Newswise — October 3, 2024 — The 2025 recipient of the American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP) Robbins Distinguished Educator Award is Dr. Dani S. Zander, MacKenzie Professor and Chair in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine (Cincinnati, OH).
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. Zander attended New York University (New York, NY) earning a BA in chemistry in 1982. She then earned an MD from the University of Florida (Gainesville, FL) in 1986. Dr. Zander completed an internship at New York Hospital from 1986-1987, and a residency program at University of Florida College of Medicine from 1987-1991. In 1991, Dr. Zander was appointed Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Florida. She was subsequently promoted to Associate Professor and Director of the Pulmonary Pathology Unit. At the same time (1997-2002) she was the Pathology Residency Program Coordinator at the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System (Gainesville, FL). In 2002, Dr. Zander moved to the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Medical School to become a Professor and Vice Chair and Director of Anatomic Pathology. From 2006-2016, Dr. Zander relocated to the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center/Penn State University College of Medicine (Hershey, PA) to become Chair of the Department of Pathology and University Chair of Pathology. In 2016, Dr. Zander moved to her current institution, the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and University of Cincinnati Medical Center as MacKenzie Professor and Chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.
In her letter of support, Dr. Martha B. Furie (Professor of Pathology and Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology at Stony Brook University) described a workshop Dr. Zander presented for eight years at the ASIP Annual Meeting. “This workshop, entitled Scientific Sleuthing of Human Disease for High School Teachers… provided high school teachers and their advanced biology students with an opportunity to listen to talks explaining a variety of human diseases. Not only was her lecture clear, engaging, and on a topic of great interest to the audience, but she also brought plasticized slices of diseased lungs so that participants could have a true 'hands-on’ experience.”
Dr. Zander has been consistently involved in local, regional, national, and international organizations over her career. Dr. Zander has been a member of the ASIP since 1998 and has served in many capacities within the Society, including as Secretary-Treasurer and Chair of the Finance Committee from 2013-2016, and President in 2019. Dr. Zander’s service to the ASIP includes current or past membership on many/most ASIP Committees, including the Program Committee, the Committee for Career Development and Diversity, Nominating Committee, Publications Committee, Education Committee, Membership Committee, and the Meritorious Awards Committee (and she Chaired some of these during her service).
Dr. Zander has published broadly, with over two hundred peer-reviewed manuscripts, six editorials, five invited reviews, chapters in twenty-two books, and editorial oversight for five books, including the first three editions of Pulmonary Pathology. She has been on the Editorial Board of Annals of Clinical and Laboratory Science, Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Diagnostic Cytopathology, International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Pathology, Academic Pathology, and the American Journal of Pathology.
In his nomination letter, Dr. Richard N. Mitchell (Lawrence J. Henderson Professor of Pathology and Health Sciences and Technology, Harvard Medical School) writes, “Dr. Zander is the consummate scholar; she has a strong history in basic research and academic scholarship. At the same time, she is a superb mentor, supporting the growth and success of her students.”
Dr. Gregory J. Tsongalis (Professor and Vice Chair at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center) writes in his nomination letter, “[Dr. Zander] has dedicated a significant portion of her career to furthering higher medical and graduate education… she has been the organizer and director of numerous symposia and courses spanning various topics in pathobiology at national and international meetings including Experimental Biology.” In addition, “…her teaching experience spans lectures for pathology, pulmonary medicine and internal medicine residents, as well as medical and graduate students… and she has had several institutional, foundation, and federally funded grants used to educate trainees in the art of research…”
Dr. Zander will receive the 2025 ASIP Robbins Distinguished Educator Award during the of the ASIP in Portland, OR (April 2025).
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About ASIP
The American Society for Investigative Pathology is comprised of biomedical scientists who investigate mechanisms of disease. Investigative pathology is an integrative discipline that links the presentation of disease in the whole organism to its fundamental cellular and molecular mechanisms. It uses a variety of structural, functional, and genetic techniques and ultimately applies research findings to the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. ASIP advocates for the practice of investigative pathology and fosters the professional career development and education of its members.
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