Department of Pathology

Gordon L. Love, MD
Head of the Department

The Department of Pathology is comprised of physicians and laboratory scientists who engage in teaching, research, and clinical services. Pathology is a specialty of medicine that focuses on the causes, mechanisms, and effects of disease. Pathology as a branch of the practice of medicine has two broad categories: anatomic pathology and clinical pathology. Each of these broad categories has many sub-specialties of special expertise.

Education and training programs in the areas of pathology are available to medical students and pathology residents. The Department Pathology is responsible for the instruction of second year medical students in the concepts of Pathology including anatomic and clinical pathology. Pathology is integrated in a series of organ systems blocks including Foundations of Disease and Therapy, Neuroscience and Psychiatry, Renal, Cardiology, Pulmonary, Endocrine-Reproductive, Hematology, GI, and Musculoskeletal -Derm systems.  Didactic lectures, Team Based Learning modules, as well as case-based classes are used to illustrate diagnostic approaches and challenges. Pathology faculty contribute to all organs systems block courses and direct the Hematology block.  The use of a clicker-based audience response system is used to facilitate the effectiveness of student understanding of the lectures.  Additionally, special elective courses are available for third and fourth year medical students. 

Our pathology residency educational program is centered at University Medical Center-New Orleans (UMCNO) and also enjoys educational programs for residents at Children’s Hospital, West Jefferson Medical Center, VA Medical Center, and Ochsner Clinic Foundation. The Department of Pathology is responsible for the Pathology and Laboratory Services at UMCNO. Residents also rotate in the Precision Medicine Laboratory to get hands on experiences with molecular techniques such as DNA/RNA extraction, PCR, and Next Generation Sequencing.  

Clinical research opportunities are available to residents during their pathology rotations.  Residents are encouraged to present their work at national meetings, such as the United States and Canada Academy of Pathology (USCAP), College of American Pathologists (CAP), American Society of Clinical Pathology (ASCP), besides others. . Additionally, the Pathology Department has been internationally recognized for decades for investigation of the pathology of atherosclerosis and, more recently, of COVID-19.