Council

Professor Kieran Sheahan, MB, BCh, BAO, BSc, FRCPI, FFPath, FCAP, FFRCPath.
Consultant Histopathologist at St. Vincent's University Hospital (SVUH), Dublin
Clinical Professor at University College Dublin School of Medicine

Professor Kieran Sheahan MB, BCh, BAO, B.Sc, FRCPI, FFPath, FCAP, FFRCPath, is a Consultant Histopathologist at St. Vincent’s University Hospital (SVUH), Dublin, and is Full Clinical Professor at University College Dublin School of Medicine. He is also Adjuvant Professor of Pathology at Boston University Medical School. He is a Director of the Centre for Colorectal Disease, SVUH. He initiated the involvement of the Faculty of Pathology (RCPI) as a sustaining member of ICCR in 2018 and has been a Councillor and Board Director (ICCR) since. He was a lead in developing the National Histopathology Quality Improvement Programme in Ireland in 2009 which included standardisation of cancer reporting. He was on the ICCR authoring committee for the colorectal cancer and colorectal polyp cancer datasets.

He is author of over 200 original publications in peer-reviewed biomedical journals, and numerous reviews and book chapters. He is co-editor of Morson & Dawson’s Gastrointestinal Pathology (6th edition). His research interests include prognostic and predictive markers in colorectal cancer, familial colorectal cancer, in particular Lynch Syndrome, the pathology of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), and the application of molecular genetic techniques and AI in colorectal pathology.

Professor James Kench, MB BS, BSc(Med), FRCPA.
Local Pathology Director, Sydney Local Health District, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
Head of Tissue Pathology and Diagnostic Oncology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital

Professor James Kench, MB BS, DMedSc, FRCPA, graduated in medicine from the University of Sydney in 1986. He commenced training in anatomical pathology in 1988 at Westmead Hospital then completed his training at Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney NSW, before being awarded his Fellowship of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia in 1993. He is also a member of the International Academy of Cytology and International Fellow of the College of American Pathologists.

After working as a staff specialist at St Vincent’s and Westmead Hospitals, in 2009 Professor Kench became Clinical Director of Tissue Pathology and Diagnostic Oncology (formerly Anatomical Pathology) at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney, where he is currently also Local Pathology Director-RPA. He was appointed as a Clinical Professor at University of Sydney in 2009 and has subspecialty expertise in prostatic, pancreatic and hepatic pathology. Professor Kench has published over 200 peer-reviewed journal articles plus several books and book chapters, including co-authorship of the Prostate Cancer chapter in the 2022 WHO Blue Book for Urinary and Male Genital Tumours. He has a longstanding research collaboration with the Prostate Cancer Group at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and is an Executive member of the Australian Prostate Cancer Research Centre-NSW.

Professor Kench has been actively involved in structured reporting initiatives since 2008, including as lead author for the national pathology guidelines on prostate cancer, Chair of the National Structured Pathology Reporting Project for 4 years from 2014, member of the ICCR Dataset Steering Committee for 8 years and ICCR Board for 4 years. He is also a member of the Australian and New Zealand Urogenital and Prostate Cancer Trials Group (ANZUP) Scientific Advisory Committee, the Australian Upper Gastrointestinal Cancer Registry Steering Committee and its Hepatobiliary Subcommittee, and the NSW Cancer Council Prostate and Colorectal Cancer Expert Advisory Panels.

Professor Annie Nga-Yin Cheung, MD, PhD.
Laurence L T Hou Professorship in Anatomical Molecular Pathology and Clinical Professor at the Department of Pathology, The University of Hong Kong (HKU)
Director of the HKU Cervical Cytology Laboratory and the University Pathology Laboratory (Molecular Pathology)
Chief of Service of Pathology, HKU-Shenzhen Hospital

Professor Annie Nga-Yin Cheung is Laurence L T Hou Professorship in Anatomical Molecular Pathology and Clinical Professor at the Department of Pathology, The University of Hong Kong (HKU). She is the key pathologist for gynecological histopathology and cytology in Queen Mary Hospital, Director of the HKU Cervical Cytology Laboratory and the University Pathology Laboratory (Molecular Pathology) as well as the Chief of Service of Pathology, HKU-Shenzhen Hospital.

Professor Cheung was a HKU MBBS graduate and continued her studies at HKU for her MD and PhD. She received her postgraduate gynecological pathology training in the University of Manchester, UK, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School and The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, USA. Professor Cheung’s research focuses on ovarian, endometrial and cervical cancers as well as gestational trophoblastic disease, aiming at investigating diagnostic and prognostic markers as well as molecular targets for better therapy. Professor Cheung has received awards on education and research. She has over 250 publications and has contributed to chapters in the WHO Classification of Tumours of Female Reproductive Organs.

