Keck School of Medicine

Department-Specific Programs

Department of Pathology

M.S. Student Adviser: Cheng-Ming Chuong, M.D., Ph.D., (323) 442-1296

Ph.D. Student Adviser: Florence M. Hofman, Ph.D., (323) 442-1153

FAX: (323) 442-3049

Faculty

Michael E. Selsted, M.D., Ph.D., Professor and Chair

Renette and Marshall Ezralow Family Chair in Cancer Therapeutics: Parkash Gill, M.D.

Harold E. Lee Chair in Cancer Research: Michael F. Press, M.D., Ph.D.

Kenneth T. Norris Jr. Chair in Medicine and Hastings Professor of Medicine: Edward D. Crandall, M.D., Ph.D.

Rita and Edward Polusky Chair in Basic Cancer Research: Michael Lieber, Ph.D., M.D.

Rupert and Gertrude Stieger Vision Research Chair: Narsing Rao, M.D.

Gavin S. Herbert Professor of Vision Research: David R. Hinton, M.D.

Professors: V. Askanas (Neurology); T.C. Chen (Neurological Surgery); C.-M. Chuong; T.D. Coates (Pediatrics); E.D. Crandall (Medicine); L. Dubeau; W.K. Engel (Neurology); A.L. Epstein; P.S. Gill (Medicine, Urology); S. Govindarajan; D. Hinton (Neurological Surgery, Ophthalmology); F.M. Hofman (Ophthalmology, Neurological Surgery); R.W. Jelliffe (Medicine); M.N. Koss; P.R. Levitt (Pediatrics, Cell & Neurobiology); M.R. Lieber (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Molecular Microbiology and Immunology); T.M. Mack (Family and Preventive Medicine); C.A. Miller (Neurology); A. Ouellette; P.K. Pattengale (Molecular Microbiology and Immunology); M.F. Press; F.P. Quismorio, Jr. (Medicine); N.A. Rao (Ophthalmology); S. Rasheed; M.E. Selsted; D.K. Shibata; I.A. Shulman; M.R. Stallcup (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology); C.R. Taylor; T.J. Triche (Pediatrics); H. Tsukamoto

Professor (Clinical Scholar): M.R.G. O’Gorman (Pediatrics)

Associate Professors: S. Bellusci (Surgery); A. Erdreich-Epstein (Pediatrics); B.H. Gross (Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medicine); A. Kovacs (Pediatrics); B.W. Kovacs (Obstetrics and Gynecology); J.R. Landolph (Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Molecular Pharmacology and Toxicology); H.A. Liebman (Medicine); S.E. Martin; S.B. Turkel (Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Pediatrics)

Associate Professor (Clinical Scholar): A.R. Judkins

Assistant Professors: S. Asgharzadeh (Pediatrics); E.P. Kartalov; Y.M. Kim (Pediatrics); K. Kobielak; T. Saito; B. Stiles (Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences); D. Tian

Clinical Professors: R.D. Aller; C.A. Bell; H.N. Canawati; J.N. Carberry; J. Cicciarelli (Urology, Surgery); K.A. Frankel; F.H. Gilles (Neurological Surgery, Neurology); D.S. Harrington;  R.E. Horowitz; G. Kanel; L. Khawli; D.V. Kon; O.T. Kuzma (Medicine); D.H. Mills; D.L. Moyer; J. Nelson; P. Nichols; R.Y. Osamura; P.N. Rao; C. Rogers; A.A. Roscher; L. Sathyavagiswaran (Medicine);  S.-R. Shi; S.V. Sostrin; A. Verity

Clinical Associate Professors: C. J. Cobb; M.M. Cosgrove; T.E. Howard; G. Pezeshkpour; M. Pietruszka; A.S.S. Raza; J.S. Wollman

Clinical Assistant Professors: J.D. Augustine; A. Baltayan; E. Carpenter, Jr.; J.A. Chan; W. Chick; O. Chinwah; P.D. Colman; E.C. Dinovo; R. Djabourian; R. Gellibolian; K.E. Grimm; M.D. Haimowitz; J. Iqbal; M. Kennedy; M.T. Kiyabu; B. Kwok; B.J. Le Berthon; M.S. Lewis; K. Matsuda; V. Nelson; S.D. Oh; M. Osby; L.A. Pena; R. Phan; G. Pinsky; S. Prabhu; S.T. Pullarkat; L.A. Scheinin; R.A. Soni; J.P. Tovar;  K.J. Young; S.K. Young

Professors of Clinical: R.K. Brynes; K.-M. Chan; D.L. Commins; J.F. Emerson; D.B. Endres; J.C. Felix (Obstetrics and Gynecology); E.M. Gomperts (Pediatrics); A.L. Hiti; Y. Iwaki (Urology, Surgery); P. Mhawech-Fauceglia; W.Y. Naritoku; D.M. Parham; L.M. Petrovic; A.E. Sherrod; H. Shimada; S. Wu (Pediatrics)

