Her story, in her own words.
I enrolled in Medical School (Free University of Brussels, Belgium) at the age of 17. The first three years of the curriculm were called "candidatures" and covered the basic sciences. The subsequent four years were called "doctorates" and covered all aspects of medicine. I was drawn to everything visual. During the cadidatures it was histology: the macro- and microscopic aspects of human tissue. I was the "nerd" who stayed behind after the laboratory practice sessions to make my own drawings. Drawings other students eventually wanted to borrow because of their simplicity and accuracy. During the doctorates the course was followed by pathology: the study of disease and how it affects the body at every possible level: the body in its entirety (autopsy), one or more organs or small pieces of tissue (surgical biopsies). It became clear that that was my calling. To become an anatomic pathologist and function as a consultant to other specialists as well as possibly be a link between the basic sciences and the clinical sciences should I choose a career in research.
During my last year, I spent two months at Case Western Reserve University and decided to graduate and return to Cleveland where I was offered a position as a student fellow. I arrived with two suitcases and never looked back.
From there I went to Brown/Rhode Island Hospital where I became friends with the Chief of Surgical Pathology and Cytology. He was an older Argentinian gentleman with an ocean of knowledge in Pathology. He was the one clinicians came to for help with their difficult cases. After we were done looking at the surgical specimens (anything from a lung to a very, very small biopsy of the intestine), we would start looking at "the cytologies." I was engrossed. So much could be discovered from a simple swab of the cervix (Pap smear) or going on a hunt for cancer cells in pleural effusioins or by placing a very thin needle into a "mass" (fine needle aspiration or FNA) and by looking at individual cells, determining if the mass was benign or malignant.
My next step was a fellowship in Cytopathology at the George Washington University Hospital where I trained under Dr. Yolanda Oertel for two years. She ran a busy FNA clinic. There is where I discovered I could be with the patient again, perform procedures and look at the cells. I had the best of both worlds: patient contact, learning a new procedure finding out that my hand-eye coordination was very good, and look at the pathology. I had come full circle.
I subsequently became the Director of the Cytopathology Laboratory at Georgetown University and eventually the Chief of the Fine Needle Aspiration Service at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. I had been teaching students, residents, fellows, technicians; I had done my share of lectures and publications and I wanted more: an independent Fine Needle Aspiration Clinic in a private physician's office. I accomplished this in the fall of 1995 and the rest is history.
Education:
- George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, DC
- Fellowship in Cytopathology with emphasis on procurement and interpretation of Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsies (Jul. 1988- Jun. 1990)
- Rhode Island Hospital; Brown University affiliated; Providence, RI
- Residency in Anatomic Pathology (Jul. 1985-Jun1988)
- Case Western University Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio
- Student Fellowship in Anatomic Pathology (Nov.1983-Oct.1984)
- Free University of Brussels; Brussels, Belgium, M.D. degree (Sep 1976-Jun1983)
Licensing and Certification
- 1985 ECFMG no: 0-389-506-7
- 1988 FLEX
- 1989 Board Certified in Anatomic Pathology (#89274)
- 1990 Board Certified in Cytopathology (#QQ-90-095)
- 1989 State of Rhode Island Medical License (#7422/inactive)
- 1989 District of Columbia Medical License (#18044/active)
- 1992 State of Maryland Medical License (#D43439/active)
- 1995 State of Florida Medical License (#ME0067547/inactive)
- 1995 State of Virginia Medical License (#0101 053165/inactive)
Hospital Appointments and Employment
- Metropolitan FNA Service Washington DC, Bethesda, Maryland
- Medical Director. Independent clinic specializing in fine needle aspiration biopsies exclusively (Oct. 1995-present)
- Memorial Hospital and Memorial Laboratories; Jacksonville, Fl
- Director, Division of Cytopathology (Aug.1994- Oct. 1995)
- The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland
- Assistant Professor of Pathology
- Chief, Fine Needle Aspitation Services (Jul. 1992-Jun 1994)
- Georgetown University Hospital, Washington DC
- Assistant Professor of Pathology and Director of Cytopathology (July 1990-June 1992)
- The George Washington University Hospital, Washington DC
- Fellowship in Cytopathology (July 1988-June 1990)
Membership in Professional Societies
American Society of Clinical Pathologists (#02438449 MF)
College of American Pathology
American Pathology Foundation
United States and Canadian Academy of Pahology (#007921)
American Society of Cytology
American Medical Society
DC Medical Society
American Thyroid Association
National Workshop Presentation
American Society of Clinical Pathologists; Workshop #3445
April 23, 1995; Orlando. Florida
Fine Needle Aspiration of Thyroid and Salivary Gland
With Dr. J. Colandrea
View Complete Curriculum Vitae