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From the Editor's Desk
Margaret Collins
Time sure flies. It doesn't seem like three years has passed since I became newsletter editor. It has been
a great pleasure and privilege to serve the Society and its members (PEOPLE) in this capacity, and I am
grateful for the experience. I especially wish to thank all the presidents, other officers and committee
chairs who have been so cooperative over these years. My special thanks are offered to the previous
newsletter editor Art Weinberg who made it easy, and to those who have submitted photographs for the
newsletter, particularly Bahig Shehata who has consistently provided quality photos in a timely manner.
As you will read in the paragraphs below, the positions of website editor and newsletter editor will be
joined prior to the issuance of the next issue of the newsletter. Editing the newsletter has been fun, and
doesn't require any skills beyond what we use in our everyday practice—I am living proof of that! A young
member of the Society might find it particularly rewarding, because among other things it is a position that
requires networking and getting to know people you might not otherwise. I believe that the position of
website/newsletter editor will be fashioned so that the editor can concentrate more on content and
innovation and less on mechanics. I encourage every member of the Society to consider performing this very
important combined function for the Society when it becomes available. I wish the new editor every great
success, and I certainly will give whatever short- or long-term assistance the new editor might require.
Thanks for the memories.
President's Message
Deb Perry
Happy 40th anniversary!! Yes it is the 40th anniversary of the Society for Pediatric
Pathology! We are thankful to our founding members who had the foresight and energy to host a pediatric
pathology meeting, form a pediatric pathology club and ultimately the Society for Pediatric Pathology. At
the recent meeting in Atlanta, it was a great pleasure to interact with these great PEOPLE – great leaders
and mentors. Drs. M. Daria Haust, Eugene Perrin, Harvey Rosenberg, Enid Gilbert-Barness, Doug Shanklin and
Mrs. Ben Landing were in attendance.
Residents, fellows and staff pathologists all contributed to making this meeting one of the best in recent
times, with a record number of abstracts submitted. To keep our Society strong and vibrant we will need
these young PEOPLE. To further encourage resident and fellow participation in the Society, one or more
residents/fellows have been asked to serve on many of the Society standing committees, as a non-voting
member. The perspective and enthusiasm shown by these wonderful young PEOPLE will serve to invigorate all
of us.
Special thanks to many of our current SPP members for all the time and effort spent as committee chairs.
Dr. Steve Qualman added a year to his tenure to assure a smooth transition in the change of PDP publishers.
His efforts, in conjunction with the PDP Editor, Dr. Miguel Reyes-Mugica, have accomplished this huge task,
with no interruption in journal publication. Dr. Gareth Jevon and the Practice committee have coordinated
studies in pathology practice, which are valuable to all members. THANK YOU to all committee chairs and
members – your contributions make the Society strong!!
Lastly, on the administrative/management side, one PERSON who has served the Society for many years is Mr.
Jim Crimmins. In my previous position as Secretary-Treasurer, I quickly learned how much Jim did behind the
scenes to make every meeting room, speaker presentation, computer support, you name it, work smoothly.
Seeing Jim quickly move from room to room with his walkie-talkie you always knew that things were getting
accomplished. Jim was also key to the transition of management offices from the Degnon to the USCAP office.
He and his staff at the SPP/USCAP office are one fabulous group of PEOPLE! Jim is retiring at the end of
this year and will be missed by all of us in the SPP. THANK YOU, Jim – it has been a great, great pleasure
working with you all of these years. Enjoy your retirement –you've more than earned it!!
For those of you who were unable to attend the annual meeting in Atlanta, you may have gotten the message
from this column that my focus during this year will be on PEOPLE. People have made and continue to make
the SPP a strong organization. Your input is always encouraged and appreciated! Together we will have a
great year!
Secretary-Treasurer's Message
Linda Margraf
I would like to remind everyone to please keep their memberclicks contact information, especially their
email address up to date. Please contact Carolyn Lane at carolyn@uscap.org with updates. We will be using email broadcast
messages fairly often to keep the membership up to date on SPP activities. Also, please check the website
often. We are updating the website frequently and new information is constantly being added.
