Department of Pathology

About Our Pathology Research

The research laboratories of the Department encompass a wide variety of areas and emphasize a modern, multi-disciplinary approach to pathophysiology and mechanisms of disease. Selected examples of current activities in the areas of emphasis in the basic research groups of the Department of Pathology at Brigham and Women's Hospital are:

Research Areas

Cardiac Pathology

Research topics include: Cardiovascular dysfunction and cardiac device malfunction

Faculty

Richard Mitchell, MD, PhD
Vice Chair, Education, BWH
Professor of Pathology, HMS
Research Interests: transplantation pathology, cardiac and vascular pathology, immune-vessels

Robert F. Padera, Jr, MD, PhD
Associate Pathologist, BWH
Associate Professor of Pathology, HMS

Frederick Schoen, MD, PhD
Executive Vice Chair, Pathology, BWH
Professor of Pathology, HMS
Research Interests: Host-biomaterial interactions, clinicopathologic correlations in heart valve.

Diseases of the Female Reproductive System

Research topics include: cervical and vulvular diseases, ovarian cancer and fallopian tubes, uterine leiomyoma, Endometrial Disease Research, and genetics of endometrial cancer

Faculty

Chris Crum, MD
Senior Pathologist, BWH
Professor of Pathology, HMS
Research Interests: Cell of origin and its relevance to prevention or early detection in gynecologic.

Michelle S. Hirsh MD, PhD
Chief, GU Pathology, BWH
Associate Professor of Pathology, HMS

George Mutter, MD
Senior Pathologist, BWH
Professor of Pathology, HMS
Research Interests: carcinogenesis, endometrial cancer, gynecologic cancer, biomarkers

Marisa R. Nucci, MD
Vice Chair, Women’s and Perinatal Pathology, BWH
Professor of Pathology, HMS

Bradley J. Quade, MD, PhD
Associate Pathologist, BWH
Associate Professor of Pathology, HMS
Research Interests: Mesenchymal neoplasia of the female genital tract

Genetic Basis of Inherited Disorders

Research topics include: genetic hearing loss, and structural genomic variation, chromosomal abnormalities in cancer

Faculty

Paola S. Dal Cin, PhDAssociate Cytogeneticist, BWH
Professor of Pathology, HMS

Anne Giersch, PhD
Associate Cytogeneticist, BWH
Assistant Professor of Pathology, HMS
Research Interests: The genetics of hearing, deafness, and age related hearing loss

Azra H. Ligon, PhD
Director, Clinical Cytogenetics, BWH
Associate Professor of Pathology, HMS

Cynthia Morton, PhD
Director, Cytogenetics Research, BWH
Professor of Genetics and Pathology, BWH
Research Interests: Hereditary Deafness, Uterine Leiomyomata, Developmental Disorders

Heidi L. Rehm, PhD
Associate Molecular Geneticist, BWH
Professor of Pathology, HMS
Research Interests: genomic medicine; molecular diagnostic test development; hearing loss

Immunology

Research topics include: Cellular interactions in immune responses, immunology of vascular endothelium, cytokines, lymphocyte activation and tolerance, targeted disruption of lymphocyte molecules, autoimmunity, and antigen presentation.

Faculty

Lynn Bry, MD, PhD
Associate Professor, BWH
Associate Professor of Pathology, HMS
Research Interests: Metagenomics, Microbiome, Pathology Informatics, Clinical Microbiology

Bruce Horwitz, MD, PhD
Associate Professor, HMS
Research Interests: Regulation of Mucosal Immunity

Andrew H. Lichtman, MD, PhD
Senior Pathologist, BWH
Professor of Pathology, HMS
Research Interests: Immunology, Vascular Biology, Cardiovascular Disease

Scott B. Lovitch, MD, PhD
Associate Pathologist, BWH
Assistant Professor of Pathology, HMS
Research Interests: Immunology, immunometabolism, costimulation, immunoregulation

Tanya Mayadas-Norton, PhD
Scientist, BWH
Professor of Pathology, HMS
Research Interests: Innate immune mechanisms of tissue injury; leukocyte recruitment

