The ACGME-approved MGP Fellowship Program at The University of New Mexico/TriCore Reference Laboratories provides comprehensive training in all areas of molecular pathology including molecular oncology, HLA high-resolution typing, hereditary genetic testing, molecular virology/microbiology, and cytogenetics/FISH.
In addition, training in medical genetics and genetic counseling is provided in pediatric dysmorphology clinic and adult cancer genetics at The University of New Mexico Cancer Center. Our fellows are offered prestigious positions in academic and community practices after completion of their fellowship.
The University of New Mexico is located in Albuquerque, NM. This metropolitan area boasts a low cost of living; a mild, sunny climate; beautiful views of the Sandia Mountains and the Rio Grande; and easy access to outdoor activities of all kinds.
- Mohammad Vasef, MD
Director, Molecular Genetic Pathology Fellowship Program
Molecular Genetic Pathology Fellowship Program from UNM Health Sciences on Vimeo.
12 months; July 1st through June 30th
MD plus residency training in pathology or medical genetics in an ACGME accredited program.
The molecular tests are mainly performed at TriCore Reference Laboratories and include over 70, 000 molecular diagnostic tests, over 3,000 molecular oncology, and over 5,500 cytogenetics/FISH assays. A range of technologies is employed that include Next Generation Sequencing RT-PCR, qualitative PCR, allelic discrimination PCR, quantitative real-time PCR, Sanger sequencing, high resolution melting curve analysis, restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis, DNA methylation assays, fluorescent and chromogenic in situ hybridization, and capillary electrophoresis.
Mohammad Vasef, MD
Dr. Vasef received his MD from the University of Tehran, and completed an anatomic and clinical pathology residency at Mount Sinai Medical Center, an affiliate of Case Western Reserve University. After a fellowship in hematopathology at the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, CA, he joined the faculty of the University of Iowa, where he was co-director of the molecular pathology laboratory. At UNM he is currently Professor of Pathology and Director of the Molecular Genetic Pathology Fellowship program. Dr. Vasef has published widely on the application of molecular techniques in diagnostic hematopathology. He is the lead author of the textbook Molecular Oncology in the Diagnostic Pathology Series of Amirsys/Elsevier.
Bonnie Carmichael, MD
Dr. Carmichael works at Pathology Associates of Albuquerque. Her interests include Surgical Pathology; Molecular Pathology; Cytopathology, and Clinical Pathology.
Devon Chabot-Richards, MD
Dr. Chabot-Richards graduated cum laude from UNM, where she also received her MD degree and completed anatomic and clinical pathology residency and fellowships in hematopathology and molecular genetic pathology. She is currently Medical Director of the Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory and Associate Director of the Transplant and Histocompatibility Laboratory at TriCore. Dr. Chabot-Richards, an enthusiastic teacher of residents and fellows, is Associate Director of the Molecular Genetic Pathology Fellowship program. She has received multiple teaching awards, and has served on committees devoted to furthering resident and fellow education for the Association for Molecular Pathology and the American Society for Clinical Pathology.
Karissa Culbreath, PhD, D(ABMM)
Dr. Culbreath is an Associate Professor and Scientific Director, Infectious Disease, Research and Development at TriCore Reference Laboratories. Her interests include Medical microbiology and immunity, infectious diseases(research and diagnostics), and infectious diseases diagnostics capacity development in international and domestic resource-limited settings.
David Czuchlewski, MD, MEd
Dr. Czuchlewski, Director of the Hematopathology Fellowship Program, graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University and received his MD degree from the Ichan School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He completed residency training in anatomic and clinical pathology at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, followed by fellowships in hematopathology and molecular genetic pathology at UNM. He currently directs the Hematopathology Division and serves as Medical Director of the Genetics and Cytometry Laboratories at TriCore.
Dr. Czuchlewski has twice been awarded the UNM School of Medicine Excellence in Teaching Award for residency/fellowship education, and recently received his Master of Education in the Health Professions degree from Johns Hopkins University. He has served on education committees for the College of American Pathologists, the American Society for Clinical Pathology, and the Society for Hematopathology. Dr. Czuchlewski also co-directs the medical student Hematology course at the UNM School of Medicine.
Rama Gullpalli, MD, PhD
Dr. Gullapalli is Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Medical Director of Biomedical Informatics. Dr. Gullapalli is a physician-scientist in the departments of Pathology, Chemical and Biological Engineering at UNM. Dr. Gullapalli's research interests include Hepatobiliary cancer biology, circulating biomarkers in cancer, clinical molecular diagnostics and clinical/translational bioinformatics.
Dr. Gullapalli has over 15 years of experience in clinical and research bioinformatics and serves as the Medical Director of Biomedical Informatics in the department of Pathology here at UNM. Dr. Gullapalli did his medical schooling from the Armed Forces Medical College in India. Dr. Gullapalli completed a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering and a PhD degree in Bioengineering from Penn State University. He then completed his clinical pathology residency and molecular genetic pathology fellowship from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Dr. Gullapalli is interested in translational research and seeks to enable research projects for interested clinical fellows.
Richard C. Harvey, PhD
Dr. Harvey is a Research Professor in the Department of Pathology. His interests include Leukemia and Lymphoma, molecular markers of disease, and gene expression signatures in cancer.
Barbara J. Masten, PhD
Dr. Masten is a Professor, Clinician Educator and Scientific Director of Histocompatibility, TriCore Reference Laboratories. Her current interests include Transplantation Immunology with an emphasis on solid organ and hematopoietic stem cells, Medical Laboratory Sciences education, and Immunology with an emphasis on dendritic cells.
