Residents, fellows, and attending pathologists from Montefiore Einstein arrived in San Antonio in March for the 115th United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology (USCAP) Annual Meeting with a full slate of research to share and ready to impress. The department delivered more than 20 posters and platform talks across dermatopathology, hematopathology, head and neck pathology, genitourinary pathology, gastrointestinal pathology, and more. They also took home five awards, including two winners in the 2026 CAPA-GoPath Best Abstract Award, one award in the AIPNA Best Abstract Competition, and two Trainee Travel Grants.

Trainees helped staff the Fellowship Fair, representing the department’s seven specialty programs. Kritika Krishnamurthy, MD, attending surgical and molecular pathologist, led a workshop and gave a talk on molecular diagnosis of hematologic neoplasia. Amarpreet Bhalla, MD, section head of gastrointestinal and liver pathology, led an interactive microscope session on pancreatic cancer.

The collegial conference also left room to connect and unwind. James Pullman, MD, PhD, attending pathologist, professor of pathology, and former vice chair of Anatomic Pathology, organized the annual department dinner. "Every year I tell the participants at the annual dinner that it is the best year ever for our department at USCAP, and it always turns out to be true. This year was no exception," he said.

Research Awards

Clockwise from top left: Pathology residents Naijia Liu, MD, PhD, (PGY2) and Xing Li, MD, (PGY3 and chief); Jiye Zhu, MD (PGY2 and chief), Ahlam Ali, MD, (PGY3), and Shamsu Bello, MD (PGY3)

Montefiore Einstein was the only institution with two winners in the 2026 CAPA-GoPath Best Abstract Award competition, sponsored by the Chinese American Pathologists Association (CAPA).

Naijia Liu, MD, PhD (PGY2), took third place for her poster "Single-Cell Spatial Profiling and AI-Driven H&E Analysis Identify Residual Disease and Recurrence-Associated Niches in Prostate Cancer." USCAP also awarded her a Pathologist-in-Training Travel Award to attend the conference. Naijia Liu, Jianhong An, Erqiang Hu, Jiye Zhu, Xing Li, Qiang Liu, Shanye Yin

Jiye Zhu, MD (PGY2 and chief), received third place for "Spatial Multiomics Reveals Fibroblast-Mediated Immune Exclusion and Smooth Muscle Cell-Tumor Interactions in HIV-Positive Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma." Jiye Zhu, Jianhong An, Erqiang Hu, Naijia Liu, Xing Li, Qiang Liu, Shanye Yin

Ahlam Ali, MD (PGY3), won Honorable Mention in the AIPNA Best Abstract Competition for "Comparative Molecular Profiling of Basal Cell Carcinomas in Sun-Exposed and Anogenital Regions." Her project was supported by a $1,250 Pathology Residency and Fellowship Research Grant administered by the Department of Pathology under the oversight of Louis M. Weiss, MD, MPH, and Amy Fox, MD, MS. The grant supports trainees in producing publishable research with departmental and Einstein faculty.

"I am grateful to my mentors, Drs. Tiffany Hébert, Abdul Kalam Azad, and Yitzchak Goldstein for their guidance and support, with special thanks to Dr. Hébert for her continued encouragement," Dr. Ali said. Ahlam Ali, Pelin Onur, Anas Mohamed, Shamsu Bello, Tesfalem Korga, Abul Kalam Azad, Yitzchak Goldstein, Baljit Singh, Tiffany Hébert

Shamsu Bello, MD (PGY3), received a USCAP 2026 Trainee Travel Grant to attend the conference. He presented two abstracts, detailed below.

Clockwise from top left: Rita Moukarzel, MD, (PGY2) and Saima Haleem Siddiqui, MD; (PGY2); Naijia Liu, MD, PhD (PGY2); Winston Pereira (high school student); Jiye Zhue, MD (PGY2); Amarpreet Bhalla, MD (sectioin head, GI and Liver pathology); Selin Kurt,

Trainee Presentations

Shamsu Bello, MD (PGY2), presented two abstracts at USCAP. One appeared in a poster session; the other was selected for both a poster session and a platform talk.

• "Decoding the Tumor Microenvironment in Head and Neck Cancer Using Multi-Omics Spatial Analysis" (poster and a platform talk). Shamsu Bello, Jianhong An, Erqiang Hu, Leti Nunez, Jing Zhu, Qiang Liu, Wenjun Deng, Shanye Yin
• "Clinicopathologic Features of Leukemia Cutis: Navigating a Diagnostic Challenge" (poster presentation). Shamsu Bello, Tesfalem Korga, Ahlam Ali, Yanhua Wang, Yang Shi

Naijia Liu, MD, PhD (PGY2), presented a second poster and a platform talk in addition to her award-winning entry.

• "First Systematic Clinical Analysis of Human B1a Cells: Insights from a 489-Case Cohort Study" (poster). Naijia Liu, Jianhong An, Erqiang Hu, Jiye Zhu, Xing Li, Qiang Liu, Shanye Yin
• "Distribution of Human B1a Cells Across Tissues and Age Groups: A Flow Cytometry Analysis of 489 Samples" (platform).  Naijia Liu, Winston Pereira, Jiye Zhu, Yang Shi, Yanhua Wang

A notable collaborator on Dr. Liu’s second abstract: Winston Pereira, a high school student and son of Tiffany Hébert, MD, surgical pathologist and residency director. He joined the project through his school's science research program.

"It was his first foray into real medical research and netted him co-authorship on the abstract and the paper that is in press," said Dr. Hébert. "I'm thankful to Dr. Yanhua Wang for giving Winston this opportunity."

Xing Li, MD, (PGY3 and chief resident), presented a first-author abstract.