Business Meeting
Linda Margraf, Secretary-Treasurer
Atlanta , GA
February 11, 2006
Dr. Beverly Rogers called the meeting to order at 5:00 pm.
The secretary-treasurer, Dr. Linda Margraf, reviewed the 2005 annual business meeting minutes. The minutes
were approved with no revisions.
Dr. Rogers gave the President's report. The Society has transitioned its journal publication, Pediatric
and Developmental Pathology (PDP), to a new publisher, Alliance Publishing and the first issues will be
forthcoming shortly. The transition seems to have run smoothly thus far. There is a proposal to make
several changes to the Society's Bylaws which will be voted on in this meeting. These changes will be very
helpful to allow us to improve the function of the various committees and subcommittees of the organization.
In one such change, the SPP Slide survey program will be moved from the Practice committee to the Education
committee.
Dr. Rogers thanked the outgoing chairs of several committees, Dr. Jevon for the Practice Committee, Dr.
Deutsch for the Research Committee and Dr. Qualman for the Publications Committee. She expressed
particular appreciation for Dr. Qualman who had acted as the chair for an additional year to complete the
journal transition to the new publisher. She also thanked the SPP management office for their excellent
support and noted that Jim Crimmins, the director of the management office, would be retiring at the end of
the year.
Dr. Linda Margraf, Secretary-Treasurer gave a brief report, noting the oversight of the website has
recently been moved to a professional webmaster, George Clay of Guidesign. Currently the web content is
being updated by Dr. Margraf and Carolyn Lane of the SPP Business office. Dr. Margraf noted that Dr.
Megan Dishop has been assisting as a "web spotter" and has been very helpful in assisting to update the
website. The positions page is completely up-to-date and position listing will now be removed after one
year. A new Website Editor will be sought and it is anticipated that this position will be combined with
the Newsletter editor position after Margaret Collins completes her term as newsletter editor this spring.
More information will be forthcoming.
Report of the Standing Committees:
Archives – Dr. Shehata reported that he is organizing the effort to digitalize the SPP archives. He is
collecting and reviewing the old photographs and asked that any members with significant old photographs
consider providing them to him for consideration for the digital archives.
Awards – no report. Awards will be presented at the close of the meeting.
Bylaws – Dr. Savell briefly discussed the proposed changes which have been approved by Council. The
proposal to remove the specific number of committee members from each committee as specifically delineated
in the Bylaws was unanimously approved. The proposal to replace the Long-term Planning and Liaison
committees with the Strategic Planning committee, composed of Council members-at-large and chaired by the
President-elect, was also unanimously approved.
Education – Dr. Reyes thanked the outgoing committee members – Drs. Bourgeois, Metlay and Hubbard. She
thanked Dr. Teot for her excellent job with the CME inspection and noted that Dr. Teot will continue to
serve in her role as CME documentation coordinator through the next accreditation cycle in 2010. Dr. Reyes
reported that this meeting had a record number of abstracts (110) submitted with 49% being accepted. If
this quantity of submissions continues, the committee will have to evaluate and recommend new ways to accept
more submissions. Evaluations from the Tours, France meeting were highly favorable and consideration to a
joint meeting with the European PPS every 2-5 years is being entertained. The planning for the upcoming
meetings in Fall 2006 and 2007 were described. Council approved holding the 2008 interim meeting in
Louisville, KY hosted by Dr. John Buchino. Plans for new workshops and symposia were described.
Finance – Dr. Taylor reported that the annual 2006-7 budget was approved by Council. He noted the
Merrill-Lynch mutual fund investment holdings of the restricted funds (for awards) and operating expenses
have shown a modest gain and the Society saw income from the Perinatal course and the Slide survey program
in the last year. With the change in the publisher of the journal, the Society will see a loss of the
annual $15,000 royalty revenue that had been provided by Springer Publishers. Additionally, Council
approved an allotment of $2500 as a one-time payment to Alliance Publishers to establish pre-print online
publication of manuscripts in PDP,an allotment of $3000 to replace the PDP editor's computer and an
allotment of $3000 to the PDP editor to use at his discretion for color pages or online charges for authors
with financial limitations. It is possible the Society will have a small deficit in next year's budget but
the reserves should be sufficient to carry it.