Professors of Research: J. Groffen (Pediatrics); E. Heisterkamp (Pediatrics)

Associate Professors of Clinical: M. Aron; N.J. Barr; D.B. Casebolt; A.N. Fedenko (Orthopaedic Surgery); S. He (Ophthalmology); Y. Ma; L.L. Wang (Surgery); P.M. Ward; G.D. Zeger

Adjunct Associate Professor of Clinical: D. Hawes

Assistant Professors of Clinical: J. Dien Bard; R.C. (She) Bender; J.A.M. Benjamin; M. Burnett (Neurology); A.J. Correa; B.K. DeClerck (Dermatology); W.A. Elatre; X. Fu; H.T. Hardy; K.M. Hurth; G.H. Kim (Dermatology); K.K.Y. Lai; L. Li; F. Medeiros; A.C. Perumbeti; J.L. Poisson; P. Sanchez (Pediatrics); N.M. Shillingford; M.E. Sibug Saber (Ophthalmology); I.N. Siddiqi; J.G. Vallone; L.Wang; Y. Wang; S. Zhou

Associate Professors of Research: K. Asahina; W. Cozen (Preventive Medicine); R.B. Widelitz; L. Wu; J.F. Zhong

Assistant Professors of Research: D.E. Feldman; T. Jiang; R.D. Ladner; R.A. Moats (Radiology); K.A. Nash; P. Tongaonkar; P. Wu; Jun Xu; D. Zhu

Research Assistant Professors: P. Hu; N.W. Marten; Y. Ouyang

Adjunct Research Associate Professor: S.A. Imam

Resident Clinical Instructors: L. Aye; M. Boonyasampant; E. Broxman; T. Chong; K. Duncan; J. Friedman; A. Garcia; T. Hacopian; A. Hagiya; S. Hamidi; T. Jenkins; B. Kay; G. Kim; C. Lee; X. Li; C. Magana; V. Martin; T. Meneses; C. Pang; M. Pessarakli; N. Plaza; O. Press; K. Qidwai; M. Sharifian; J. Smith; S. Walia; D. Yau; E. Yung; H. Zhang

Resident Clinical Instructors – Fellows: K. Grogan; D. Hawes; H. Huynh; M. Iverson; Y. Lu; D. Patel; M. Sy; M. Vergara-Lluri

Emeritus Professors: S.B. Chandor; P.T. Chandrasoma; B.N. Nathwani; J.W. Parker; A. Richters; N.E. Warner; E.T. Wong

Emeritus Associate Professor: A.D. Cramer

Emeritus Clinical Professors: M. Greenblatt; G.G. Hadley; W.H. Kern; E.B. Reilly; D.S. Shillam; R.J. Schroeder

Emeritus Clinical Associate Professor: W.C. Smith

Emeritus Clinical Assistant Professors: R.L. McClure; J.K. Waken

Emeritus Professors of Clinical: J.F.P. Dixon; C.B. Inderlied; T.T. Noguchi (Emergency Medicine, Surgery)

Emeritus Associate Professor of Clinical: W.P. Lewis

Emeritus Assistant Professor of Clinical: R.B. Hopper

Emeritus Professor of Research: T.L. Lincoln

The Department of Pathology provides training for both medical and graduate students. Medical students are trained in general, systemic and cellular pathology, pro-viding them with an understanding and visualization of the basic processes underlying symptoms and clinical courses, as well as the ability to evaluate laboratory findings. This department also contributes to the training of residents and fellows at the LAC+USC Healthcare Network, Keck Hospital of USC and USC Norris Cancer Hospital, and the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare Network, providing these residents and fellows with an intensive residency program in anatomic and clinical pathology and offering subspecialty fellowship training in surgical pathology, cytopathology, hematopathology and neuropathology.

The Department of Pathology has a Master of Science program. The two-year M.S. program provides training in the latest technologies and concepts of biomedical research and provides the graduate with enhanced opportunities for positions in biotechnology companies, teaching colleges and various health department/governmental positions.

With more than 87 full-time faculty and more than 40 residents and fellows in training, the USC Department of Pathology is one of the largest pathology departments in the United States. The department is particularly strong in areas of surgical pathology, cytopathology, hematopathology, immunocytochemistry, immunopathology, neuropathology, and AIDS-related research. The department maintains active research programs in hematopathology, neuropathology and translational cancer research and has begun to expand its base in radioimmunoimaging and immunotherapy. It also has ongoing research projects in the new areas of molecular and genetic pathology. Since October 2003, the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System Pathology Residency Training Program has been incorporated with the LAC+USC Medical Center Pathology Residency Training Program.