Richard N. Mitchell, MD, PhD
Vice Chair, Education, BWH
Professor of Pathology, HMS
Research Interests: transplantation pathology, cardiac and vascular pathology, immune-vessels

Leslie Silberstein, MD
Vice Chair, Transfusion Medicine
Professor of Pathology, HMS
Research Interests: Cell Manipulation, Transfusion Medicine, Haematopoietic stem cells

Arlene H. Sharpe, MD, PhD
Senior Scientist, BWH
Co-Director of HITI, HMS

Infections Disease

Research Interests: Role and function of innate-like T Cells (CD1d-restricted....more

Faculty

Manfred Brigl, MD, PhD
Associate Pathologist, BWH
Assistant Professor of Pathology, HMS
Research Interests: Role and function of innate-like T Cells (CD1d-restricted.

Georg K. Gerber, MD, PhD
Associate Pathologist, BWH
Assistant Professor of Pathology, HMS
Research Interests: computational and systems biology, synthetic biology, microbiome

Andrew B. Onderdonk, PhD
Director, Microbiology, BWH
Professor of Pathology, HMS
Research Interests: Role of the human microbiome in health and disease.

Molecular Oncology

Research topics include: Molecular studies of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes, analysis of chromosomal aberrations in cancer and benign disorders, control of DNA synthesis and the cell cycle, mechanisms of gene transcription, immunogenetics, receptor mediated control of cell differentiation, signal transduction, and molecular methods of disease diagnosis

Faculty

Jon C. Aster, MD, PhD
Chief, Hematopathology, BWH
Professor of Pathology, HMS
Research Interests: oncogenic role of Notch signaling in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) and other cancers

Jane E. Brock, MBBS, PhD
Associate Pathologist, BWH
Assistant Professor of Pathology, HMS

Li Chai, MD
Associate Pathologist, BWH
Associate Professor of Pathology, HMS
Research Interests: Cancer, stem cells, genetics and epigenetic, translation

Deborah A. Dillon MD
Associate Pathologist, BWH
Assistant Professor of Pathology, HMS

David M. Dorfman, MD, PhD
Director, Hematology, BWH
Professor of Pathology, HMS

Jonathan A. Fletcher, MD
Cytogeneticist, BWH
Associate Professor, HMS
Research Interests: Tumor biology of sarcoma, mesothelioma and pediatric solid cancers

Christopher French, MD
Associate Pathologist, BWH
Associate Professor, HMS
Research Interests: Oncogenic mechanisms; NUT midline carcinoma; cytopathology

Keith Ligon, MD, PhD
Associate Pathologist, BWH
Associate Professor of Pathology, HMS
Research Interests: Cancer, brain tumors, stem cell, clinical trials

Massimo F. Loda, MD
Senior Pathologist, BWH
Professor of Pathology, HMS
Research Interests: The role of lipid metabolism in prostate cancer and on metabolic profiling.

Matthew Meryerson, PhD
Professor of Pathology, HMS
Research Interests: Cancer genomics, cancer biology and targeted therapies

Shiji Ogino, MD, PhD
Pathologist, BWH
Professor of Pathology, HMS
Research Interests: molecular pathological epidemiology

Lynette M. Sholl, MD
Associate Pathologist, BWH
Associate Professor of Pathology, HMS

Sabina Signoretti, MD
Research Scientist, BWH
Associate Professor of Pathology, HMS
Research Interests: Genitourinary malignancies. Genitourinary tract development.

Sheng Xiao, MD
Associate Pathologist, BWH
Assistant Professor of Pathology, HMS

Giorgia Zadra, PhD
Instructor of Pathology, HMS
Research Interests: prostate cancer metabolism

Molecular Pathology

Faculty

Martha L. Bulyk, PhD
Professor of Medicine and Pathology, HMS
Research Interests: transcription factors, TF-DNA interactions, transcriptional enhancers

Pulmonary Pathobiology

Research topics include: Mechanisms of inhalant-induced lung injury, the biology of alveolar macrophages, pathogenesis of mesothelioma and the molecular basis of lung development, including neuroendocrine differentiation.