• "Clinical Impact of Newly Implemented, Fully Automated In-House Next-Generation Sequencing on the Management of Patients Presenting with Single-Lineage Cytopenias." Xing Li, Selin Kurt, Kritika Krishnamurthy.

She also co-authored three additional posters. Two are listed under Naijia Liu and Jiye Zhu as first authors. The third is listed below under collaborations.

Selin Kurt, MD (PGY3), presented two posters.

• "Impact of Germline TP53 p.R72P Polymorphism on Response to Neoadjuvant Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy in NSCLC" Selin Kurt, Kritika Krishnamurthy
• "Integration of the Decipher Genomic Classifier into Diagnostic Prostate Biopsies: Insights from Clinicopathologic Correlations" Selin Kurt, Ayesha Usman, Emily Torres, Garrison Pease

She also co-authored a poster with Xing Li.

Ayesha Usman, MD (PGY2), presented her first-author abstract.

• Frequent HPV Integration in PD-L1 Alters the Immune Landscape of Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma." Ayesha Usman, Erqiang Hu, Jianhong An, Qiang Liu, Shanye Yin

She also co-authored two other posters with Selin Kurt and Jiye Zhu as first authors.

Saima Haleem Siddiqui, MD, and Rita Moukarzel, MD, (PGY2), co-presented the abstract:

• "Comprehensive Diagnostic Characterization of Sézary Syndrome: A Large-Cohort Analysis Integrating Flow Cytometry, Cytogenetics, and Next-Generation Sequencing Data." Saima Haleem Siddiqui, Rita Moukarzel, Yanhua Wang, Yang Shi

Jiye Zhu, MD, PhD (PGY2 and chief resident) presented two posters as first author.

• “Spatial Multiomics Reveals Fibroblast-mediated Immune Exclusion and Smooth Muscle Cell-Tumor Interactions in HIV-Positive Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma”. Jiye Zhu, Jianhong An, Erqiang Hu, Naija Liu, Xing Li, Qiang Liu Shanye Yin.
• “Immunohistochemical Expression of Claudin 18.2 in Pancreatobiliary Malignancies”. Jiye Znu, Naijia Liu, Fahad Sheikh, Ayesha Usman, Muhammad Qazi, Amarpreet Bhalla.

He also presented 4 additional posters with Naija Liu and Mohammed Qazi as first authors.

Ahlam Ali (PGY3) presented a poster as first author (and award winner).

• "Comparative Molecular Profiling of Basal Cell Carcinomas in Sun-Exposed and Anogenital Regions." Ahlam Ali, Pelin Onur, Anas Mohamed, Shamsu Bello, Tesfalem Korga, Abul Kalam Azad, Doctor Goldstein, Baljit Singh, Tiffany Hebert.

She also coauthored one other poster with Shamsu Bello as first author.

Muhammad Qazi, MD, GI fellow, presented a poster as first author.

• "Immunohistochemical Expression of Claudin 18.2 in Pancreatobiliary Malignancies." Muhammad Qazi, Abdul Jabbar Dar, Jiye Zhu, Amarpreet Bhalla

Ahmed Bendari, MD, a Hematopathology fellow, presented a poster as first author.

• "Post-Induction Bone Marrow Fibrosis: A Potential Prognostic Indicator of Leukemic Clearance and Improved Overall Survival in Acute Myeloid Leukemia."  Ahmed Bendari, Harjot Gill, Yang Shi, Kritika Krishnamurthy

Collaborative Presentations

Montefiore Einstein pathologists Drs. Xing Li (resident), Amarpreet Bhalla (attending) and Jennifer Oliver-Krasinski (attending and vice chair of anatomic pathology), were co-authors on abstracts presented by researchers from other institutions.

• “Epstein-Barr virus-associated smooth muscle tumors (EBV-SMTs) are rare neoplasms arising in immunodeficiency, with only rare cases reported in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.” Julia Gallardo, Amarpreet Bhalla, Kathleen Byrnes, Shefali Chopra, Raul S. Gonzalez, Catherine Hagen, Huaibin Mabel Ko, Xiuli Liu, Jennifer Oliver-Krasinski, Nicole C Panarelli, Alexandros D. Polydorides, Marie E. Robert, Justin A Bishop, Dipti Mahajan Karamchandani
• "Implications of Subclassifying Gastric Intestinal Metaplasia in a Low-Risk Population for Gastric Cancer" Erika Patel, Lihui Qin, Jose Jessurun, Annika Windon, Xing Li, Nicole Panarelli.

Faculty Highlights

Kritika Krishnamurthy, MD, attending pathologist and associate director of Molecular Genetic Pathology & Cytogenetics, led an exhibitor workshop and gave a talk on rapid myeloid malignancy profiling with automated NGS, alongside Wei Song, MD, director of Clinical Genomics and Molecular Pathology at UC San Diego Health. She also moderated the Gastrointestinal Pathology platform session.

Amarpreet Bhalla, MD, an associate professor of pathology and section head of gastrointestinal and liver pathology, led an Interactive Microscopy Session for residents titled “Evaluation of Pancreatobiliary Lesions: Doing More with Less.”  Dr. Bhalla also led a Poster Walk for the Rodger C. Haggitt Gastrointestinal Pathology section, where she actively interacted with trainees and scholars from around the globe, fostering discussion and mentorship around gastrointestinal pathology research.

Appreciation

Special thanks to Yanhua Wang, MD, PhD, director of Hematopathology, who attended the meeting as advisor and co-author of several resident presentations, and to Qiang Liu, MD, a surgical pathologist with expertise in liver transplant surgery, and Shanye Yin, PhD, director of the Pathology Single Cell Bioinformatics Laboratory, who were unable to attend the meeting but advised and co-authored several resident presentations.

Pathology residents at the USCAP reception