Pancreatobiliary Pathology Society (PBPS) Members,

We will all remember 2020 as a year filled with challenges and new ways of doing things, and many of our modified processes are spilling into 2021 as well.  With the upcoming USCAP meeting being virtual, we have been working to prepare a compelling agenda for our PBPS Companion Meeting, and I am pleased to report that we have a very fine program devoted to the topic of pancreatitis.  Our speakers will include Dr. Barbara Centeno (Cytopathology of inflammatory lesions of the pancreatobiliary tree), Dr. Vikram Deshpande (IgG4-related (autoimmune) pancreatitis), Dr. Günter Klöppel (Acute/alcoholic pancreatitis) and Dr. Giuseppe Zamboni (Paraduodenal pancreatitis).  The lectures will be prerecorded, so you can listen to them any time after they go live on March 1.  Because of the modified format, the session will only be 90 minutes this year.  Please access the talks via the USCAP website.  There will be a 30 minute live question and answer session, hosted by Michelle Reid, PBPS Education Committee Chair, on Tuesday, March 16 at 2:00 PM Eastern time.  You can enter your questions on-line as well, and Michelle will review them with the speakers.  We hope this will be a highly interactive Q&A session, and that the virtual format will allow even more participants to hear these lectures.

I also want to remind everyone about the PBPS Abstract Award competition. Our PBPS Education Committee will select the winning abstract for 2021, and the first author will receive a $500 prize.  All applications should be submitted no later than 2/15/2021.  Please see the PBPS website for details.

In other news, we have recently revamped our Journal Watch feature, kindly edited by Daniela Allende, PBPS Chair of Journal Watch Subcommittee – please keep an eye on our website for updates about excellent publications related to pancreatobiliary pathology.

We truly regret that we cannot gather in person this year – one of the hardest things about the pandemic of course is the restriction on seeing family, friends, and colleagues – but there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and we will look forward to future meetings when we can gather again to share our interests and catch up on our professional lives!

David Klimstra,  Pancreatobiliary Pathology Society President

Dear Colleagues, 

I am sad to share news of the death on July 7 in Milan, Italy of Dr. Juan Rosai. 

Dr. Rosai was clearly one of the most influential figures in surgical pathology in the last 50 years, whose broad diagnostic expertise was recognized worldwide.  For much of his career, he served as a consultant to the international pathology community, providing expert second opinions and making enormous contributions to direct patient care.  As a researcher, Dr. Rosai was best known for his work on neoplasms of the thyroid, thymus, and vascular system, but essentially there is no subspecialty area that did not receive his investigative attention.  In fact, he wrote many papers on pancreatic neoplasms, and it was his encouragement of me to pursue a case of pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma that led me to the field of pancreatic pathology.  Dr. Rosai was among the first to embrace technologies like electron microscopy, immunohistochemistry, and molecular biology to enhance pathologic diagnosis. He was also one of the first pathology leaders to promote digital pathology and predicted the field’s evolution from microscopic to digital pathology many years before it occurred, and he pushed for subspecialization of academic pathology years before it became commonplace – ironic, given that he himself was the quintessential generalist.  But perhaps his most lasting contributions were made as a mentor and teacher, roles he took on with great enthusiasm. He fostered the careers of countless trainees, many of whom are now in leadership positions around the world.   Recitation of his numerous achievements, awards, and honors can await more formal tributes that will appear in time, but no one can doubt that Juan Rosai achieved as much as any individual can in our field, and his influence has been felt across all subspecialties.  A world-renowned surgical pathologist, as well as a treasured friend to many, Dr. Rosai’s generous spirit and ability to build consensus are as much a part of his legacy as his unparalleled expertise. Our thoughts are with his wife, Dr. Maria Luisa Carcangiu, and his children.

David Klimstra

President, Pancreatobiliary Pathology Society