Michael B. Prystowsky, MD, PhD, to Receive 2026 ASIP Robbins Distinguished Educator Award
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The 2026 recipient of the ASIP Robbins Distinguished Educator Award is Dr. Michael B. Prystowsky, Professor and Chair in the Department of Pathology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine / Montefiore Medical Center (Bronx, NY).
The ASIP Robbins Distinguished Educator Award recognizes a senior ASIP member with demonstrated exceptional achievement and contributions to education in pathology with impact at a regional, national, or international level, during their career. The award is named in honor of Dr. Stanley L. Robbins, who was recognized for his significant contributions to pathology education over the course of his career.
Dr. Prystowsky attended Pennsylvania State University (University Park, PA), earning a BS in microbiology (Cum Laude) in 1974. He then earned a PhD in biomedical sciences from City University of New York at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine (New York, NY) in 1978 and an MD from the University of Chicago (Chicago, IL) in 1981. Dr. Prystowsky completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Rockefeller University (New York, NY) and then a residency in Pathology at the University of Chicago. As a Resident in 1983, Dr. Prystowsky developed and directed the first Clinical Flow Cytometry Laboratory at the University of Chicago. He took a faculty appointment in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in 1984. Then in 1993, he relocated to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine where he is the Leopold G. Koss, MD, Professor and Chair of Pathology.
Dr. Prystowsky has held leadership roles in a number of scientific societies including the following: American Cancer Society (Chair of Program Review Committees and Council for Extramural Grants), the Association of Pathology Chairs (now the Association for Academic Pathology, AAP) (Chair of Undergraduate Medical Education Committee), the College of American Pathologists (Board of Governors and Chair of Council on Education), and the ASIP (Program Committee and Development Committee).
In her letter of support, Dr. Tiffany Michele Hébert (Professor of Pathology and Residency Program Director at the Montefiore Health System/Albert Einstein College of Medicine), described Dr. Prystowsky’s career: “A hallmark of [his] career has been his development of innovative educational platforms and curricula. He has championed the integration of cutting-edge technologies and interdisciplinary approaches to pathology training, ensuring that his students are not only equipped with robust foundational knowledge but also prepared to tackle the evolving challenges of modern medicine.” In addition, “Dr. Prystowsky stands out for highly valuing the importance of residency training in the department. He has been an incredible support and integral part of [the Albert Einstein College of Medicine] curricular innovations in the residency program here: our novel 4-year curriculum, pathology residency onboarding program, and team-based autopsy training, which have all been published in Academic Pathology.”
Dr. Prystowsky has a strong track record in research with over 190 publications in peer reviewed journals in multiple areas of pathology, grant support, and leadership in cancer. Moreover, he has a strong track record as an educator, involved in the Association for Academic Pathology and CAP Council on Education. In his letter of recommendation, Dr. Richard Conran (Professor in the Department of Biomedical & Translational Sciences at Eastern Virginia Medical School, Old Dominion University) discusses their shared work in the development of AAP’s undergraduate medical education competencies: “Dr. Prystowsky [understands] the value of insuring students [are] exposed to laboratory medicine. He solely authored the Part 3 competencies dealing with the various clinical pathology parameters.” Dr. Conran adds, “[Dr. Prystowsky] also demonstrated the value of insuring students knew pathologists were experts in laboratory medicine and were available as consultants and colleagues.”
In his letter of recommendation, Dr. Donald Karcher (Professor and Immediate Past Chair of Pathology in the Department of Pathology at The George Washington University) spoke of his time as the President of the Association of Pathology Chairs (APC), when Dr. Prystowsky was concurrently Chair of the APC Undergraduate Medical Education (UME). He says, “I was able to directly observe the quality and extent of [Dr. Prystowsky’s] work as leader of this group. One of the major projects he initiated with the committee dealt with the developments of pathology for medical students.” He goes on to emphasize, “This work represented the basis of and provided the organizing principles for a series of educational case studies, published over several years in Academic Pathology…these case studies have been recognized nationally as a major resource for all medical students.” As Chair of the Education Committee for APC, his work extended beyond the academic community, “positively influencing the education and continuing education of literally thousands of pathology residents and practicing pathologists in essentially all practice settings” Dr. Karcher underscores.
Dr. Prystowsky will receive the 2026 ASIP Robbins Distinguished Educator Award during Pathobiology 2026.