Overview and Mission

Founded in 1875, St. Christopher's Hospital for Children is a major provider of pediatric tertiary care to children from Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley, the fourth largest urban community in the U.S. The program is designed to provide the pathologist-in-training with the skills required to practice pediatric pathology in an academic or private setting.

Clinical Training

The program is centered at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, a private, tertiary care pediatric hospital that is the pediatric teaching hospital for the Drexel University College of Medicine.

The strengths of the program include electron microscopy, nephropathology, transplantation pathology (kidney, liver), neuropathology, tumor pathology, congenital heart disease, cytogenetics, molecular diagnostics, virology, bacteriology, chemistry, hematology, and transfusion medicine. Staff members belong to the faculty of Drexel University College of Medicine. Residents from Drexel University College of Medicine and Temple University rotate through St Christopher's and are under the supervision of the chosen applicant who will be assuming the role of chief resident.

Research Training

The fellow is encouraged to write up or participate in the writing of at least one research paper based on cases encountered during training. The anatomic pathology department has 1,861 square feet of diagnostic laboratory space and is located on the ground floor of the hospital in a modern building constructed in 1990. The fellow's office is adjacent to a 288-square-foot library/conference room. The conference room houses an eight-headed Olympus teaching microscope, a video camera/high-definition monitor/microscope set-up for conference projection of microscopic slides to large groups, and a slide projector and built-in screen.

All equipment is available to the fellow for both service work and research. The department employs three full-time, well-trained histotechnologists that can perform special stains, immunohistochemistry, and technical aspects of electron microscopy. The department covers funding of small projects. Grants from the foundation may be required to fund bigger projects.

Education

The major focus of the training program is pediatric anatomic pathology. The fellow is responsible for the prosection and completion of every autopsy that occurs during the year, with the exception of those that occur during vacations or weekends off service. Under the direct supervision of the attending pathologist, the fellow is responsible for all aspects of the pediatric autopsy, including chart review, prosection, and dissection of organs, and completing the clinical, gross, microscopic, and neuropathologic summaries and the final clinic pathologic correlation. As the fellow gains experience and skill during the year, he or she is given more autonomy in performing autopsies and communicating the results to clinicians.

The fellow also has surgical pathology responsibilities during most of the year, with the exception of the months spent in clinical pathology and in perinatal pathology. When on the surgical pathology service, the fellow is responsible for following each case from point of accession to final sign out. The fellow is expected to reach a conclusion and a diagnosis and to answer all pertinent questions that may arise from a pathological lesion found. When necessary, the fellow is expected to research difficult cases through reading and computer database searching.

The fellow is responsible for gross dissection, gross description, and initial review of microscopic sections prior to sign-out with the attending pathologist. It is the fellow's responsibility to provide a clear written diagnosis, with a microscopic description when indicated. In addition, the fellow is responsible for keeping track of all pending cases and ancillary studies, and for reviewing drafts and coding. At all times, an attending pathologist will be available to answer questions and assist with difficult cases. When cases require ancillary studies such as frozen section, immunocytochemistry, electron microscopy, cytogenetics, touch imprints, or special handling, the fellow is expected to be able to assess the situation, make preliminary decisions, follow up on cases, and interpret the results.

Faculty

Adrian Marinovich, MD
Director, Autopsy Services

Christos Katsetos, MD
Professor, Drexel University College of Medicine
Neuropathology and Research

Manjula Balasubramanian, MD
Adjunct Professor and Director, Hematology Laboratory

Cathy Litty, MD 
Assistant Professor, Drexel University College of Medicine
Director, Blood Bank/Transfusion Medicine

Alan Evangelista, PhD
Associate Clinical Professor, Drexel University College of Medicine
Director, Microbiology, Virology and Molecular Diagnostics

Jean-Pierre de Chadarevian, MD
Professor Emeritus
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Jennifer Morrissette, PhD
Assistant Professor and Consultant, Cytogenetics

Hope Punnett, PhD
Professor Emeritus and Consultant, Cytogenetics

Recent Graduates and Employment

Brankica Paunovich, MD
Fellow, Forensic Pathology, San Diego California 

Adrian Marinovich, MD, MPh
Pediatric Pathologist, St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children

Gregory Vincent, MD
Pediatric Forensic Pathologist, Connecticut

Miguel Guzman, MD 
Pediatric Pathologist, Cardinal Glennon Hospital, St. Louis, Missouri

Karmaine Millington, MD
Pediatric Pathologist, Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, Pennsylvania

Shondell Bouie, MD
Pathologist, Health South, Sea Pines Hospital, Melbourne, Florida

Odette Hall, MD
Pediatric Medical Examiner, New York

Sylvia Verde de Peralta, MD 
Hematopathologist, Akron, Ohio

How to Apply

Requirements

  • MD degree
  • Eligibility for Pennsylvania State licensure
  • Passed USMLE I, II and III
  • At least two years of American Board-approved training in Anatomic Pathology

An interview is required. Fellowship training starts on July 1.

Application Contact

Karen Rutledge
Program Coordinator
St Christopher's Hospital for Children
160 East Erie Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19134

Phone: 215-427-8783
E-mail: Karen.Rutledge@towerhealth.org
Fax: 215-427-4284