A message from the new chair Michael Feldman, MD, PhD
Thank you for your interest in the IU School of Medicine Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine!
The next decades promise to be an exciting time for reimagining the field of pathology and laboratory medicine, and I want to build an innovative Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine that is ready and poised for the challenges of the future and nimble enough to take advantage of the opportunities for new growth in new directions.
Indiana University is committed to being a leader in this development. The university is home to world-class business and public affairs schools, the world’s first school of philanthropy, and the country’s first school of informatics. IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the United States, ranking 31st among all US medical schools and 14th among public medical schools in NIH funding.
With its 16 hospitals, IU Health is the largest and most comprehensive health care system in Indiana. The creation of IU Health's new downtown hospital and expanded medical campus is currently one of the largest construction projects in all of North America. Part of the IU 2030 Strategic Plan is to support transformative research and creativity, with key targets to expand research partnerships with Hoosier communities and firmly establish IU School of Medicine within the top 10 public university medical schools securing NIH funding.
These are remarkable goals and I am exhilarated to be able to contribute to these efforts, but one of the main reasons why I became chair of this department is because of its people: We have an amazing team of faculty and staff working for an institution that is guided by the principles of science, dignity, and compassion. Our department is a cornerstone for IU Health and we serve the tripartite mission of patient care, education, and research. When these three pillars work together in harmony, we can create extraordinary accomplishments.
Accordingly, the department is embarking on a mission to strengthen all three pillars in a systemic way.
We are growing our research program by recruiting scientists in areas that synergize with our clinical efforts including immunology, oncology, spatial biology, neurodegeneration, and computational pathology. We will also focus on a "bench to bedside" approach since our department is in a unique position to help translate basic science findings into clinically actionable diagnostic tests.
In the clinical realm, we will bring together clinicians, radiologists, and pathologists to provide the most accurate diagnostics and treatment options and to continuously develop cutting-edge diagnostic technology (digital imaging, molecular diagnostics, rapid NGS and cfDNA, to name but a few) to support the best possible patient care. We will focus on computational pathology and digital pathology in surgical pathology, hematology, and cytopathology, as well as genomic diagnostics and assay development in microbiology, immunology, toxicology, transplantation (HLA), and tumor biology.
All of this will not be possible without investing in the very future of the field and the basic foundation of our practice: education and training for the future leaders and the next generation of pathologists, researchers, laboratorians, administrators, and medical scientists. In training our future colleagues, we can also leverage opportunities to become a diverse, equitable, and inclusionary workplace. I strongly believe that an environment characterized by inclusion, equity, and diversity is crucial for an academic department to thrive; the more each individual is able to be part of such an environment, the more the department as a whole will benefit.
I am committed to integrating our large academic health system with community practices, growing our basic science mission by translating and integrating research into our clinical mission, rethinking pathology education across all physician specialties, aligning diagnostics between pathology and radiology and medical staff, and building on the strengths afforded by diversity, equity, and inclusion.
If you want to learn more, I invite you to watch a video below that outlines my vision for the department and my six-point strategic plan. I also encourage you to reach out directly to me if you want to be a part of this exciting opportunity to shape the future of our department.
