Ekaterine Kldiashvili has completed her Ph.D. at the age of 30 years from Tbilisi State University. She is the Executive Director of Georgian Telemedicine Union (Association, NGO focusing on implementation of eHealth and telemedicine projects. She has published more than 25 papers in reputed journals, edited one book and contributing chapters to two books.

eHealth and telemedicine

Chan graduated from Chungzhan Medical College (Sun Yat-sen University) in China, in 1967. She then received her B.A. and M.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1972 and 1975, respectively. She later completed her ophthalmology residency at Stanford University Medical Center in 1979. Subsequently, she fulfilled two post-doctoral trainings in ophthalmic pathology under Dr. W. Richard Green at the Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute, Johns Hopkins Hospital (1979-1982); and in clinical ocular immunology under Dr. Robert B. Nussenblatt at the National Eye Institute (NEI), National Institutes of Health (1982-1986). She was certified with the American Board of Ophthalmology and continued her academic endeavors as a medical officer at the NEI. Dr. Chan was promoted to the chief of the Immunopathology Section in the Laboratory of Immunology in 1992. Dr. Chan became head of the NEI Histopathology Core in 1999. The core, which has a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Approved (CLIA) certification, receives both clinical and experimental specimens, and processes 6000-8000 samples annually. Dr. Chan is also a mentor to NEI clinical and research post-doctoral and post-baccalaureate fellows. She has been helping in the development and improvement of ophthalmology and vision research in China and, in this process, has promoted exchange among ophthalmologists and vision researchers within China, the United States, and the world.

The research activities and goals of the Immunopathology Section include two major areas: (1) Research on clinical specimens with the aims of sharpening diagnosis, understanding disease pathogenesis, and improving patient management. These aims include primary intraocular lymphoma, uveitis, and age-related macular degeneration. (2) Research on model systems of experimental eye diseases. The goal here is to study different pathological conditions mimicking various human ocular diseases such as degeneration, inflammation, and neoplasm and to evaluate the effects of new therapeutic agents on these models.

Rossitza Lazova, MD is Director of the Dermatopathology Fellowship at Yale University, Department of Dermatology, and Associate Professor of Dermatology and Pathology. Dr. Lazova is the founder and principal investigator of the Yale School of Medicine Spitzoid Biospecimen and Data Repository, which is an international biospecimen and data collection bank and an invaluable resource for researchers and collaborators within Yale as well as from other institutions. Dr. Lazova received her MD from Medical University, Sofia, Bulgaria and did a residency in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology at University of Rochester, Rochester, NY. She trained with Dr. A. Bernard Ackerman in Dermatopathology and co-authored a book with him. Dr. Lazova is involved with various Committees through the American Society of Dermatopathology and the International Society of Dermatopathology. She has authored numerous publications and has lectured throughout the world on various topics including melanocytic lesions and Spitzoid melanocytic neoplasms in particular. Dr. Lazova is on the editorial board and is a reviewer for multiple journals.

Spitz nevi, Spitzoid melanomas and Atypical Spitzoid neoplasms; melanocytic nevi on special anatomic sites; melanomas with heavily pigmented melanocytes and melanoma in children.

Richard Zhao, PhD, MS, is a Professor of Pathology, Microbiology-Immunology and Human Virology at the University of Maryland, School of Medicine. He is also the Division Head of Molecular Pathology, Director of Translational Genomics Lab and Director of Molecular Diagnostics Lab and Medical Center. Dr. Zhao has extensive experiences in basic science research, translational research, clinical trials and clinical applications of gene-based diagnosis, HIV/AIDS, cancer biology and personalized medicine. Dr. Zhao has served on numerous scientific editorial boards including Cell Research, Cell & Biosciences, Clinical and Applied Immunology Review, Clinical Laboratory Science, Frontiers in BioSciences, Frontiers in Virology, Journal of Clinical and Experimental Pathology, Journal of Molecular Genetics (editor-in-chief), Medical Science Monitor, PLoS ONE, Retrovirology, and Chinese Journal of Clinical and Experimental Virology (associate editor). Dr. Zhao\'s laboratory has been funded continuously by NIH since 2006. He has published over 100 scientific articles and has been invited to give lectures world-wide.

Molecular Diagnostics and Pathology HIVAIDS Cancer Biology Biomarkers Individualized Molecular Testing Personalized Medicine.

George Perry, PhD, Marine Biology, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California at San Diego Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Cell Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas Perry joined the UTSA faculty in 2006 from Case Western Reserve University where he was Professor of Pathology and Neurosciences and Chair of the Department of Pathology. He is distinguished as one of the top Alzheimer´s disease researchers with over 900 publications, one of the top 100 most-cited scientists in neuroscience and behavior and one of the top 25 scientists in free radical research. Perry has been cited over 27,000 times and is recognized as an ISI highly cited researcher. Perry is editor for numerous journals and is editor-in-chief for the Journal of Alzheimer´s Disease. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences, the Microscopy Society of America, and past-president of the American Association of Neuropathologists, as well as a member of the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives. Perry is recognized internationally for his work. He is a Foreign Correspondent Member of the Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences and a Foreign Member of the Mexican National Academy of Sciences.

