PATHOLOGISTS’ ASSISTANT

Graduated in 2003
Senior Director of Research Operations and Business Development,
Corewell/Spectrum Health

Q: Why did you choose Wayne State? 

A: The opportunity to have an urban-based education setting within a Carnegie R1 Doctoral University research environment was a differentiator. I wanted to attend a university and be mentored by faculty who were solving problem statements that we could see in our daily lives in Detroit and also through the balance of the Midwest. WSU has a long history of innovation, which reflects a natural curiosity within the DNA of its faculty. 

Q: What inspired you to pursue this profession?

A: I had a personal cancer scare as a teenager and had already at that time lost people close to me to pediatric cancers. Through that interaction with the health systems, I became intrigued first by anatomy and physiology, but more so later by the physiologic and environmental alterations that can be caused by or lead to diseases. This exposure led me to further inquire about opportunities to learn more beyond my high school curriculum and ultimately led to a path of academic pursuit in the Pathologists’ Assistant program at WSU!

Q: Who was your most memorable Professor?

A: Dr. Peter Frade — his energy was unmatched. He was a doctoral-trained chemist/toxicologist who took over for the program’s founder after her death from cancer. Peter could translate complex pathways down to the learner’s level and apply layered educational tactics before they were a mainstay in academia. He genuinely invested in people and programs, maintaining relationships with his current students as well as those who were aspiring to gain acceptance into the programs he oversaw. I owe him more than he will ever know for taking a chance on me. When I became a professor early in my career, I often reflected on his delivery and attempted to emulate his tactics. For those who know him well, I was always one Snickers bar short of reaching Dr. Frade energy!

Q: What was your most challenging class?

A: Honestly, there were many. But they were all worth it, as I learned a lot about responsibility and prioritization. I balanced a full-time job on third shift at a hospital in Dearborn and a full course load for three years during undergrad. 

Q: Share some reflections about your time at Wayne State:

A: My time at WSU was pivotal for my development. Not only was the academic setting ideal for my curious learning style but the urban setting was equally educational to learn about environmental influences on human health. I do not believe I would be where I am today without my time at WSU!

Q: Share a career highlight or summary: 

A: When I left WSU in 2003, I began my career in Georgia as a Pathologists’ Assistant for a private physician group that supported an academic medical center and a community hospital in Macon. While I enjoyed my time there, I was eager to get back to West Michigan and be a part of the change that was envisioned, creating a destination health care system in Grand Rapids. I was able to join Spectrum Health in the same role in 2004 and received a faculty appointment at the local community college that was on the health systems campus. From 2005 until 2012, I had the ideal balance: health care during the day and teaching future allied health professionals at night. A few of my students were accepted in the WSU Pathologists’ Assistant program while others went to WSU for other allied health graduate programs. 

In 2012, I stepped out of those roles and began my career in clinical research and management. In 2015, President Obama and Vice President Biden released an announcement regarding a large federal package to establish a generational research platform that would serve as incubator and accelerator for future research. The hallmark of this $1.5B funding package was the precision medicine initiative, a longitudinal research program that was focused on inclusivity and representation of populations that represented the patients our health systems in the U.S. provide care for. This was an ambitious moment for me; I knew we needed to be part of this but also recognized the competition from major academic centers, many of which had a 100-plus-year head start on our less than 20-year West Michigan health system.  

Science has always been a team sport, and that guiding principle led to partnerships with Henry Ford and three other health systems providing care across seven states. Through this partnership, we submitted a successful application to be part of the initiative, which has since been rebranded as the NIH All of Us research program. This program has served as catalyst for change locally and at the national level. One of the foundations of precision medicine, and for many diseases, is the use of genomic sequencing for a deeper understanding of the patient. As a result of the ongoing study, more than 100,000 people have received information about their potential genetic risk of future disease. This number will grow to 1 million in the next five years. This platform will inform the future of health care and education; we will undoubtedly know more about heritable risk and associations between our genetics, environmental influences and lifestyle factors because of this work. Locally, this large award has created 30-plus new, sustainable jobs in our health system, a figure that is unrivaled in this era of transformational change in the delivery of health care, where resources are scarce.

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Established in 1989, the WSU Applebaum Master of Science in Pathologists' Assistant program is one of only 13 in the United States and Canada accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS) to train students in the highly specialized field of anatomic pathology. Information meetings for prospective students take place at 6 p.m. on the first Tuesday of each month. The application deadline is Jan. 15, and all prerequisite coursework must be complete by Dec. 30.

An anchor in urban health care

The Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences is built on more than 100 years of tradition and innovation in the heart of Detroit. We have grown deep roots in our city, harnessing its powerhouse hospital systems and community service organizations as vibrant, real-world training grounds for students, with an ongoing focus on social justice in health care. And our research at all levels – from undergraduates to veteran faculty members – translates into creative solutions for healthier communities.

Wayne State University is a premier urban research institution offering approximately 350 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 24,000 students.