The department provides diagnostic laboratory services for the LAC+USC Medical Center, the USC Norris Cancer Hospital, the Doheny Eye Institute, Keck Hospital of USC and the USC Clinical Laboratories Group. Approximately 40 of the department’s full-time faculty members work in service laboratories throughout the LAC+USC Medical Center, where they are supported by 40 residents and fellows and a technical and clerical staff numbering in excess of 500. The USC Norris Cancer Hospital and Research Institute and Keck Hospital of USC houses seven full-time pathologists, two fellows, two residents and approximately 25 clerical and support staff.

Graduate Programs

General Admissions

Applicants to the graduate program in pathology must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with an undergraduate major in one of the natural sciences; a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 for undergraduate work is required. Applicants must submit undergraduate transcripts and letters of recommendation from two undergraduate teachers with their application. All applicants must take the general portion of the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE). A combined score of at least 1100 for the verbal and quantitative scores is required. International students whose native language is not English must submit scores from the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) or the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) examination. Personal interviews by members of the department’s graduate committee may be requested.

Original application materials, except letters of recommendation, should be sent to the Office of Admission, University of Southern California. To expedite consideration of the application, applicants should also send photocopies of the application, transcripts and GRE scores to the Pathology Department’s graduate committee secretary, Lisa Doumak. Letters of recommendation should be addressed directly to the secretary, graduate committee. Applications are considered for admission to both the fall and spring semesters.

Residency and Fellowship Programs

The Department of Pathology offers seven first-year residency positions and 28 residency positions in its fully approved four-year training program in anatomic and clinical pathology at the LAC+USC Medical Center. Training is offered in autopsy and surgical pathology, neuropathology, cytology, microbiology, hematopathology, immunohematology, clinical chemistry, toxicology, immunopathology, radioisotopes, cytogenetics, instrumentation, management, computer techniques, electron microscopy, molecular pathology and other specialty areas. The Department of Pathology also offers the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) fully credited fellowship training in cytopathology (four positions), hematopathology (two positions) and neuropathology (one position). The Surgical Pathology Fellowship Training Program recently received five years full accreditation of their program (seven positions).

Master of Science in Experimental and Molecular Pathology

The Department of Pathology offers a program for the master of science degree with a major in experimental and molecular pathology. The primary objectives of this program are to provide the necessary theoretical and practical training in experimental pathology that culminates with the master of science degree. Goals of the program are to train students in preparation for senior research staff or senior technician positions in academic or industrial institutes, further M.D. or Ph.D. study, consultantships requiring multidisciplinary backgrounds or advanced teaching positions in community colleges.

Admissions The prerequisite for applicants to this program in pathology is a bachelor’s degree with an undergraduate major in one of the natural sciences. A minimum GPA of 3.0 in the natural sciences (including mathematics) is usually required. Applicants must achieve a competitive score on the general portions of the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE). In addition, the department requires at least three letters of recommendation from faculty members who can evaluate the applicant’s potential for graduate work. Demonstrated proficiency in the English language is required. International students whose native language is not English must submit scores from the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) or the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) examination. Special circumstances may provide consideration for conditional admission.

Course Requirements At least 34 units of graduate study are required. The required courses include INTD 522 Infection and Host Responses (4), INTD 531 Cell Biology (4), INTD 550 Introduction to Pathology (4), INTD 551 Pathobiology of Disease (4), INTD 571 Biochemistry (4), PATH 553 Methods in Cellular and Clinical Pathology (3), PATH 554 Methods in Molecular Pathology (2) and PATH 570ab Seminar in Pathology (2). Fourteen or more course units must be taken in the Department of Pathology, 8 units may be pursued outside the department, and a maximum of 8 units of directed research in pathology may be applied to the degree. No more than 4 units of course work taken outside of USC should be applied toward the M.S. degree requirements. Students considering such an action should submit a petition to the pathology graduate committee and document a rigorous academic standard for the course (reading materials, texts and other performance criteria, lecture content, etc.). The pathology graduate committee reviews the petition and informs the student of its decision.

Master’s Examinations/Master’s Thesis

The Master of Science has the option of either an experiment-based thesis or theory-based thesis course of study. Each student’s program will be tailored to suit individual needs and background. Students who require training mainly in the knowledge of pathology may opt for the theory-based thesis course of study. Students also have an opportunity to register for directed research (PATH 590). For the experiment-based thesis option, the student must take PATH 594ab Master’s Thesis. For the theory-based thesis option, the student must take GRSC 810 Studies for Master’s Examination during the semester they plan to graduate if not otherwise enrolled.

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