Our studies are focused on the mechanism of formation and physiological consequences of the cytopathology of Alzheimer disease. We have shown that oxidative damage is the initial cytopathology in Alzheimer disease. We are working to determine the sequence of events leading to neuronal oxidative damage and the source of the increased oxygen radicals. Our current studies focus on (i) the mechanism for RNA-based redox metal binding; (ii) the consequences of RNA oxidation on protein synthesis rate and fidelity; (iii) the role of redox active metals in mediating prooxidant and antioxidant properties; (iv) the signal transduction pathways altered in Alzheimer disease that allow neurons to evade apoptosis; and (v) mechanism of phosphorylation control of oxidative damage to neurofilament proteins.

Carlos Cordon-Cardo, MD, Ph.D., a distinguished physician-scientist and recognized internationally for his groundbreaking research in experimental pathology and molecular oncology, holds the appointment of Chair for the Department of Pathology at The Mount Sinai Medical Center. Cordon-Cardo is a leader in the mechanisms of tumor suppression. His research has focused on the analyses of multidrug resistance and alteration of tumor suppression genes in human cancer. He developed and implemented an oncologic molecular pathology discipline and helped create the \\\"systems pathology\\\" platform. This approach uses systems biology to form mathematical models of the interaction and behavior of cancer cells with the goal of determining tumor pathogenesis and clinical outcome. Cordon-Cardo\\\'s contributions to cancer research have had important implications for tumor suppression, particularly in bladder and prostate cancers, and soft tissue sarcomas. Currently, his research is aimed at understanding the cooperative effects of mutations of cell-cycle regulation, and genes that prevent cell death cancer. Additionally, he is developing and characterizing animal models for loss of function of specific pathways by targeted gene disruption using bladder cancer and sarcomas. Recent studies from his laboratory have linked adult stem cells and cancer, revealing that certain tumors originate from distinct differentiation stages in stem-cell fate and development. A frequently cited author, Cordon-Cardo has received National Cancer Institute funding for his research. He has developed numerous patents, is a dedicated mentor, and he holds prominent posts in several national and international professional organizations. Dr. Cordon-Cardo has outlined a broad vision that redefines the discipline of Pathology, placing it at the core of patient management and individualized medicine. He is aggressively recruiting senior and junior faculty, identifying and developing subspecialty areas, such as molecular and systems pathology programs, and expanding biorepositories and databases to further enhance translational research, converting his vision into a reality. Prior to joining Mount Sinai, Cordon-Cardo served as Vice-Chair of Pathology, Professor of Pathology, and Urology, and Associate Director for Infrastructure at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He also created the Division of Molecular Pathology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and served as its first director. Dr. Cordon-Cardo obtained his MD from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain, in 1980, and his PhD in Cell Biology and Genetics from Cornell University Medical College in 1985.

Experimental pathology and molecular oncology

Rajat Sethi received his PhD in physiology from University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada in 1994. Later as the Director of Preclinical Research and Drug Discovery for a biotech start up in Canada, he was instrumental in management and development of MC-1, a lead patented compound. In 2005 he moved to the US as one of the founding faculty member at the Texas A&M Health Science Center, College of Pharmacy. Currently he serves as the Assistant Dean for Research and Evidence Based Practice at the Texas A&M Health Science Center, College of Nursing. The main focus of his Cardiovascular Research and Drug Discovery and Development Laboratory (CRDDL) is pharmaceutics, physiology, pathophysiology, and pharmacology with special emphasis on cardiovascular pathology. He holds over 20 patents and numerous patent applications are pending. Recent finding from his laboratory on the cardiac injury induced by air pollution was recognized by the American Heart Association in 2010 resulting in worldwide media placements of his work. His research has been cited and results validated in animal and human studies published by United States Environmental Protection Agency. Latest published results from his laboratory on potential biomarkers associated with air pollution mediate cardiac pathology was the subject of a recent news release. Dr. Sethi has presented at several national and international conferences and serves on the editorial board of many international scientific journals. He has also received numerous teaching awards throughout his career and encourages undergraduate and graduate student research.

Cardiovascular Research and Drug Discovery and Development.

Huamin Wang received his M.D. from Tongji Medical University (China) in 1987 and his Ph.D. in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology from the University of Texas (UT) Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (Houston, Texas) in 1999. He completed his residency training at UT Medical School-Houston in 2003 and fellowship training in selective surgical pathology at UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in 2004. Dr. Wang is currently a tenured associate professor of pathology specialized in gastrointestinal, liver and pancreatic pathology at UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and an associate professor at UT Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences-Houston. His research has led to more than 90 peer-reviewed publications and 15 research grants.

In addition to the diagnostic pathology, Dr. Wang is actively involved in basic, clinical and translational research in the tumor biology, early detection, and identification of new therapeutic targets for pancreatic cancer, which is one of the most lethal human tumors.