Professor Cheung is currently Standing Member, Editorial Board of 5th Edition WHO Classification of Tumours, Commissioner, Lancet Commission on Diagnostics and Chairman, Credentials and Appeals Committee, The Hong Kong College of Pathologists. She is also the Advisor to Executive Board, Asian Oceania Research on Genital Infections and Neoplasia and Immediate Ex-President of The Hong Kong College of Pathologists. Professor Cheung has been President of Hong Kong Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology as well as Council Member of the International Federation for Cervical Pathology and Colposcopy and Council Member at Large of the International Society of Gynaecological Pathologists.

Associate Professor Kerryn Ireland-Jenkin, MBBS, MBA, MClinLdshp, FRCPA, MIAC, GAICD.
Medical Director of Pathology, and Director of Anatomical Pathology, Austin Health, Melbourne, Australia

Associate Professor Kerryn Ireland-Jenkin, MBBS, MBA, MClinLdshp, FRCPA, MIAC, GAICD, graduated in Medicine from the University of Melbourne. She undertook training in Anatomical Pathology at Royal Melbourne Hospital, Royal Women’s and Children’s Hospitals and Austin Hospital in Melbourne, being awarded Fellowship of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia in 2000.

Associate Professor Ireland-Jenkin completed a cytopathology Fellowship at the Victorian Cytology Service (VCS), before working at Melbourne Pathology, becoming the Director of Cytopathology. Since 2006 she has worked as an anatomical pathologist at Austin Health, in Melbourne, becoming both Director of Anatomical Pathology and Medical Director of Pathology in March 2020. Her areas of special interest are in gynaecologic, breast and placental pathology. She is an honorary consultant gynaecologic and obstetric pathologist at Mercy Hospital for Women, and a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne. She was Head of Unit of the Victorian Perinatal Autopsy Service (VPAS) at the Royal Women’s Hospital (2016-2018), and has been a member of the RCPA Board of Professional Practice and Quality (BPPQ) since 2020.

Associate Professor Ireland-Jenkin has been a member of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (RCPA) expert committee for structured pathology reporting of gynaecologic cancers since 2010, becoming series co-chair for gynaecologic oncology protocols in 2022. She has been a co-lead author of four RCPA gynaecologic cancer protocols.

* Kerryn Ireland-Jenkin is the second Australian Director as per constitutional requirements.

Professor Peter Schirmacher.
Director of the Institute of Pathology (IPH) of Heidelberg University (Germany)
Chairman of the German Society of Pathology and Council Member of the European Association of Pathology
Board member of the National Center of Tumor Diseases

Professor Peter Schirmacher is Director of the Institute of Pathology (IPH) of Heidelberg University (Germany) since 2004, Chairman of the German Society of Pathology and Council Member of the European Association of Pathology, Board member of the National Center of Tumor Diseases, member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, honorary member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and Principle Investigator in many national and international consortia.

Professor Schirmacher studied Medicine at Mainz University (Germany) and Molecular Biology at Albert Einstein College, New York, received training and board certification in Pathology and Molecular Pathology at Mainz University and was Professor of Pathology at Cologne University from 1998 until 2004.

Professor Schirmacher’s scientific interest centres on liver and molecular pathology with specific emphasis on molecular pathogenesis of hepatobiliary cancer; he has contributed to over 600 publications and numerous guidelines mainly centring on these topics. Professor Schirmacher is coordinator of the Coordinative Research Center ‘Liver Cancer’ of the German Research Foundation involving three University Centres and about 50 Researchers. IPH is a Centre of Excellence of the ESP for Liver and Molecular Pathology.

Dr John R Srigley, MD, FRCPC, FRCPath, FRCPA [Hon.].
Consultant in Oncological and Urological Pathology

Dr John Srigley is a graduate of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. Following oncological pathology training at the University of Toronto and MD Anderson Cancer Centre in Houston, Dr Srigley was Director of Surgical Pathology at Sunnybrook Health Science Center and Chief of Laboratory Medicine at the Credit Valley Hospital. Currently he is the Chief and Medical Director of the Program of Laboratory Medicine and Genetics at Trillium Health Partners, one of the largest community-academic hospitals in Canada and also a Professor in the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine at McMaster University.