Faculty

Lucian R. Chirieac, MD
Associate Pathologist, BWH
Associate Professor of Pathology, HMS

Scott J. Rodig, MD, PhD
Associate Pathologist, BWH
Associate Professor of Pathology, HMS

Neuropathology

Research topics include: Oncogenesis of glial tumors, developmental neurobiology, and neurodegenerative diseases.

Faculty

Mel B. Feany, MD, PhD
Neuropathologist, BWH
Professor of Pathology, HMS
Research Interests: Modeled human neurological diseases, including Alzheimer’s Disease

Ginam Cho, PhD
Scientist, BWH
Instructor of Pathology, HMS
Research Interests: forebrain development, ER-mitochondria contact

Keith Ligon, MD, PhD
Associate Pathologist, BWH
Associate Professor of Pathology, HMS
Research Interests: Cancer, brain tumors, stem cell, clinical trials

Sandro Santagata, MD, PhD
Associate Pathologist, BWH
Assistant Professor of Pathology, HMS

Skin Disease

Research topics include skin epigenetics and stem cell biology as they relate to graft-versus-host disease, psoriasis, wound healing, chronologic aging, and skin cancer; the immunobiology of face transplant rejection; the cell biology of melanoma precursor pathways; and mechanisms of protein degradation via the ubiquitin-proteasome system.

Faculty

George F. Murphy, MD
Chair, Dermatopathology, BWH
Professor of Pathology, HMS
Research Interests: cytotoxicity, stem cells, biomarkers

John W. Hanna, MD, PhD
Associate Pathologist, BWH
Assistant Professor of Pathology, HMS
Research Interests: protein degradation, ubiquitin-proteasome system.

Christine Guo Lian, MD
Associate Pathologist, BWH
Assistant Professor of Pathology, HMS
Research Interests: Epigenetic regulations of melanoma and skin diseases

Surgical Pathology

Research topics include: Gastrointestinal stromal tumor, inflammatory bowel disease, sarcoma, liposarcomas, and preneoplastic gastrointestinal conditions

Faculty

Tony Agoston, MD, PhD
Associate Pathologist, BWH
Assistant Professor of Pathology, HMS

Justine A. Barletta, MD
Chief, Endocrinology, BWH
Associate Professor of Pathology, HMS

Jonathan A. Fletcher, MD
Cytogeneticist, BWH
Associate Pathologist, HMS
Research Interests: Tumor biology of sarcoma, mesothelioma and pediatric solid cancers.

Jason L. Hornick, MD, PhD
Director, Surgical Pathology, BWH
Professor of Pathology, HMS

Elizabeth A. Morgan, MD
Associate Pathologist, BWH
Assistant Professor of Pathology, HMS

Astrid Weins, MD, PhD
Associate Pathologist, BWH
Assistant Professor of Pathology, HMS

Vascular Biology

Research topics include: Leukocyte-endothelial interactions, molecular basis of endothelial gene expression and role of hemodynamic factors, targeted disruption of endothelial adhesion molecules, molecular mechanism of atherosclerosis.

Faculty

Tanya Mayadas-Norton, PhD
Scientist, BWH
Professor of Pathology, HMS
Research Interests: Innate immune mechanisms of tissue injury; leukocyte recruitment

Michael A. Gimbrone, Jr, MD
Director, Center of Excellence in Vascular Biology, BWH
Professor of Pathology, HMS
Research Interests: Vascular (patho)biology; endothelium; atherogenesis.

Guillermo Garcia-Cardena, PhD
Scientist, BWH
Associate Professor of Pathology, HMS
Research Interests: Molecular, bioengineering, and bioinformatics approaches to understand

Francis William Luscinskas, PhD
Associate Director, Vascular Biology, BWH
Professor of Pathology, HMS
Research Interests: Vascular Cell Biology; Immunology; Leukocyte recruitment.

David S. Milstone, MD, PhD
Scientist, BWH
Assistant Professor of Pathology, HMS
Research Interests: developmental vascular biology