “double hit” diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and B-cell lymphoma, unclassifiable, with features intermediate between DLBCL and Burkitt lymphoma: when and how, FISH versus IHC. Hematology, 2014 (in press) Cook, J.R., Swerdlow, S.H. “Mantle Cell lymphoma” in Knowles’ Neoplastic Hematopathology 3rd Edition, Orazi, A., Weiss, L., Foucar, K., Knowles, D.M. (Eds.) Wolter Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2014, pp. 456-469. Jaffe, E.S., Swerdlow, S.H., Vardiman, J.W. “Haematopoietic and Lymphoid Malignancies”/Chapter 5.13 in World Cancer Report, Wild, C.P., and Stewart, B.W. (Eds.), IARC, Lyon, 2014, pp. 482-494. Most people say that it is the intellect which makes a great scientist. They are wrong: it is character. Albert Einstein PAGE PUBLICATIONS Picarsic J, Egeler RM, Kudakwashe C, Patterson K, Jaffe R. Histologic patterns of thymic involvement in Langerhans cell proliferations: a clinicopathologic study and review of the literature. Pediatr Dev Pathol. 2015 Mar-Apr;18(2):127-38. (PMID: 25629953). Buryk M, Picarsic J, Creary SE, Shaw PH, Simons JP, Deutsch M, Monaco SE, Nikiforov Y, Witchel S. Identification of unique heterozygous germline mutation, STK11 (p.F354L), in a child with encapsulated follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma within 6 months of completing treatment for neuroblastoma. Pediatr Dev Pathol. 2015 Mar 9. [Epub ahead of print]. (PMID: 25751324). Buryk MA, Simons JP, Picarsic J, Monaco SE, Ozolek JA, Joyce J, Gurtunca N, Nikiforov YE, Witchel SF. Can malignant thyroid nodules be distinguished from benign thyroid nodules in children and adolescents by clinical characteristics? A review of 89 pediatric patients with thyroid nodules. Thyroid. 2015 Apr;25 (4):392-400. (PMID: 25627462). Gibson, S.E., Luo, J., Sathanoori, M., Liao, J., Surti, U., Swerdlow, S.H. Whole-Genome Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Array Analysis Is Complementary to classical Cytogenetic Analysis in the Evaluation of Lymphoid Proliferations. Am J Clin Path, 2014;141:247-255. [seletcted for CME] Cogbill, C.H., Swerdlow, S.H., Gibson, S.E. The Utility of CD279/PD-1 Immunohistochemistry in the Evaluation of Benign and Neoplastic T-cell-rich Bone Marrow Infiltrates. Am J Clin Path, 2014; 142:88-98. Takeuchi, M., Sato, Y., Yasui, H., Ozawa, H., Ohno, K., Takata, K., Gion, Y., Orita, Y., Tachibana, T., Itoh, T., Asano, N., Nakamura, S., Swerdlow, S.H., Yoshino, T. Epstein-Barr virus-infected cells in IgG4related lymphadenopathy with comparison to extranodal IgG4-related disease, Am. J. Surg. Pathol., 2014, 38:946-955. Parrilla Castellar, E.R., Jaffe, E.S., Said, J.W., Swerdlow, S.H., Ketterling, R.P., Knudson, R.A., Sidhu, J.S., Hsi, E.D. Karikehalli, S., Jiang, L., Vasmatzis, G., Gibson, S.E., Ondrejka, S., Nicolae, A., Grogg, K.L., Allmer, C., Ristow, K.M., Wilson, W.H., Macon, W.R., Law, M.E., Cerhan, J.R., Habermann, T.M., Ansell, S.M., Dogan, A., Maurer, M.J., Feldman, A.L., ALK-Negative Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma is a Genetically Heterogeneous Disease with Widely Disparate Outcomes Following Standard Therapy, Blood 2014, 24(9):1473-80. Hamadeh, F., MacNamara, S., Aguilera, N.S., Swerdlow, S.H., Cook, J.R. MYD88 L265P Mutation Analysis Helps Define Nodal Lymphoplasmacytic Lymphoma, Mod Pathol, 2014 (in press). Hamadeh, F., MacNamara, S., Bacon, C.M., Sohani, A.R., Swerdlow, S.H., Cook, J.R. Gamma Heavy Chain Disease Lacks the MYD88 L265P Mutation Associated with Lymphoplasmacytic Lymphoma (letter), Haematologica 2014 99:e154-e155. 18 PAGE 19 PUBLICATIONS Zheng B, Griffith CC, Yan S, Chen C, Ding X, Yang H, Zhao C (corresponding). Prior high risk HPV testing and Pap test results of 427 invasive cervical cancers in China’s largest CAP certified laboratory. Cancer Cytopathol. 