Practice – Dr. Gareth Jevon reported that the committee and Council have discussed the recent CMS (formerly
Medicare/Medicaid) rulings regarding limits on payments for multiple biopsy specimens and other so-called
"medically unbelievable edits". The rulings would restrict reimbursement to two biopsy specimens per day
per patient and no more than 4 immunochemical stains per specimen. The committee believes that these
changes will have a profound impact on pediatric pathology and medical care for children. The committee
recommended the Society submit a response to the College of American Pathologists request to substantiate
the need for more specimens /stains than the regulations would allow and this will happen shortly with Dr.
Deborah Perry, incoming President, orchestrating the effort. Also discussed was the College of American
Pathologists (CAP) Accreditation Inspection checklist item that requires the completion of most autopsies
within 30 days. No consensus could be reached by Council during their meeting and the topic was tabled
pending further data including input from the SPP members on the CAP autopsy committee.
Publications - Dr. Steve Qualman presented the report for the Publications Committee. He stated Dr. Kathy
Patterson will be taking over as chair of the committee following this meeting. He noted that the
transition of Pediatric and Developmental Pathology from Springer to Alliance Publishing is complete
and acknowledged the great efforts of Dr. Miguel Reyes-Mugica in helping to bring this about. He described
the issues pertaining to finances for the journal including the need for a new laptop computer for the
editor and costs for color pages and on-line pre-print publication. Council approved funding for these
items as described above in the Finance committee report. Dr. Qualman discussed the need for a new
newsletter editor and described the plan to merge the positions of web editor and newsletter editor.
Research - Dr. David Witte presented for Dr. Gail Deutsch. He reported that the Young Investigator award
goes to Dr. Jason Jarzembowski from the University of Michigan. He noted there were no applicants for the
McAdams stipend this year. The two resident case presentation awardees, who traveled to Tours, France last
fall to present their work were announced. The awardees were Meghan Delaney, D.O., Beth Israel Deaconess
Medical Center/Harvard Medical School, Boston MA and Kyle J. Noskoviak, M.D., UC San Diego Medical Center,
San Diego, CA.
Announcements and Received Communications
Dr. Virginia Anderson announced the Dr. Enid Gilbert-Barness has been invested into the Order of
Australia. She noted this is quite an honor and is the equivalent of being knighted.
Old Business
Dr. Rogers introduced the history and the goals and objective of the Society's Strategic Plan. She
described the categories of the plan and presented recent updates. She noted this should be considered a
working document and hopes there will be additions to the plan every year. She added that the document will
provide continuity during the transition between Society officers. The plan, which had been previously
circulated to the membership, was voted on and approved by the membership.
Dr. Denis Benjamin described the history and purpose of the Society's proposed Code of Ethics. He
described the evolution of the draft over the past three years. This final version of the document has been
approved by Council and was previously circulated to the membership. The topic was opened for discussion by
the membership. Dr. Haust commented that the Society was created in part for the sharing of information
and described the growth of the Society over the years. She noted there was, in the past, a collegial sense
of tolerance of each other. She felt this document is restrictive and negative, especially in requiring
people to pay to advertise their publications. Dr. Haas noted other societies such as the USCAP do not
have codes of ethics and mentioned the CAP only has a brief statement about price-fixing. He is concerned
this document may have long-term implications for the Society and its members. Dr. Altshuler asked for
input from other senior members of the Society regarding this document. Dr. Perrin noted a committee will
need to be created if there is an ethical issue to examine and doesn't approve of the document in its
current version. Dr. Qualman commented that Dr. Benjamin was brave to propose and create such a document
and as times have changed, the Society needs such a document. He described the issues in Great Britain
regarding autopsies and tissue retention and noted this document gives our Society a basis for dealing with
problems that may arise. Additional comments and concerns were raised by the membership. The document was
brought to a vote and approved by a majority (83 for, 13 against). The document will be posted on the
Society's website.
