On June 29 and 30, 2019, the 4th Donghu International Forum on Gastrointestinal Pathology and Update on Diagnostic Pathology of Lymphoma was held in Wuhan, China. Dr. Daniel Arber, Chair of the Department of Pathology, Donald West and Mary Elizabeth King Professor, University of Chicago Medicine, was invited to be the keynote speaker for both sessions. The conference was jointly sponsored by Wuhan University School of Medicine and Hubei Pathology Society.
Dr. Xiangting Yu, Vice President of Wuhan University, and Dr. Yufeng Yuan, Vice President of Wuhan University Zhongnan Hospital, attended the opening ceremony. They welcomed Dr. Arber, thanking him on behalf of the medical school and Zhongnan Hospital for his support of medical education and the physician-scientist training provided by University of Chicago Medicine faculty over the years. They expressed their wish to expand the ongoing collaborations in these fields, as well as in pathology diagnosis and research.
Vice President Yu affirmed the achievements of the newly established Wuhan University Center for Pathology and Molecular Diagnostics, made possible by the support of Professor Shu-Yuan Xiao and Dr. Arber. Vice President Yuan, a hepatobiliary surgeon, emphasized the importance of pathology in clinical practice. Professor Xiao summarized the progress made by the Pathology Center in the past year and a half, and he pointed out that we should spare no efforts toward continuous progress.
The Pathology Center of Wuhan University and the Department of Pathology of the University of Chicago will adhere to the principles of long-term collaboration and supporting each other in medical education, diagnostic practice, and research.
A Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of the Collaboration Center for Pathology was signed by Drs. Arber and Yuan. Under this agreement, the Department of Pathology of University of Chicago Medicine and Wuhan University Center for Pathology and Molecular Diagnostics will provide mechanisms to promote the academic sharing of challenging and interesting clinical cases for educational purposes, and to establish expert consultation by means of telepathology and digital pathology. Both sides will also facilitate the academic exchange of students in advanced studies and early-career faculty in the field of pathology, among other areas.
Dr. Xiang-ting Yu, Vice President of Wuhan University Medical School, Dr. Shu-Yuan Xiao, Director of Wuhan University Center for Pathology and Molecular Diagnostics, Dr. Chris Weber, Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology, University of Chicago Medicine, and several conference speakers were present at the signing ceremony.
To show appreciation for Dr. Arber’s strong support of academic exchange and to celebrate his outstanding scholarly achievements, the School of Medicine awarded Dr. Arber an Honorary Professorship. Dr. Yu presented the certificate. In his acceptance remarks, Dr. Arber thanked Dr. Yu for the honor and for inviting him to visit Wuhan, and he affirmed his continuing support for further collaborations.
Dr. Arber delivered two lectures, “Update on lymphomas of the gastrointestinal tract,” and “Tumors and tumor-like proliferations of the spleen,” which were well received by the conference participants.
Afterwards, Dr. Arber toured the Center of Pathology and Molecular Diagnostics, and gave advice on implementation of a telepathology expert consultation system.
The Wuhan University Center for Pathology and Molecular Diagnostics are responsible for providing clinical diagnostic service in Zhongnan Hospital (over 3000 beds), and well as teaching in the medical school. The center has a nationally credited training base for resident physicians. There are 49 faculty and staff in the Center, including 24 physician faculty. The number of cases is over 40,000 cases annually which has been increasing recently. In addition to routine histopathology, the center performs tests in immunohistochemistry, cytology, FISH, PCR, and NGS for mutational analysis. In addition, the center possesses a high capacity whole slide imaging system for virtual slice database, and telepathology. The center was established and is directed by Professor Shu-Yuan Xiao, a well-known gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary pathology specialist, who also serves as President of Hubei Medical Association Pathology Society.