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Pathology is the study of
disease, or more generally, the study of the biological response to
adverse conditions. As an intellectual discipline, pathology bridges
the basic and clinical sciences. Basic research into the causes and
mechanisms of disease (experimental pathology) goes hand in glove
with identifying the morphologic and biochemical manifestations of
disease in human patients (anatomic and clinical pathology,
respectively). All of these aspects of pathology have important
diagnostic and therapeutic implications for patient care. Teaching
of this body of knowledge at various pre- and post-doctoral medical
and scientific levels of interest and understanding provides a
unifying component to laboratory and clinic.
The Department of Pathology at
New York Medical College is a
large multi-disciplinary department, and the only academic pathology
department between New York City and Albany. It supports multiple
research laboratories at the New York Medical College campus in
Westchester County, and diagnostic anatomic and
clinical pathology
laboratories in its major teaching hospital,
Westchester Medical Center.
It is heavily involved in teaching medical students at New York
Medical College, and offers a range of pre-doctoral graduate
programs in experimental pathology at the
Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences. In addition to
post-doctoral programs at the Graduate School of Basic Medical
Sciences, the Department offers accredited
residencies in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology for
qualified medical school graduates at Westchester Medical Center.
Visit the Core Histology Laboratory website
Research laboratories of the
Department of Pathology
and the
Brander Cancer Research Institute are located in the
Basic Science Building.
Faculty in the
Ph.D. program in Experimental Pathology also conduct
research at the Munger Pavilion on the
New York Medical College campus.
Faculty research programs,
supported by federal and industrial grants, include studies of
mechanisms of biochemical toxicology, cancer cell biology,
cell-cycle regulation and apoptosis, mechanisms underlying cell
dysfunction after neurologic trauma, chemical carcinogenesis,
free-radical pathobiology, hypersensitivity and chronic
inflammation, molecular genetics of hypertension, Lyme disease,
tuberculosis, and tissue engineering. Departmental faculty are also
active collaborators in a number of national and international
research programs.
Teaching is an important
component of departmental activity. Besides providing major courses
for the medical school curriculum in the
second and
fourth
years, the Department offers
Master of
Science (M.S.) and
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) programs in Experimental
Pathology,
residencies in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology, and an
annual course on safety assessment of medicines.
Flexible interdisciplinary graduate
pathology programs leading to the
M.S. and
Ph.D. degrees
in Experimental Pathology are offered in the
Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences.
These programs focus on a comprehensive study of the pathogenesis of
human disease including those related to degradation of the
environment.
Didactic courses are
designed to foster analytical problem-solving based on a secure
knowledge of the fundamentals of cellular and molecular biology,
biochemistry, and systemic pathology as well as on the biological
effects of environmental pollutants and their role in the
pathogenesis of environmentally caused disease.
The
M.S. program in Experimental Pathology is highly
interdisciplinary and permits students great flexibility. They can
choose a comprehensive study of pathogenesis of human disease, focus
more closely on the pathogenesis of
environmental pathology,
or add courses to gain practical experience related to evaluation
and management of environmental pathogenic factors as applied
environmental science. (Admission to the M.S. program in
toxicologic pathology, for
those who already hold an M.D., Ph.D., D.V.M., or equivalent
advanced degree and who require specialized training, is strictly
limited and highly competitive).
The
Ph.D. program in Experimental
Pathology provides a broad didactic grounding in the fundamentals of
basic biomedical science and, critical for Ph.D. training, a
vigorous multidisciplinary research milieu in the nurturing
laboratory environment of the
faculty
associated with the program. These faculty are drawn from the
Departments of Pathology, Medicine and Orthopaedics. In conjunction
with the School of Medicine, a combined
M.D./Ph.D. degree is also
offered to interested students.
Graduates from these programs in
experimental pathology can expect find employment in industry,
government or academia.
The
Pathology Residency Program in Anatomic and Clinical
Pathology is available to ten select medical graduates at
Westchester Medical Center.
The program is four years in length, two years in clinical pathology
and two years in anatomic pathology; on completion the residents are
eligible for certification by the American Board of Pathology. All
graduates in the last five years have successfully passed the
certification examination. Westchester Medical Center is the
pre-eminent tertiary care institution in suburban Westchester County
north of New York City.
The course on the Safety Assessment
of Medicines is a 5-day intensive course given annually, usually in
the Fall. It covers the basic preclinical research and regulatory
application processes needed to develop a new medication. It is of
national and international stature, and regularly attracts students
from throughout the United States and abroad. |
