More about the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

The goal of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (DPALM) is to combine the traditional values of academic pathology (excellence in service, teaching and research) with innovative approaches to the new challenges of medicine and science in order to become one of the elite departments that define a model of excellence in the changing world of medicine.

DPALM is part of the Medical School of the University of Texas-Houston Health Sciences Center. It is located within the Texas Medical Center which is the largest medical center in the world consisting of 39 not-for-profit medical institutions. With two medical schools, the largest private medical library in the world and 6 hospitals (including Hermann) listed among the nations best , the Texas Medical Center provides an unrivaled opportunities for collaborative teaching and research.

DPALM consists of 38 full time faculty as well as part time, joint and volunteer faculty in addition to support staff, 26 residents and 15 graduate students in fully accredited programs. The department is responsible for the clinical and anatomic pathology services at The Hermann and LBJ Hospitals that provides outreach services throughout south Texas. Pathology services annually include approximately 33,000 surgical and 90,000 cytology specimens, 200 autopsies and 7 million clinical tests.

The department's outstanding, fully accredited residency program offers 26 positions for combined anatomic/clinical pathology training at PG levels 1 through 5. Residents in anatomic and clinical pathology work in the Memorial Hermann Hospital, Hermann Children's and LBJ hospitals as well as on rotations with the Harris County Medical Examiner, St. Lukes Episcopal Hospital, and the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. DPALM sponsors a program in molecular pathology jointly with pathologists at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Training in medical informatics is coordinated through the Department of Health Informatics whose chair, Dr. Smith, is a pathologist. The Department also sponsors an extensive web based continuing education program, MEdIC. Hermann Hospital is part of the Memorial-Hermann Healthcare System which is a not-for-profit system consisting of 10 hospitals in metropolitan Houston.

Clinical and basic research are major aspects of DPALM's programs. Almost all faculty are engaged in research with the aim of discovering new knowledge and/or developing ways to apply new knowledge to improve diagnosis and management of disease. The research programs within the University, including DPALM, have grown dramatically in recent years as evidenced by funding levels and awards including the 1998 Nobel Prize in Medicine. DPALM offers MS and Ph.D training through the Graduate School of Biological Sciences (GSBS). This school comprises both the University of Texas-Houston and the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.