2015 May 8, [ Epub ahead of print] Tao X, Griffith CC, Zhou X, Wang Z, Yan Y, Li Z, Zhao C (corresponding). History of high risk HPV and Pap test results in a large cohort of patients with invasive cervical carcinoma: experience from the largest women’s hospital in China. Cancer Cytopathol. 2015 May 8, [ Epub ahead of print] Woodard A, Austin MR, Li Z, Beere J, Zhao C (corresponding). Prevalence of HPV16/18 genotypes and histopathologic follow-up outcomes in women with negative cytology and positive high risk HPV test results. JASC 2015 March accepted. Liu S, Wang X, Shi Y, Han L, Zhao Z, Zhao C, Luo B. Toll-like receptor gene polymorphisms and susceptibility to Epstein-Barr virus-associated and -negative gastric carcinoma in Northern China. Saudi J Gastroenterol. 2015;21(2):95-103 Zhao C (corresponding), Moriarty AT, Ghofrani M, Husain M, Tambouret RH, Laucirica R, Laser A, Fisher A, Ocal IT, Souers RJ, Russell DK, Fan F, Crothers BA. Human Papillomavirus testing and reporting rates in 2012: results of a College of American Pathologist’s (CAP) national survey. Arch Path Lab Med. 2014 Dec 1, Epub ahead of print] Barron S, Austin RM, Li Z, Zhao C (corresponding): Follow-up outcomes in a large cohort of patients with HPV-negative LSIL cervical screening test results. Am J Clin Pathol 2015;143(4):485-491 Zheng B, Austin RM, Liang X, Li Z, Chen C, Yan S, Zhao C (corresponding). Positive predictive value (PPV) of a high grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) cervical cytology result in China’s largest College of American Pathologists (CAP) certified laboratory. JASC 2015(4):84-89 Yang H, Xue D, Tao X, Li Z, Zhao C (corresponding). Human papilloma virus negative cervical cancer. Zhonghua Bing Li Xue Za Zhi. 2015;44(1):73-76. Tao X, Zhou X, Zhao C. The advance of ovarian clear cell carcinoma in immunohistochemistry and molecular pathogenesis. Zhonghua Bing Li Xue Za Zhi. Accepted April 2015. Fadare O, Zhao C, Khabele D, Parkash V, Quick CM, Gwin K, Desouki MM. Comparative analysis of Mapsin A, alphamethylacyl-coenzyme A racemase (AMACR, P504S), and hepatocyte nuclear factor 1 beta as diagnostic markers of ovarian clear cell carcinoma: an immunohistochemical study of 279 ovarian tumurs. Pathology 2015;47(2):105-111. Pantanowitz L, McHugh J, Cable W, Zhao C, Parwani AV. Imaging file management to support international telepathology. J Pathol Inform. 2015;6:17 Sohn, Jihee, Lu, Aiping, Tang, Ying, Wang, Bing and Huard, Johnny. “Activation of Non-myogenic Mesenshymal Stem Cells During the Diseae Progression in Dystrophic Dystrophin/utrophin Knockout Mice.” Hum Mol Genet. 2015 Apr 9. pii: ddv125. [Epub ahead of print] Jihee Sohn is a CMP Graduate Student.. Congratulations! PAGE 20 Zhao C (corresponding), Zaibo Li, Nayar R, Levi AW, Winkler B, Moriarty AT et al. Prior high-risk HPV testing and Pap test results of 70 invasive cervical carcinomas diagnosed in 2012: results of a retrospective multi-center study. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2015;139(2):184-188. Stoler MH, Austin RM, Zhao C. Cervical cancer screening should be done by primary HPV testing with genotyping and reflex cytology for women over the age of 25 years. J Clinical Microbiology. 2015 May 6 [Epub ahead of print]. Zhao C, Austin MR. The author’s reply. Am J Clin Pathol. 2014;142(2):279 Zheng B, Marshall Austin RM, Liang X, Li Z, Chen C, Yan S, Zhao C (corresponding). Bethesda System Reporting Rates for Conventional Pap Smears and Liquid-based Cytology in a Chinese Large College of American Pathologists Certified Independent Medical Laboratory: Analysis of 1,394,389 Pap Test Reports. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2015;139(3):373-377. Xue, Yuhua, Michalopoulos, GK., “Tregs: A Therapeutic Target for the Treatment of Portal Fibrosis?” Digestive Diseases and Sciences Vol. 60, Issue 5. Personal Highlights Dr. Jennifer Picarsic and husband Nicholas welcomed their son, Brennan Joseph Picarsic, 7 lb 1 oz, into the world on January 24, 2015. Congratulations! PAGE 21 CME Credit Update The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Center for Continuing Education for the Health Sciences CME transcripts can be obtained via the Internet at ccehs.upmc.edu. Click on link “Credit Transcripts” enter the required information (last name, last five digits of social security number). The transcript reflects the American Medical Association Category 1 credits or the Continuing Education Units (CEUs) which have been entered into the Center’s database. Credits from other institutions can be entered using the option “add/modify” credit information. For questions about the Continuing Medical Education Credits, please contact 412.647.8232. Annual Report Update The School of Medicine requests that an annual report be submitted every fall. An e-mail will be sent to the faculty within the next month requesting individual information. The data needed includes a research summary paragraph, Study Sections, Advisory Committees, professional affiliations, major lectureships, honors and recognition, editorships and publications for the last three years (2013, 2014, 2015). Collecting information from all members in the Department is time consuming therefore we are asking you to please respond by the due date. Division Chiefs are asked to submit a summary of their division’s activities. If you have any questions, please contact Shannon Hozinec at hozinecs@upmc.edu. Thank you. Educational Credit Unit Update Just a reminder that the Educational Credit Units (ECUs) are being collected from every faculty member who has been involved with teaching activities of the medical or graduate school programs from July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015. We have initiated a web-page (see directions for access to page on Page 22) to collect teaching as it happens. Please be sure to update your teaching data. The School of Medicine will be asking for the information in July. If you have any questions please contact Chris Szalkuski at szalkuskict@upmc.edu. Publication Notification Process Update This is a reminder the Dean has requested a Notification of Publication form for each manuscript accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. The notification ensures compliance with human and animal research policies, technology transfer/patent guidelines and the requirements for citation of grant support. It also allows for newsworthy publications to be passed onto the University media. Please submit preprint information via the website at: https://pnf.hs.pitt.edu . If you have any questions, please contact Chris Szalkuski at szalkuskict@upmc.edu. PAGE 22 FOR ACCESS TO WEB PAGE FOR ECU LOG ON ECU data for the academic year July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015 will be due soon. Please be sure your info is entered via our Department’s web page link. For faculty with a UPMC network ID, please use this link. Accessing this link off of the UPMC network will bring up a login prompt: https://epssecure.upmc.com/ECUAdmin/auth/index.cfm For faculty without a UPMC ID, please use this link: https://epssecure.upmc.com/ECUTrack/index.cfm These links are also available on the Department of Pathology webpage under links at: http://path.upmc.edu/links.htm From the home page select which ECU activity is to be logged, and whether the activity is for medical or graduate students. Then fill in all fields on the form with an option for a free-text note at the end. Confirmation will be given and the activity will be entered into the database for submission at the end of the academic term. NEW Faculty may now view entered time with the View Entered Time button. For questions or feedback, please contact Thomas Harper at ISD (harperth@upmc.edu). Thank you. Please send newsworthy items as they happen to szalkuskict@upmc.edu.