New Business
Membership Committee
Dr. Bruce Pawel reported for the Membership Committee that currently there are
636 members of which 392 are regular members. He noted a slow increase in the size of the membership. The
following new members were approved at the Council meeting: Junior members : Drs. Chikwava, Gray Hazard,
Jundkins, Kesserwan, Luo, Gupta; Regular members: Drs. Jedlicka, Ozolek, Strauss, Yeh, Yin.
Dr. Mark Luquette reminded the members about the need to keep the memberclicks database up to date and
stated 100 members had invalid email addresses in the directory.
Nominating Committee
Dr. Perry presented the following slate of officers:
| President-Elect: | Ted Pysher |
| Secretary-Treasurer: | Linda Margraf |
| Councilors at-large: | Sara Vargas
Ona Faye-Petersen |
There were no nominations from the floor. The slate of officers was unanimously approved.
Announcement of upcoming meetings:
2006 Fall interim meeting – Columbus, Ohio, October 5-8, 2006 – Dr. Stephen Qualman described the meeting
and noted the focus will be on pediatric leukemia.
2007 Spring Annual meeting San Diego CA March 23-25, 2007.
2007 Fall interim meeting – Phoenix, Arizona, October 25-28, 2007 – Dr. Paul Dickman described the location
and presented a preliminary overview of the meeting activities.
Installation of new officers
Outgoing councilors Kathleen Patterson and David Witte escorted incoming President Perry to podium. Dr.
Rogers presented Dr. Perry with the talking stick. The meeting was adjourned by Dr. Perry at 6:15 p.m.
Committee Reports
NOMINATING COMMITTEE
Deb Perry, chairperson
The nominating committee has proposed the following slate of SPP officers for 2006-7 which has been approved
by Council.
| President-Elect: | Ted Pysher |
| Secretary-Treasurer: | Linda Margraf |
| Councilors at-large: | Sara Vargas
Ona Faye-Petersen |
MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE
Bruce Pawel, chairperson
The current roster of members includes:
| Regular | 399 |
| Junior | 48 |
| Affiliate | 88 |
| Emeritus | 71 |
| Life | 45 |
| TOTAL | 651 |
New members approved in Atlanta:
Junior Members
Dr. Kudakwashe Chikwava
Dr. Florette K. Gray Hazard
Dr. Chimen Kesserwan
Dr. Jean Luo
Dr. Anita Gupta
Dr. Oana-Eugenia Baboiu
Dr. Cecelia Rosales
Regular Members
Dr. Paul Jedlicka
Dr. John A. Ozolek
Dr. Brian L. Strauss
Dr. Y. Albert Yeh
Dr. Hong Yin
Dr. Alexander R. Judkins
Dr. Abdur Khan
Affiliate Member
Dr. Thora Steffensen
PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE
Stephen J. Qualman, chairperson
Present: Margaret Collins, Kerry Crocket (SPP Management Office), P. Dehner, Jim Dimmick, Linda Margraf, Kathleen Patterson, Miguel Reyes-Múgica, Drucilla Roberts, Beverly Rogers, Don Singer,
Sara Vargas
Kathleen Patterson was named the new Chair of the Publications Committee and will appoint two new Committee
members to begin her tenure. The possibility of adding a pathology resident to the committee in the future
was discussed.
It was decided to combine some functions of the Newsletter and Website Editors into a new Editorial
position, and a job description with subsequent applications will be solicited in the near future. Dr.
Mark Luquette was specifically thanked for his excellent efforts as outgoing Website Editor.
Miguel Reyes-Mugica reported that the Pediatric and Developmental Pathology journal migration from Springer
to Alliance is complete; issues 1 and 2 are complete with 30 additional manuscripts in hand for review.
