Pancreatobiliary Pathology Society Presidents
Volkan Adsay, MD
President 2016 – 2018
Dr. Adsay received his Pathology training in New York and completed a two-year fellowship in Oncologic Pathology at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He joined the faculty at Wayne State University as Assistant Professor in 1997 and advanced through the ranks to full Professor in 2007. He later served as the Vice-Chair and Director of Anatomic Pathology at Emory University. He is currently Professor and Chairman of Pathology at Koç University School of Medicine.
Dr. Adsay is an internationally-recognized pathologist in the field of tumor diagnosis, especially focusing on pancreatobiliary cancers. He has published over 300 peer-reviewed articles and has given more than 300 lectures and courses internationally. He authored numerous chapters in the highly prestigious textbooks of Diagnostic Pathology, Gastrointestinal Tract Surgery, and Oncology mostly focusing on cancers of pancreatobiliary tract, gallbladder, and ampulla. He was a member of the Pancreas Review Group of National Cancer Institute of USA, and author and co-author in numerous chapters in the World Health Organization’s “classification of tumors” series in multiple editions including the latest 2019 edition. Among his contributions, he played a key role in the characterization of various tumor types of the pancreas and biliary tract and was also the member of an international group that put forth the definition and criteria for the early cancerous lesions of these organs and prognostication of the tumors of these sites. His work has led to multiple revisions in the staging and grading of pancreaticobiliary neoplasia. He was awarded multiple funds for his research including the National Cancer Institute. In 2007, he was awarded the Georgia Distinguished Cancer Researcher grant for 5 years. He served as President for the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology (2017). He was instrumental in the institution of our Society, Pancreatobiliary Pathology Society, and was elected as its first president in 2016. He has also held committee membership in several international academic medical societies. He has served on the editorial board of several medical journals. He is also the recipient of multiple teaching awards (from medical students and residents), Jack Yardley young investigator award of GIPS, as well as one of the recipients of the Team Science Award of AACR (American Association of Cancer Research).
Alyssa M. Krasinskas, MD
President 2018 – 2020
Alyssa M. Krasinskas, MD, is an eminent gastrointestinal, hepatic, and pancreatobiliary pathologist who serves as a professor and Vice-Chair of Anatomic Pathology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, as well as the director of the Gastrointestinal (GI) and Hepatic Pathology Fellowship there. After earning her MD from the University of Rochester School of Medicine in Rochester, New York, Dr. Krasinskas completed an AP/CP residency at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), during which she performed 3 years of laboratory research in transplantation immunology. She then completed a clinical fellowship in surgical and GI pathology at UPenn before joining the faculty of the University of Pittsburgh/UPMC in 2002. While at UPMC, she was director of both the highly regarded GI Pathology Service and GI Pathology Fellowship Program, was a member of the Surgical Pathology Committee of the College of American Pathologists, won acclaim for her frequent GI “short courses” at USCAP, and served as national president of the Rodger C. Haggitt GI Pathology Society. Since moving to her current position at Emory in 2013, Dr. Krasinskas has served on the Education Committee of the USCAP, is on the editorial boards of leading pathology journals, currently serves on the Foundation Committee of the USCAP and has made numerous contributions to the literature in the field of pancreatobiliary pathology, including book chapters, review articles, and peer-reviewed publications.
David Klimstra, MD
2020-2022
Dr. Klimstra is an Attending Pathologist and Chairman of the Department of Pathology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK). He holds the James Ewing Alumni Chair in Pathology and is also a Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine. He received his MD from Yale University, where he also trained as a resident in Anatomic Pathology. He received fellowship training in oncologic surgical pathology at MSK. His research has focused on the pathologic characterization of tumors of the gastrointestinal tract, liver, and pancreas. His studies have correlated specific pathologic features of tumors with their clinical biology and molecular genetics. He has a particular interest in precursors to pancreatic cancer and has characterized the pathologic features of several such entities. Recent work has focused on the classification, grading and pathogenesis of neuroendocrine tumors of the gut and pancreas. Dr. Klimstra has authored over 435 primary articles on these topics, along with numerous review articles and book chapters. He has co-authored the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology tumor fascicles on Tumors of the Pancreas and Tumors of the Gallbladder, Extrahepatic Bile Ducts, and Ampulla of Vater, and he participated on the Expert Editorial Board for the most recent World Health Organization classifications of tumors of the Digestive System and of the Endocrine Organs. He has lectured throughout the world, and he received several teaching awards. Dr. Klimstra delivered the keynote Maude Abbott Lecture at the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology in 2019. He has also received the Team Science Award from the American Association of Cancer Research and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from MSK.