Residency Program

Residents train in a collegial environment in a world-renowned academic medical center located on the Upper East Side of New York City. They are exposed to a faculty of extraordinary depth and expertise and a large volume of complex cases. The faculty members are among the best in the country, including several "Best Doctors," authors of numerous leading textbooks used widely in the field, and holders of leadership positions in multiple professional organizations. A mentoring program has been implemented, which provides first-year residents with enhanced one-on-one guidance.

The core training program in Anatomic Pathology (AP) consists of rotations in Autopsy, various Surgical Pathology subspecialties, Hematopathology, and Cytology.

The Autopsy service entails reviewing clinical histories, performing the external and internal exams and organ dissection, obtaining samples for microscopy, interpreting the slides, and generating the final report. Residents also perform the neuropathology portion of the autopsy, including sectioning of the brain and spinal cord, under the direct supervision of the neuropathology faculty. Autopsies are performed on both adult and pediatric/fetal decedents. Apart from the routine hospital autopsies that residents take part in throughout their residency, each AP resident will also spend one month at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of New York (OCME) in downtown Manhattan for forensics training.

At NYP-Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM), Surgical Pathology is fully subspecialized; the services include Breast; Genitourinary; Gynecologic; Gastrointestinal and Liver; Endocrine, Head and Neck (EHN); Cardiovascular/Thoracic (CVT); Neuropathology; Medical renal; Dermatopathology; and Perinatal. Each service will handle specimens from both adult and pediatric patients. On these rotations, residents will hone their gross pathology and microscopy skills, write up their own reports for review by faculty, and learn to interpret immunohistochemical and special stains. Given the subspecialized nature of the Surgical Pathology services, residents learn from expert faculty during the daily sign-out sessions. Finally, the Frozen Section service teaches residents how both to prepare and interpret frozen section slides to answer time-sensitive questions that will guide the course of surgery.

In addition to the core rotations listed above, additional Surgical Pathology rotations are available as electives for senior residents. The Breast Consult service exposes residents to especially challenging specimens sent from other institutions. Away rotations are available at the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) and Memorial Sloane Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) to study Bone and Soft Tissue Pathology, respectively; and almost all AP residents choose to take advantage of these opportunities. Finally, we offer “Junior Attending” rotations on any Surgical Pathology service, during which the resident will act as the attending during sign-out with more junior residents. Residents have no grossing responsibilities on the Junior Attending rotations and are able to concentrate entirely on interpreting the microscopic findings in cases and preparing reports. The Junior Attending rotation is also available for the Autopsy service.

Hematopathology at NYP-WCM receives enough volume to warrant its own division within the department. There are two clinical services, one focused on bone marrow biopsies and the other on lymph nodes and other tissues, as well as peripheral blood. Flow Cytometry is performed on-site and is interpreted along with the microscopy slides. Residents have the opportunity to preview slides and flow cytometry prior to sign-out, and also can dictate their own reports for faculty review. Many of our Hematopathology faculty are also trained in Molecular Pathology; the molecular features of hematolymphoid neoplasms are taught during sign out. In addition to signing out cases, residents will also present cases at weekly, multidisciplinary Myeloma conferences.

Cytopathology is divided into three services: GYN (consisting mostly of Pap smears, a technique originally developed by Dr. Papanicolaou at our institution), non-GYN (most body fluids), and FNA (samples collected by fine-needle aspirate). While on the FNA service, residents will participate in intraoperative adequacy assessments to ensure that samples are sufficient to render a diagnosis. On all three services, residents are expected to preview cases and write reports; residents will become familiar with the various reporting systems employed by Cytopathology, such as the Bethesda and Paris systems.

In addition to our very hands-on approach to learning, our didactic AP curriculum is very robust. AP lectures take place between three and four times per week. In addition to this, there are various optional conferences that take place routinely, such as the weekly Breast Interesting Case Conference. Residents also give presentations to each other and to faculty; they lead our twice-monthly Autopsy and Gross conferences, they provide and lead a discussion of cases for Resident-Led Unknowns once a month, and they give half-hour presentations during Grand Rounds to the entire department at various points throughout their training.

Research is highly encouraged at NYP-WCM, and opportunities for research projects of any scope abound for each of our services. In addition to publishing their work, residents frequently present their AP research findings at major conferences, the most popular being the annual United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology (USCAP) conference. Dedicated research blocks may be scheduled for residents at their request, and residents who participate in the Physician-Scientist Track Program (PSTP) are guaranteed protected research time; we also offer up to three additional years of funded research time to PSTP candidates after they have completed residency training.

ACGME-accredited AP fellowships are available for Hematopathology, Cytopathology, and Molecular Pathology. We also offer non ACGME- accredited fellowships in Gastrointestinal/Liver, Breast, Genitourinary, and Gynecologic Pathology.

The core training program in Clinical Pathology consists of rotations in transfusion medicine, microbiology, central laboratory/clinical chemistry, point of care, toxicology, hematology/coagulation, molecular pathology and cytogenetics. Residents learn by serving a central role in the day to day operations of the clinical laboratories by interacting with clinicians, participating in the signout of cases, troubleshooting issues in the lab, and participating in laboratory inspections, test validation and quality improvement activities.