Council approved 3 financial items for the Editor including: a one-time payment of $2,500 for the price of
preprints (online), up to $3,000 for a new personal computer in the Editorial Office, and $3,000 in
discretionary funds for the Editor to apply to such items as page charges for color printing. Dr.
Reyes-Mugica has named 12 new editorial board members to replace 12 retiring members (approved
electronically).
Drs. Singer and Dimmick reported on the status of Perspectives in Pediatric Pathology. Volume 25,
Pathology of the Alimentary Tract in Infants and Children, edited by Margaret Collins, has had 3 printings.
Volume 26 on neurologic disease, edited by Hannah Kinney, is almost complete. The next in the series,
Volume 27 on development and diseases of the respiratory tract, with Claire Langston as editor, is being
developed. Claire has recruited/will recruit additional authors.
RESEARCH COMMITTEE
Gail H. Deutsch, chairperson
Please congratulate this year's recipient for the Young Investigator Research Grant. The awardee is
Jason Jarzembowski, M.D., Ph.D., from University of Michigan Hospitals for his proposal titled "Genomic and
proteomic heterogeneity of neuroblastic tumor component cell types".
There were no applications for the A. James McAdams Short-Term Study Stipend.
DISTINCTION AND AWARDS COMMITTEE
Edwina Popek, chairperson
There were 24 abstracts submitted for consideration for the Vawter Award; a sign of our future pediatric
pathologists. The Gordon Vawter Pathologist in Training Award was presented to:
Bonnie L.C. Cole, M.D., University of Washington, Children's Hospital & Regional Medical Center,
Seattle, WA. Intestinal Pseudoobstruction in a Murine Model of Neuronal Nuclear Inclusion Disease.
There were at least 15 abstracts that utilized EM or technology other than immunohistochemistry. The Harry
Neustein Award for use of electron microscopy or new or novel technology in the study of pediatric disease
was presented to:
Nina Tatevian, M.D., Ph.D, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX. Molecular
Heterogeneity in a Poorly Differentiated Neuroblastoma with Pleomorphic Giant Cells – A Bac Array Cgh
Analysis.
There were 6 excellent papers nominated for the Lotte Strauss Prize, another indication of the high quality
of our younger pediatric pathologists. The Lotte Strauss Prize for the best paper by an individual 40 years
of younger, published or accepted for publication in the preceding year was awarded to:
David Horst, M.D., Dr. med. Institute for Pathology, Innsbruck, Austria. Comparative Expression Analysis
of Pax3 and Pax7 During Mouse Myogenesis. Int J Dev Biol 2006;50:47-54.
Upcoming Meetings
Society for Pediatric Pathology
2006 Interim Meeting in Columbus, Ohio
The members of the Department of Laboratory Medicine at Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio invite you to
the 2006 Interim meeting which will be held from October 5 to 8, 2006. Our venue is the Hilton at Easton
Town Center where a vast array of restaurants, shops and entertainment possibilities exist.
The Symposium will take place on Friday, October 6 and the topic is Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and related
Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Our speakers will be Michael Caligiuri on CALGB clinical approach to ALL, Bill
Carroll for childhood ALL and Tom Gross for NHL discussing clinical approaches in COG, Nyla Heerema on the
cytogenetics of ALL, Julie Gastier-Foster on molecular genetic assays, and Mary Beth Ross discussing gene
expression profiling.
October in Columbus features crisp weather, blue sky and fall colors. We are planning social activities to
showcase some of the unique, but little known facets of our city – a Pontifical College, world famous zoo,
Short North Arts District, and of course, our own new clinical laboratories.
We are planning a great meeting and hope to see many of you there.
Positions Available
Click here to display all positions listed.
Photos from the Spring Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia
Click any thumbnail for an enlarged image/slideshow
At the Council Meeting
At the Council Dinner
At Lunch
At the Meeting
At the Business Meeting
At the Banquet
At the Posters
At the Symposium
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