Pathology Residency & Fellowships

Thanks for your interest in our Pathology Residency Program. Our chair, James M. Musser MD, PhD, and I invite you to review our program’s video to learn about the program structure from the following pages. 

Our residency program is accredited by the ACGME for 20 trainees, and we usually recruit 5 trainees annually. We have 13 fellowships, 12 that are accredited by the ACGME and the 13^th, in Clinical Chemistry, accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Clinical Chemistry. Houston Methodist Hospital is affiliated with Texas A&M College of Medicine and serves as a training site for MS3 and MS4 medical students. In addition, Houston Methodist Hospital houses a new medical school program, also with Texas A&M, in Engineering Medicine. The medical students from both programs may rotate in our Department, and our trainees have the opportunity to interact with and teach these students.

Recruitment is a special time for us, and we look forward to meeting you! The majority of our rotations occur within Houston Methodist Hospital. Houston Methodist Hospital is ranked in the Top 20 Hospitals in the nation by U.S. News & World Reports, is ranked in 10 specialties, and is consistently ranked the number one hospital in Texas. Houston Methodist Hospital is an adult hospital without pediatric services. We were the first department of pathology in the United States to be approved to transfuse convalescent plasma from patients who have recovered from COVID-19 to acutely ill patients hospitalized with active COVID-19 infection. Our department has supported diagnostic testing for COVID-19 for our entire seven-hospital system, which encompassed 17-40% of all hospital positive COVID-19 cases in Houston. Our clinical pathology services (blood banking/transfusion medicine, hematopathology, microbiology, and clinical laboratory services, including molecular diagnostics) and anatomic pathology services (surgical pathology and subspecialties, cytopathology and autopsy service) are second to none. The residency program provides two daily conferences, at 8 am and noon. Our Friday morning didactic anatomic pathology conference is broadcast throughout the Texas Medical Center and to another institution outside of the state of Texas. Our Monday morning unknown conference can be viewed digitally through RecutClub.com. We welcome your participation and review of our unknown cases!

Our program offers a Resident Research Track that is tailored to each candidate’s skills, interests, and expertise. An additional application form (beyond ERAS) is required.

The residency program is structured to meet the needs of each individual in the context of requirements by the ACGME for training and the American Board of Pathology for certification. Anatomic and Clinical Pathology rotations are mixed throughout the years of training, and interested candidates may enter training in AP/CP, AP/NP, AP only, or CP-only tracks. Interest in the CP-only track should be declared, as there is a separate matching program for that track. The other options are contained in the general match. Outside required rotations are at the Harris County Institute for Forensic Sciences, and pediatric pathology at University of Texas – Houston, Hermann Children’s Hospital, as well as two required rotations (PGY3 and PGY4) at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Autopsy and Surgical Pathology. The program is structured to develop graduated responsibility in all areas of Pathology. Residents participate in leadership and management activities in the department, and are critical elements in the preparation for CAP Accreditation of the laboratories. A myriad of other elective opportunities are available. We create a supportive educational setting that provides for individual growth and development for all. Our residents are involved in hospital committees, GME committees, and volunteer activities sponsored by the hospital system and we encourage their participation in committee activities in organized pathology when possible. We look forward to hearing from you, and we welcome any questions you may have regarding any of our programs.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions about our program.

Houston Methodist Department of Pathology and Genomic Medicine Residency and Fellowship Programs from Houston Methodist on Vimeo.

What drew me to pathology was the opportunity for collaboration and the continuous discovery of disease. When I was looking for a residency program, I wanted to find faculty with deep expertise in their field that I could regard as mentors. At Houston Methodist, our faculty are nationally and world-renowned experts with whom I can also discuss Korean dramas, Houston restaurants, and home renovation advice. I am also grateful to have co-residents with diverse interests who enjoy karaoke, game nights, and the boba tea shop in the medical center. I truly enjoy sharing the residency experience with them and the faculty here at Houston Methodist.

Sylvia Jang, MD

Chief Resident, PGY3

sjjang@houstonmethodist.org

The residency program provides an unparalleled training experience with many additional opportunities offered by Houston Methodist. On the anatomic pathology side, we see a wide variety and large volume of cases - to the extent that liver transplant specimens are considered incredibly routine. Similarly, our cytology service performs one of the largest volumes of pap smears nationally. On the clinical pathology side, hematopathology is always increasing in case volume and complexity, and residents are encouraged to gate flows and suggest workup with oversight from attendings and fellows. In the laboratory, residents write validation plans and operating procedures and participate in management meetings. The large and varied case volume facilitates many opportunities for me to engage in active, hands-on learning. The cordial nature of the residents and our sharing of cases and information make this a one-of-a-kind and very fun program.

Chief Resident, PGY4

jtrogers@houstonmethodist.org

I chose to continue my pathology subspecialty training at Houston Methodist because they offer both cytopathology and molecular genetic pathology fellowships. The laboratories at Houston Methodist receive a large number of educationally valuable cases every year, which serves not only to train you in making an informed and accurate diagnosis but pushes you to learn effective time management. We are also able to spend a significant amount of time rotating in other hospitals within the Texas Medical Center. During the course of my fellowship, I have been able to pursue research projects in digital pathology, cytology, and molecular pathology, all with a focus on precision medicine and education. Our pathology training programs are strong, challenging, and prepare you for a variety of clinical practice settings.

Chief Fellow/Molecular Genetic Fellow

ghsura@houstonmethodist.org