By William B. Coleman, PhD, ASIP Executive Officer
In late April (April 20–23), 234 individuals gathered at The Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel for Pathobiology 2024 – the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP). Over the course of the four-day meeting, attendees participated in a stimulating scientific program with symposia and poster sessions, educational events, and career development sessions. In addition, there were award lectures and numerous networking opportunities. Pathobiology 2024 was the first stand-alone Annual Meeting of the ASIP and it was a great success!
Pathobiology 2024 was attended by 75 ASIP regular or NextGen members, 44 ASIP trainees, 7 guest society members (from The Histochemical Society, the American Society for Matrix Biology, American Physician Scientists Association, and Società Italiana di Patologia e Medicina Traslazionale/Italian), 78 non-member investigators, 13 non-member trainees, 12 exhibitors, and 5 staff members. Pathobiology 2024 attendees traveled from 9 foreign countries (Armenia, Australia, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom (total of 19 attendees), as well as the United States (215 attendees). Attendees from the United States traveled from 31 states and the District of Columbia.
The scientific program for Pathobiology 2024 included 11 major symposia, 3 guest society symposia, 10 workshops or sessions organized by Scientific Interest Groups, and 6 meritorious award lectures. A total of 89 abstracts were submitted and programmed into 4 minisymposia and 13 poster sessions. In addition, there were 5 sessions focused on education or career development. Special thanks to the members of the Program Committee for their contributions to the organization of the scientific sessions, and thanks to the many Scientific Interest Group leaders who organized and chaired sessions. Additional thanks to members of the Education Committee and Career Development Committee for developing interesting sessions focused on education/career development for our trainees.
The President’s Symposium at Pathobiology 2024 was organized by Dr. Robin Lorenz (ASIP President – 2023–2024) on the topic of Microbiota Regulation of Pathobiology, Immunity, and Disease. This special session was followed by the ASIP Business meeting that featured reports from all of the major Committees and awards presentations. Meritorious Awards were presented to Dr. Stephen J. Galli (Gold-Headed Cane Award), Dr. Asma Nusrat (Rous-Whipple Award), Dr. Qing Zhang (Outstanding Investigator Award), Dr. Jonathon W. Homeister (Robbins Distinguished Educator Award), Dr. Mindy Engevik (Cotran Early Career Investigator Award), Dr. Daisy Shu (Young Scientist Leadership Award), Dr. Cecelia Yates (Marilyn G. Farquhar Early Career Award for Exceptional Achievement in the Advancement of Women in Experimental Pathology), and Dr. Michael Gimbrone (Frieda Robscheit-Robbins Award for Exceptional Achievement in the Advancement of Women in Experimental Pathology). In addition, five young investigators were recognized with Junior Faculty Scholar Awards, and four trainees were recognized with the Experimental Pathologist-in-Training, Experimental Pathologist-in-Graduate Trainee, or associated Merit Awards. The 2024 cohort of Fellows for the Fred Sanfilippo-ASIP Visiting Lectureship Program were announced at Pathobiology 2024. Following the Business Meeting and Awards Presentation, everyone was invited to attend the President’s Reception and Society-wide Networking Event that featured a dinner cruise on the Baltimore Harbor.
Meritorious award lectures delivered during Pathobiology 2024 included: (i) the Gold-Headed Cane Award Lecture on Mast Cells and IgE Can Enhance Survival in Defense Against Venoms and Staphylococcus aureus delivered by Dr. Stephen J. Galli (Stanford University School of Medicine), (ii) the Rous-Whipple Award Lecture on Plasticity of the Mucosal Barrier: Insights into Regulation of Epithelial Homeostasis and Repair delivered by Dr. Asma Nusrat (University of Michigan), (iii) the Outstanding Investigator Award Lecture on Oxygen Sensing Signaling in Cancer: The Past, Present, and Future delivered by Dr. Qing Zhang (University of Texas Southwestern), (iv) the Cotran Early Career Investigator Award Lecture on The Role of Commensal Microbes in Intestinal Health and Infection delivered by Dr. Mindy Engevik (Medical University of South Carolina), and (v) the Young Scientist Leadership Award Lecture on Mitochondrial Dysfunction: The Powerhouse of Retinal Fibrosis delivered by Dr. Daisy Shu (University of New South Wales). In addition to the ASIP Meritorious Awards lectures, Dr. Elaine Jaffe (NIH Distinguished Investigator, Laboratory of Pathology, National Cancer Institute) delivered the FASEB Excellence in Science Award Lecture during Pathobiology 2024 on the topic of The Microscope as a Tool for Disease Discovery.
During Pathobiology 2024, the Women in Pathology organized a special session – Using Questions for Connecting, Collaborating, and Building Confidence that featured Dr. Deb Elbaum as session facilitator. During the session, questions were discussed as a brain-focusing tool and the value of certain types of questions to effective prefrontal cortex thinking. The session was highly interactive and included (i) structured peer coaching to build confidence, and (ii) Question Storming.
Pathobiology 2024 also featured sessions on education and career development. The Committee for Career Development organized a new version of the popular ASIP Trailblazers session featuring 10 speakers representing investigators from junior faculty to senior faculty members describing their career paths and how the ASIP has had a positive impact. The Committee for Career Development also organized a session on the topic of Building a Positive and Productive Research Laboratory Culture. This session provided insights from established investigators and young faculty members on building a successful research enterprise. The Education Committee organized three sessions for Pathobiology 2024. The Pathobiology for Basic Scientists Course featured the topic of Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms Underlying Neuropathology and was co-organized by the ASIP Neuropathology Scientific Interest Group. In addition, the Education Committee organized sessions on Addressing Race-based Medicine in Pathology Research and Education and Practical Applications in Artificial Intelligence. While these sessions were organized with trainees and young investigators in mind, the sessions were attended by a cross-section of the meeting attendees, including senior investigators.
The Pathobiology 2024 meeting was a great success and was well received by all those who attended. Many of the attendees completed the post-meeting survey and provided critical feedback that has informed our planning for Pathobiology 2025 (April 26–29, 2025 in Portland, OR). A number of structural changes are being implemented for the 2025 meeting, including fewer concurrent sessions, shorter sessions, and more of a focus on trainee presentations through abstract-driven talks and poster sessions. These changes will enhance the meeting experience for attendees while maintaining the intimate atmosphere of a smaller scientific meeting. Pathobiology 2025 meeting information will be available soon via the meeting website and through other email communications. We look forward to seeing you in Portland!