The foundation of this training is immersion in laboratories offering a comprehensive suite of advanced clinical diagnostic testing and clinical support services. Our blood bank issues approximately 50,000 products/year supporting a wide range of scenarios from level 1 trauma activations to liver transplants to transfusion dependent outpatients with hemoglobinopathies. The microbiology lab encompasses bacteriology, mycology, virology, and parasitology testing, including MALDI-TOF, automated molecular platforms, and a WASP automated culture plating machine. Our central lab performs 14 million tests annually across 320 analytes, including advanced mass spectrometry-based testing for therapeutic drug monitoring. Molecular diagnostics includes resident participation in comprehensive genomic profiling and hotspot testing for alterations in tumor and circulating cell-free tumor nucleic acids, as well as testing for bone marrow transplant chimerism, viral loads and genotyping, and selected germline disorders. Residents draft formal interpretations of advanced testing platforms while on the coagulation, cytogenetics, central and molecular laboratories. During rotations, residents also have ample opportunities to participate in clinical research, frequently present at national conferences, including the American Society for Clinical Pathology and the Academy of Clinical Laboratory Physicians and Scientists annual meetings.

Laboratory management and informatics are taught both through the day-to-day operations of the clinical laboratories as well as in dedicated didactic blocks in the 2nd and 3rd years where residents are given time away from service responsibilities to study these topics. This management course includes conducting an inspection of the labs at Lower Manhattan Hospital, working on yearlong quality improvement projects and learning the basics of clinical informatics through hands-on instruction in foundational concepts and common computational tools.

This hands-on training occurring on service is reinforced by a structured lecture series that meets twice weekly and covers the major topics in clinical pathology. This includes a mixture of journal clubs, attending led didactic lectures and presentations and discussions led by residents centered around educational cases encountered on service.

Elective options include cellular therapy, apheresis, advanced informatics, and junior attending rotations where senior residents effectively function as attending laboratory directors, including overseeing junior residents, participating in laboratory operations management, and acting as a first point of contact for clinical issues.

All residents are encouraged to participate in the research programs of the department and to present the results of their investigations at appropriate national meetings. The residents participate in numerous teaching conferences related to anatomic pathology, laboratory medicine, and clinical and basic science research. In addition, each resident engages in student teaching in the pathology courses of the Weill Cornell Medicine. Residents routinely present their research findings at prestigious national meetings such as at the annual meeting of the United States & Canadian Academy of Pathology (USCAP) and the Academy of Clinical Laboratory Physicians and Scientists (ACLPS).

Our program also offers opportunities to conduct full time funded research for 1-3 years in a laboratory through our Physician Scientist Training Program or Next-Gen Oncopathology Program.

The pathology residency training program at Weill Cornell is a high priority, as evidenced by a robust infrastructure which allows for regular assessment and change when necessary to maintain continued excellence. The program is directed by Steven Salvatore, M.D., a long-time faculty member and advocate of resident education. He and members of the leadership committee — which consists of two anatomic pathology faculty members, two laboratory medicine faculty members, the chief and assistant chief residents, and the program coordinator — meet regularly to oversee the day-to-day workings of the program. In addition, one dedicated faculty member from anatomic pathology and another from laboratory medicine oversee and develop the resident didactic lecture series each academic year, and meet with the residency leadership on an ad hoc basis.

This T32 funded program is in addition to our PSTP program, and provides Pathology residents or fellows funding for two years of research. Given that molecular analysis, imaging and computational applications are increasingly essential to cancer diagnosis, next generation cancer diagnostics (i.e. NextGen Oncopathology) will entail emering methods such as multiparameter imaging and deeper “omics”, including genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics and application of computational biology and artificial intelligence. Through the NGO Program, we train pathologists in emerging technologies and the skills necessary to develop new analytical methods that will further advance both medical diagnostics and the practice of pathology. 

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is the major clinical affiliate and teaching hospital of Weill Cornell Medicine. NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, an 824-bed facility, is centrally located in a collaborative medical community that includes the Hospital for Special Surgery, Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and The Rockefeller University.

Weill Cornell is located in a beautiful residential neighborhood along the East River in Manhattan, within walking distance of Central Park and the midtown entertainment and shopping areas. Attractions include major museums, concert halls, theaters, and an opera house, all of which are easily accessible. There are numerous social events for residents, such as an annual holiday party at a private club.

Salaries are commensurate with the level of training at competitive rates for New York City. Housing is available for single and married house staff in apartments adjacent to the medical center maintained by NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. All residents are covered under the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital benefits program, which includes professional liability insurance, hospitalization, and uniforms.

Candidates must apply to the program via the AAMC (Association of American Colleges) ERAS (Electronic Residency Application System) website. Candidates must be graduates of approved medical schools in the United States or Canada; foreign medical graduates must possess a valid ECFMG (Education Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates) certificate and valid visa. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital sponsors only J1 visas.

July 1 is the start date for residency training. U.S. graduates should contact their Deans' Offices to apply via ERAS. International medical graduates should contact the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) Office to utilize ERAS.

Required ERAS Documents:

• ERAS application and photograph
• Curriculum vitae and personal statement
• Three letters of recommendation
• Transcript copy
• Dean's letter (which will be uploaded by the medical school)
• Medical school diploma (for those already graduated)
• USMLE Transcripts
• ECFMG Status Report (if applicable)
• Copy of J1 visa or work authorization (if applicable)

The Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Residency Leadership Committee will extend invitations to selected candidates for interviews during the months of October, November, December, and January.

Please address any inquires to:

Academic Program Manager
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center
525 E. 68th Street, Room C302
New York, NY 10065
Tel: 212-746-7365