Dr Srigley is an international consultant and educator in the fields of oncological and urological pathology and has contributed extensively to the literature. He is an editor/author of three textbooks on urological pathology including the series 3 AFIP Fascicle on Tumors of the Prostate Gland. Dr Srigley has been an author and member of the international working groups for the 2004 and 2016 WHO Blue Books on Tumors of the Urinary System and Male Genital Organs. His research interests include clinical-pathological and translational studies of urological cancer, population-level quality initiatives in cancer pathology and the role of the pathologist in cancer control. Dr Srigley is a Past President of the International Society of Urological Pathologists (ISUP) and the Ontario Association of Pathologists.

Dr Srigley is the Expert Lead for Pathology and Chair of the National Pathology Standards Committee at the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer (CPAC) and represents Canada on the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC).   Dr Srigley has championed the role of Pathologist as Diagnostic Oncologist and is a strong advocate for population-level standardized synoptic pathology reporting. Dr Srigley was the inaugural Head of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Cancer Care Ontario (2004-2013) and led the clinical implementation of discrete data field synoptic pathology reporting in Ontario. Working with the National Pathology Standards Committee and the Canadian Association of Pathologists, Dr Srigley was a key leader in securing formal endorsement of the College of American Pathologists(CAP) cancer checklists as pan-Canadian content standards for cancer pathology reporting. He is also a founding board member of the International Collaboration on Cancer Reporting (ICCR) and has provided advice on population-level standardized cancer reporting to CAP, the RCPA Structured Cancer Pathology Reporting Project in Australiasia as well as groups in Poland, Norway and Brazil.

Dr Filippo Fraggetta, MD.
President of the Italian Society of Pathology (SIAPEC).
Head of the Department of Pathology at ASP Catania (Italy)

Dr Filippo Fraggetta was born in Catania (Italy) in 1970; he studied medicine and became a surgical pathologist in 1998. Since 2021, he has been Head of the Department of Pathology at ASP Catania, whose headquarters are located at Gravina Hospital in Caltagirone.

Dr Fraggetta is President of the Italian Society of Pathology (SIAPEC).

He is particularly interested in lung and prostate tumours.

In the last ten years he has focussed his interest on the field of molecular and digital pathology.

Dr Fraggetta strongly believes in the benefits of digital pathology and in the practical application of digital workflow, including the use of AI tools in routine practise.

Research Professor Luka Brcic, MD, PhD.
International Secretary of the Austrian Society of Pathology/IAP Division Austria

Professor Luka Brcic finished medical studies and a training program in pathology at the University of Zagreb, School of Medicine, in Zagreb, Croatia. He worked as a consultant pathologist at the School of Medicine and University Hospital Center Zagreb in the period from 2010 till 2015, when he moved to the Medical University of Graz, Austria.

During his early training period, Professor Brcic made study visits to renowned lung pathologists – Professor Sanja Dacic, at the University of Pittsburg Medical Center, Pittsburgh, USA, and Professor Helmut Popper at the Medical University of Graz, Austria. His main interest is thoracic pathology, with an accent on mesotheliomas and lung carcinoma. In 2019 he made a study visit to Centre Leon Berard, Lyon, where he closely collaborated with Professor Francoise Galateau-Salle. He has published more than 150 peer-reviewed publications and some book chapters.

Professor Brcic is active in professional and academic associations related to (pulmonary) pathology (ÖGPath/IAP Austria, ESP, IASLC-member of Rare Disease Committee, PPS-member of membership and awards committee). He is currently the International Secretary of the Austrian Society of Pathology/IAP Division Austria and a member of the International Mesothelioma Panel.

Professor Brcic is an Editorial Board member of Diagnostic Pathology and PLOS ONE.

Dr Raed Al Dieri, MSc, PhD.
Director-General at the European Society of Pathology
Clinical Director at Synapse Research Institute, Cardiovascular Research Institute, Maastricht University, Netherlands

Dr Raed Al Dieri studied Pharmacy at the University of Damascus (Pharm 1991) and earned his master’s degree in laboratory Diagnosis in 1994 (MSc 1994). Dr Al Dieri earned his PhD degree at Maastricht University, Faculty of Medicine (in Coagulation, 2000) and trained as a biochemical coagulationist. He was a principal investigator in the medical biochemistry and pathophysiology of the coagulation system and the application of thrombin generation in fundamental and clinical settings (Maastricht University). He is a member of grant reviewing board for several organizations. He is a reviewer for several journals such as Blood, Journal of Thrombosis & Haemostasias, Thrombosis & Haemostasias, Thrombosis Research, and others.