Stephen A. Young, PhD
Dr. Young is currently Director of Research and Clinical Trials, TriCore Reference Laboratories.
Elise Venable, MBBS
Degree: MBBS from University of Queensland, Australia
AP/CP Residency: Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
Ashish Patil, MBBS
Degree: MBBS from Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, India
AP/CP Residency: Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Shreveport, LA
| Year | Fellow | Position after training |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 - 2022 | Philip Barber, MBBS | Wilmington Pathology Associates in North Carolina |
| 2021 - 2022 | Steven "Burke" Van Norman, MD | Utah Pathology Services, Salt Lake City, UH |
| 2020 - 2021 | Brittany Coffman, MD | Visiting Assistant Professor, University of New Mexico, Department of Pathology |
| 2020 - 2021 | Adel Abdallah, MBBS | Surgical Pathology Fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas |
| 2019 - 2020 | Laura Toth, DO | Clinical Instructor, University of New Mexico, Department of Pathology, Albuquerque, NM |
| 2019 - 2020 | Jonathon Gralewski, DO | Director of Flow Cytometry and Associate Director of Molecular Pathology, VA Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN |
| 2018 - 2019 | Joanna Conant, MD | Assistant Professor, University of Vermont Medical Center, Burlington, VT |
| 2018 - 2019 | Andrew Judd, MD | Hematopathology Fellow, The University of New Mexico, Department of Pathology, Albuquerque, NM |
| 2017 - 2018 | Jie Yan, MD | Pathologist, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI |
| 2017 - 2018 | Joshua Routh, MD | Pathologist, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Phoenix, AZ |
| 2016 - 2017 | Cory Broehm, MD | Assistant Professor, The University of New Mexico, Department of Pathology, Albuquerque, NM |
| 2016 - 2017 | Albert Huho, MD | Staff Pathologist, The Medical Foundation, South Bend, IN |
| 2015 - 2016 | Adriana Maria Sanchez, MD | 2016-17 Cytopathology Fellow, The University of New Mexico, Department of Pathology, Albuquerque, NM |
| 2014 - 2015 | Eric Loo, MD | Assistant Professor of Clinical Pathology, University of Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine |
| 2014 - 2015 | Parisa Khalili, MD | Assistant Professor, University of Arkansas |
| 2013 - 2014 | Amer Mahmoud, MD | Clinical Assistant Professor, Pathology Associates of Albuquerque, Albuquerque, NM |
| 2012 - 2013 | Devon Chabot-Richards, MD | Assistant Professor, University of New Mexico, Department of Pathology, Albuquerque, NM |
| 2011 - 2012 | Giovanni Insuasti-Beltran, MD | Assistant Professor, University of Arkansas Department of Hematopathology and Molecular Diagnostics, Little Rock, AR |
| 2011 - 2012 | Stella Wenceslao, MD | Pathologist, PBM Med Fusion Laboratories, Lewisville, TX |
| 2010 - 2011 | Carmen Kletecka, MD | Assistant Professor of Clinical Pathology, Louisiana State University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA |
| 2009 - 2010 | Haleh Farzanmehr, MD | Pathologist, Genex Laboratory Professional Corporation, Irvine, California |
| 2009 - 2010 | Kristin Karner (Hunt), MD | Pathologist, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI |
| 2008 - 2009 | David Czuchlewski, MD | Associate Professor, University of New Mexico, Department of Pathology, Albuquerque, NM |
Mohammad A. Vasef, Aaron Auerbach, Therese Bocklage, Devon Chabot-Richards, Nadine Aguilera, Kristin Karner, Eric Loo. Diagnostic Pathology: Molecular Oncology. 2nd ed., Amirsys/Elsevier, 2019.
Kathryn Foucar, Devon Chabot-Richards, David R. Czuchlewski, Kristin Hunt Karner, Kaaren K. Reichard, Mohammad A. Vasef, Carla S. Wilson, Qian-Yun Zhang, and Karissa Culbreath.Diagnostic Pathology: Blood and Bone Marrow. 2nd ed., Amirsys/Elsevier, 2018.
Foucar K, Reichard K, Czuchlewski D. Bone Marrow Pathology: ASCP Integrative Hematopathology Series 4. ASCP Press, Chicago 2019.
Mohammad A Vasef, Aaron Auerbach MD. FRCPC Dipl. Epid. Diagnostic Pathology: Molecular Oncology. Amirsys, Salt Lake City, 2015
Foucar K, Czuchlewski D, Karner (Hunt) K, Reichard K, Vasef M, Wilson C, Zhang Q-Y. Diagnostic Pathology: Blood and Bone Marrow, 1st ed. Amirsys, Salt Lake City, 2012.
Foucar K, Reichard K,Czuchlewski D. Bone Marrow Pathology: ASCP Integrative Hematopathology Series 3. ASCP Press, Chicago 2010.
Vasef MA, Platz CE. "The Pathology of the Spleen."" In: The Complete Spleen: Structure, Function, and Clinical Disorders, 2nd Edition. Anthony J. Bowdler (ed). Humana Press Inc, Totowa NJ, 2001, pg. 79-105.
CAP application, CV, personal statement, and 3 letters of reference to be received no later than October 1 of each year for positions commencing July 1 two years later. Interviews will be conducted in January. Apply Here.
October 1st
J1
Mohammad Vasef, MD
Molecular Genetic Pathology Fellowship Director
MVasef@salud.unm.edu
or email at HSC-MolecularPath@salud.unm.edu
Jessica Quinn
Administrative Assistant II
505-938-8457
jquinnencinias@salud.unm.edu
1001 Woodward Place NE
Albuquerque, NM 87102