Mission Statement
The Genitourinary (GU) Pathology Center of Excellence at UPMC Shadyside is dedicated to excellence in clinical service, education, and translational research. The Center provides specialized diagnostic expertise in diseases of the prostate, urinary bladder, kidney, testis, penis, adrenal gland, and urinary tract, supporting patient care across UPMC Presbyterian, UPMC Shadyside, Magee-Womens Hospital, and numerous outpatient and referral practices throughout the UPMC network.
Our faculty work closely with specialists in Urologic Surgery, Medical Oncology, Radiation Oncology, and the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center to provide expert diagnostic consultation and multidisciplinary support for patients with both neoplastic and non-neoplastic genitourinary diseases. Advanced immunohistochemical, molecular, and genomic testing is integrated into routine practice to support precision diagnostics and personalized patient care.
Education is a core mission of the Center. Through dedicated resident and fellowship training, multidisciplinary conferences, consultation services, and extensive teaching collections, trainees gain broad exposure to contemporary genitourinary pathology and the application of ancillary diagnostic technologies.
The Center maintains a strong translational research program that integrates surgical pathology, molecular pathology, and clinical outcomes. Faculty members lead and collaborate on studies focused on biomarker discovery, disease classification, and precision oncology. These efforts are supported by extensive clinical cohorts and biospecimen resources, including tissue banking initiatives led by Dr. Rajiv Dhir that facilitate collaborative research across UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh.
The GU Center of Excellence is also engaged in advancing digital pathology and artificial intelligence applications for diagnostic pathology, quantitative image analysis, and biomarker assessment. This includes the clinical implementation of Ibex as an AI-assisted screening tool within routine diagnostic workflows, with pathologist oversight. The Center also works with industry partners on additional projects of artificial intelligence and digital pathology interest, including the evaluation of emerging technologies and their potential applications in diagnostic practice, workflow optimization, education, and research. Through collaborations with the Computational Pathology and AI Center of Excellence (CPACE), faculty, fellows, and residents have opportunities to participate in innovative research at the intersection of pathology, data science, and precision medicine.
Through its commitment to diagnostic excellence, education, innovation, and multidisciplinary collaboration, the GU Pathology Center of Excellence serves as a regional, national, and international resource in genitourinary pathology.