In 2005, Dr Al Dieri was appointed as a Research Director and in 2011 as Clinical Director at Synapse Research Institute, Cardiovascular Research Institute, Maastricht University, Netherlands. He co-promotes and supervises PhD programs and is a lecturer at Maastricht University. Dr Al Dieri has co-developed and co-invented several tests to measure the coagulation system in normal subjects and patients of cardiovascular diseases, thrombotic events, and patients with bleeding disorders.

In 2015, Dr Al Dieri was appointed as Scientific Director and later in 2017 as Director-General at the European Society of Pathology (ESP), Brussels, Belgium. Besides, he is the Operational Director of the ESP Foundation.

Dr James L Wisecarver, MD, PhD, FASCP.
Medical Director, Nebraska Medical Center Clinical Laboratories Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs and as Medical Director for the Clinical Laboratories at The Nebraska Medicine
Director of the Human DNA Identification Laboratory at UNMC

Dr James L Wisecarver, MD, PhD, FASCP, received his doctor of medicine degree from the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), Omaha, Neb. Dr Wisecarver earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Doane College, Crete, Neb., and a doctorate degree in physiology from Creighton University, Omaha. He completed a residency in combined anatomic and clinical pathology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and then joined the faculty in the Department of Pathology/Microbiology at UNMC as an Assistant Professor in 1990. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1995 and to Professor in 2002. Currently, he serves as Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs and as Medical Director for the Clinical Laboratories at The Nebraska Medicine. He also serves as the Director of the Human DNA Identification Laboratory at UNMC.

Dr Wisecarver is currently President-elect of the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) Board of Directors. “My involvement in ASCP activities dates back to the Council on Continuing Education (CCE) when I became active with the section on diagnostic immunology and molecular pathology. Later, I was elected to the Board of Governors of the ASCP Board of Registry (now Board of Certification). While serving on the Board, I helped organize a new examination committee to develop the molecular biology examination and associated credential that is now being offered through the ASCP Board of Certification.” Dr. Wisecarver has also been a member of the ASCP Commission on Science, Technology and Public Policy, the Fellow Council, and the Pathologists Workforce Task Force. He has also chaired the Awards Committee.

Dr Wisecarver has organized and presented molecular diagnostics workshops offered both through ASCP and the United States and Canada Academy of Pathology (USCAP).

Recently, Dr Wisecarver celebrated 44 years of marriage with his wife, Patty. They have two grown children and four grandchildren. He enjoys spending time with the grandchildren, along with golfing, fishing and hunting.

Dr Katia Ramos Moreira Leite, MD, PhD.
Associated Professor and Chairman of the Laboratory of Medical Investigation of the University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Brazil
Vice-President and President-Elected of the Brazilian Society of Pathology

Dr Katia Ramos Moreira Leite, MD, PhD is Associated Professor and Chairman of the Laboratory of Medical Investigation of  the University of Sao Paulo Medical School in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Dr Leite is President of the Brazilian Society of Pathology for the term 2020-2022. Standing Member of WHO/IARC Blue books 2022-2024 and councilor for South America of the International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) from 2015 to 2019.

Dr Leite is Associate Editor of the journal Surgical and Experimental Pathology and member of the Editorial Board of Pathology Journal, Modern Pathology, Journal of Carcinogenesis and International Brazilian Journal of Urology.

Dr Leite has 460 publications in peer reviewed journal articles plus several book chapters.

Dr Joseph Khoury, MD.
Professor and Chair, Department of Pathology and
Microbiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center

Dr Joseph Khoury is the Stokes‐Shackleford endowed Professor and Chair, Department of Pathology and Microbiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center. He is recognised internationally as a leader in the field of cancer pathology and hematopathology, in which he combines longstanding expertise in clinical diagnostics, teaching, and translational research.

Dr Khoury has authored over 320 publications, in addition to textbooks and numerous book chapters. He has received multiple awards for teaching, mentorship, research, and clinical achievements. Dr. Khoury has lectured extensively at various venues and conferences, in addition to having organized multiple international and regional medical educational conferences. He is an active member of the College of American Pathologists and has served as Chair of the CAP Cancer Committee, which publishes CAP’s widely utilized protocols for cancer reporting.

Dr Khoury is a Standing Member and Chair Member of the Editorial Board of the WHO Classification of Tumours and has contributed significantly to multiple volumes of the 5th edition of the WHO Classification.

