The liver and gastrointestinal pathology fellowship focuses on training individuals for academic practice. This is a heavily clinically oriented program with three months of electives, including two weeks of clinical rotations and research time. The fellowship is designed to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by the presence of strong clinical programs in hepatology, GI, liver surgery and transplant, colorectal and hepatobiliary/pancreatic surgery sections at Washington University.
The liver/GI fellowship program was started at Washington University School of Medicine in July 2010 by Elizabeth Brunt, MD. Dr. Brunt was the program director until she retired in 2015. Xiuli Liu, MD, PhD is the current program director.
Fellows will also be allowed to participate in the monthly to weekly interdisciplinary conferences shared amongst our departments. Fellows may attend additional GI research conferences to further expand their knowledge base in their field. By the end of this year, the fellow should be comfortable with conducting evaluations, making clinical correlations and formulating future research questions pertaining to a wide variety of specimens related to liver and gastrointestinal diseases.
The clinical material for the program includes all liver/pancreas/luminal GI biopsy material at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, as well as all cases from Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital and consult cases. The material from St. Louis Children’s Hospital is separate, but the liver/GI fellow has an opportunity to avail themselves of pertinent material. There are over 7,500 specimens and 1,000 FS specimens for the adult and pediatric liver/GI services.
The liver/GI fellow will gain experience by managing oversight and specimen handling for the GI/pancreatobiliary/liver specimens. The liver/GI fellow will participate in the in-house liver/GI sign-outs, in liver transplant coverage (one or two weekends during the second half of the year with available backup) and in the weekly and monthly clinicopathologic conferences involving hepatology, GI, hepatobiliary surgery, colorectal surgery and hepatic imaging. Consensus conferences for challenging liver/GI cases are held every day, although faculty members are available at any time for questions/consults.
Fellows also present at a monthly GI journal club. Participation in one or more research projects during the year is also strongly encouraged.
Training for the fellowship occurs in state-of-the-art facilities at Washington University School of Medicine/Barnes-Jewish Hospital/St. Louis Children’s Hospital. The liver/GI section is located in the 680,000-square-foot BJC Institute of Health (BJCIH) at Washington University School of Medicine, which is an 11-story research building housing laboratories and support facilities and is Washington University’s largest building.
Applicants must have a MD or DO degree (or foreign equivalent with ECFMG certification) and 3 to 4 years of training in anatomic or anatomic and clinical pathology in an ACGME accredited program. Fellows must be board-certified or board-eligible in anatomic or anatomic and clinical pathology. Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States.
Applicants must complete the online application and provide their CV, personal statement, photograph, USMLE scores (step 3 optional), and ECFMG certificate if applicable. The application portal will collect contact information for three individuals who will be asked to write letters of recommendation.
Applications for the 2026-2027 position are open. Please apply at fellowships.path.wustl.edu.
Application Timeline:
- Online Applications available: April 3, 2025
- Application review window: May 1st – August 2025
- Interview window: June 23th – August 2025
- Interviews and offers will take place on a rolling basis until the positions are filled.
Letters of Recommendation will be solicited via our application portal, but can also be directed to:
Kathleen Byrnes, MD
Program Director, Liver/GI Pathology Fellowship
Washington University School of Medicine
660 South Euclid Avenue, Campus Box 8118
St. Louis, MO 63110
kbyrnes@wustl.edu
For general questions, contact Kim Green at greenkd@wustl.edu.
Faculty
Samuel J. Ballentine, MD
Assistant Professor, Pathology & Immunology
Residency Program Director
- Email: samuel.ballentine@wustl.edu
Division: Anatomic & Molecular Pathology
Adam L. Booth, MD
Assistant Professor, Pathology and Immunology
- Email: badam@wustl.edu
Division: Anatomic and Molecular Pathology
Kathleen Byrnes, MD
Associate Professor, Pathology & Immunology
Director, MS3-4 AP Clinical Clerkship
Director, Liver/GI Fellowship
Associate Director, AMP Core Lab
- Email: kbyrnes@wustl.edu
Division: Anatomic & Molecular Pathology
Louis P. Dehner, MD
Professor, Pathology & Immunology
- Phone: 314-362-0150
- Email: dehner@wustl.edu
Division: Anatomic & Molecular Pathology
Liang-I Kang, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Anatomic and Molecular Pathology
- Email: kangl@wustl.edu
Division: Anatomic & Molecular Pathology
Ta-Chiang Liu, MD, PhD, AGAF
Associate Professor, Pathology & Immunology
Associate Chief, Division of Anatomic and Molecular Pathology
Co-Director, Advanced Imaging & Tissue Analysis Core
Director, Pilot and Feasibility Program
Digestive Disease Research Cores Center
- Phone: 314-747-0343
- Email: ta-chiang.liu@wustl.edu
Division: Anatomic & Molecular Pathology
Xiuli Liu, MD, PhD
Professor, Pathology & Immunology
Section Head, Liver/GI
Director, Liver/GI Fellowship
- Phone:
- Email: l.xiuli@wustl.edu
Division: Anatomic & Molecular Pathology
Changqing (Cathy) Ma, MD, PhD
Associate Professor, Pathology & Immunology
- Phone: 314-273-4843
- Email: cathy.ma@wustl.edu
Division: Anatomic & Molecular Pathology
Trainees
Contact information
Kim Green
Manager, Educational Programs
Phone: 314-747-8159
greenkd@wustl.edu