Pediatric Pathology Fellowship

The training program consists of 12 months of supervised experience in diagnostic pediatric pathology, including surgical and autopsy pathology, with sign-out responsibilities. Experience in laboratory medicine, molecular diagnostics, immunohistochemistry, electron microscopy and other special techniques is part of the program. Participation in research projects is emphasized. There are approximately 4,500 pediatric surgical and 140 perinatal/pediatric autopsy cases per year, including fetopsies. An individual fellow’s background or interest can be accommodated by elective rotations.

Plans for a pediatric pathology fellowship program at WashU Medicine were initiated in the early 1990s by Louis P. Dehner, MD, Head of the Division of Anatomic Pathology at that time. The fellowship was designed for a one-year length of training, with a position for one fellow each year. The educational goals, which have been maintained throughout the history of the fellowship, have been to provide subspecialty training for a career in pediatric pathology that enables the trainee to practice in the setting of a children’s hospital, university or large multi-specialty practice.

Our first pediatric pathology fellow entered the program in July 1995. Since then, the program has had 15 fellows, including six residents from our own residency training program and nine residents from residency programs throughout the United States.

Former trainees have found positions in private practice, children’s hospitals and universities, and many have made significant contributions to the study and understanding of pediatric disease.

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.

Training for the fellowship occurs in state-of-the-art facilities at WashU Medicine/Barnes- Jewish Hospital/St. Louis Children’s Hospital. The Pediatric Pathology section is located in the 680,000-square- foot BJC Institute of Health (BJCIH) at WashU Medicine, which is an 11-story research building housing laboratories and support facilities.