Dr Toyonori Tsuzuki, MD, PhD.
Chair of Department of Surgical Pathology (Japan)
Vice President of Aichi Medical University Hospital (Japan)

Dr Toyonori Tsuzuki, MD, PhD is full professor of Surgical Pathology at Aichi Medical University (Japan). He graduated in 1989 and obtained Ph.D. in 1994 at Nagoya University School of Medicine (Japan). He is board certified in Pathology, in Molecular Pathology, and in Cytopathology.

Dr Tsuzuki is the Chair of department of Surgical Pathology and then a Vice president of Aichi Medical University Hospital, one of the largest community-academic hospitals in Japan.

His research interest focuses on diagnostic and digital pathology, with a specific emphasis on oncology. Professor Tsuzuki is author of over 200 original publications in peer-reviewed biomedical journals and has contributed to chapters in the WHO Classification of Urinary System and Male Genital Organs. His major interests are diagnostic pathology and oncology based on pathological findings. He is also interested in artificial intelligence in pathology.

Dr Tsuzuki is the President of the Japanese Society of Urological Pathology. He is also the President-Elected of the International Academy of Pathology. Japanese division for the term 2022-2025, Executive Director of the Japanese Society of Pathology, Executive Director of the Japanese Society of Clinical Cytology, Councilor of the Japanese Society of Urologic Oncology, Councilor for Asia the International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP).

Dr rer nat Vanessa Kääb-Sanyal.

Dr rer nat Vanessa Kääb-Sanyal is the Director of the Professional Association of German Pathologists (BDP).

As a trained mathematician and former managing Director of the Kooperationsgemeinschaft Mammographie (KoopG) Dr Kääb-Sanyal has profound expertise in developing specifications for uniform documentation and evaluation of screening services as well as establishing unified reporting procedures on a nationwide scale within a federal political system. Moreover, her experience with the implementation of the German breast cancer screening program and her insight in evaluating and interpreting its outcomes came to bear in several publications about screening effects and epidemiological findings.

Dr Kääb-Sanyal is a member of the executive board of the European Reference Organisation for Quality Assured Breast Screening and Diagnostic Services (EUREF). Furthermore, Dr Kääb-Sanyal was a member of the evaluation board of the First Evaluation Report on the Austrian Breast Cancer Screening Programme and an associated member of the Quality Assurance Scheme Development Group of the European Commission Initiative on Breast Cancer.

Professor Zhiyong Liang, MD, PhD.
Director of the Department of Pathology and Molecular Pathology Research Center of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Science
Chairman of the Chinese Society of Pathology
Director of National Pathology Quality Control Center
Chairman of the Chinese Society of Pathology
Director of National Pathology Quality Control Center

Professor Zhiyong Liang, MD, PhD is Director of the Department of Pathology and Molecular Pathology Research Center of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Science since 2014, Chairman of the Chinese Society of Pathology, and Director of National Pathology Quality Control Center. He has been practicing anatomical pathology for thirty-one years.

Professor Liang subspecialties include molecular, breast, and endocrine pathology. He is Editorial Board Member of the journal Endocrine Pathology, Editor-in-Chief of Chinese Journal of Diagnostic Pathology and Associate Editor-in-Chief of Chinese Journal of Pathology.

His research interest focuses on molecular pathology and digital pathology, with specific emphasis on molecular mechanism of pancreatic carcinoma microenvironment. Professor Liang is author of over 150 original publications in peer-reviewed biomedical journals.

Dr Michael Eden, MD.
Consultant Histopathologist and Cytopathologist
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust · Department of Pathology

Dr Michael Eden was appointed as a consultant histopathologist in 2016 and has been histopathology and mortuary clinical lead at CUH since 2020. He previously led the West Anglia Cervical Cytology Network and has experience working across a broad range of geographies and disciplines.

Dr Eden also brings a wealth of experience beyond pathology, including the RCPath, NHS Digital and Cancer Research UK.

Dr Sylvia Höller.
Chief Physician of the Department of Clinical Pathology at the City Hospital of Zurich
President of the Swiss Society of Pathology

Dr Sylvia Höller is the Chief Physician of the Department of Clinical Pathology at the City Hospital of Zurich since 2021 and president of the Swiss Society of Pathology since 2023.

Previously, Dr Höller worked as a senior physician at the University Hospital Zurich and at the University Hospital of Basel. Dr Höller has broad clinical pathology experience, with a focus on molecular and surgical pathology. She is involved in research activities in the fields of haematological, paediatric, head and neck, bone and soft tissue, and lung pathology. Dr Höller has published 68 scientific journal articles with 2,375 citations.