A Conversation with Dr. Domenick Falcone, Assistant Dean of the Foundational Curriculum, and Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.
Domenick J. Falcone, Ph.D.
Assistant Dean of the Foundational Curriculum
Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Q: I understand that as an undergraduate biology major, you took a course in histology that changed the trajectory of your career. Can you please elaborate on that?
A: Histology was taught by an energetic professor, who displayed an encyclopedic command of the subject material. Her simple hand drawn diagrams helped me to conceptualize the histological organization of tissues and organs. She emphasized the importance of appreciating the functional significance of variations in cell structure and tissue architecture in mastering histology. This introductory course was followed by a graduate level course, in which I learned to collect and fix tissues, prepare histologic sections and stain them. I was captured by the remarkable beauty of the microscopic appearance of the organ systems. I applied to Ph.D. programs with an emphasis on human structure and function and was accepted into the field of Biological Structure and Cell Biology, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences. As I developed as a scientist, my interests unsurprisingly expanded to include the pathogenesis of disease and histopathologic changes in diseased tissues.
Q. What is the focus of your research?
A: I completed postdoctoral training in the Department of Pathology at Weill Cornell Medicine and in the Laboratory of Biochemical Cytology at The Rockefeller University. Over the past four decades, my laboratory has made important contributions to our understanding of the pathogenesis of vascular diseases. We have explored lipoprotein retention and cholesterol accumulation in the injured arterial wall, macrophage phagocytosis of lipoprotein-extracellular matrix complexes, regulation of macrophage expression of serine and matrix metalloproteinases by bioactive lipids and cytokines, and the identification of therapeutic targets to attenuate proteinase expression and atherosclerotic lesion development. My current investigations, as part of a multi-institutional consortium, examine the roles of macrophages in breast adipose inflammation and breast cancer outcomes.
My laboratory has been generously supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), American Heart Association, Eisai Co., Ltd., Andrew Mellon Foundation, Alice Bohmfalk Trust, and the Center for Cancer Prevention. Our studies have resulted in more than seventy original research and review articles. I have served on numerous scientific advisory committees for the NIH, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and the American Heart Association. In recognition of my research, I received the NIH New Investigator Research Award, the Andrew Mellon Teacher–Scientist Award, and the NIH Research Career Development Award. Most importantly, many of my laboratory trainees have gone on to positions in academic medicine.
Q. When did you start teaching at WCM, what excited you most about working with students — and why has teaching remained a discipline that are you passionate about more than 40 years later?
A: During my third year of graduate studies, I was invited by the Chair of the Anatomy Department to serve as a histology laboratory instructor for a group of 20 first year medical students. In the late seventies, the basic science disciplines were largely siloed in separate courses with little integration. Since I had already completed the medical college courses in microscopic anatomy, physiology and pathology, I was excited to take on the challenge of teaching histology in a manner that emphasized the relationship between structure and function, as well as introducing alterations they would be expected to see in disease. Since then, I have taught extensively across the foundational sciences curriculum and held many course leadership roles including Director, Microscopic Anatomy and Cell Biology, Director, General Pathology, Director, Host Defenses, Associate Director, Human Structure and Function, and Co-Director, Essential Principles of Medicine. I was selected as the inaugural Thomas H. Meikle Professor of Medical Education (1998–2003) and was reappointed to this distinguished professorship for the term 2020–2025.
In 2020, I was appointed the inaugural Assistant Dean of the Foundational Curriculum (2020–present) and currently serves as Chair of the Longitudinal Science Curriculum Subcommittee of the Executive Medical Education Committee.
Teaching has many rewards. Our students are remarkable and engaging. They come from diverse backgrounds and areas of undergraduate and occasionally graduate studies. Whereas many students come to WCM with some exposure to the foundational sciences, few have taken histology, physiology or pathology. Because of this, it is immensely gratifying to illuminate that which is obscure, and perhaps more importantly to convey a sense of appreciation for the morphologic and pathophysiologic changes observed in disease. Over the years, I have had the pleasure of teaching thousands of students - many who are now WCM faculty and actively participate in the mission of “Care, Discover and Teach”.
Q. You have received many awards for teaching. In your opinion, what makes a great teacher?
A: I had the privilege of learning from many remarkable and innovative WCM professors, who were passionate about medical education. First, there is a default tendency on the part of faculty to be to be encyclopedic. This is a common mistake. The best teachers digest complex topics and present the information as an overview. Basically, the teacher should sketch a map or outline a topic for the students. Major landmarks and the limits of our understanding should be identified. Second, a good teacher is fully aware of the context of material being presented. In other words, what have the students been exposed to before their lecture or small group session, and what will follow later in the curriculum. Third, a good teacher facilitates learning by providing resources (e.g., syllabi, handouts, lecture synopsis, transcripts, and self-study questions) that allow the student to fill in the important details and test their understanding. Fourth, good teachers innovate. They experiment and test new methods or approaches to engage students and monitor the effectiveness of new approaches.
Q: Last question, what would your colleagues be surprised to learn about you?
A: I enjoy the outdoors and am an avid amateur photographer!