First UTSW job: Pathologist. It was my first job after a fellowship, and I just stayed all these years.

Best part about my job: The people – my colleagues, staff, and trainees. Pathologists don’t see many patients, but that doesn’t mean we don’t appreciate interpersonal, professional relationships.

Best UTSW memory: The first year I took over as residency director, I was annoyed to find that the composite photo prints of our residents showed up with a big black line down the middle of the page. In my frustration, I flashed one of the copies at my predecessor and declared that they were all defective and I was having them replaced. It took a moment for me to register the look of puzzled horror on his face. He thought I was referring to the residents themselves, not their photos.

My proudest UTSW accomplishment: My work in graduate medical education, not only here at UT Southwestern, but nationally. The real reason to be proud is because of how many trainees here and at other institutions I’ve been able to benefit.

I’m really good at: When I was younger, I was exceptionally good at finding four-leaf clovers. I once found 120 of them in one outing. I don’t do it much now, but I think this ability predicted a talent for pattern recognition that has served me well in my pathology career.

Hobbies: I enjoy genealogy. It’s like the intersection of genetics and history.

Surprising facts: When I attended Davidson College, I was on a four-student team that won $20,000 on a televised College Bowl quiz show. We used the winnings to establish our own scholarship, which still exists. But maybe that’s not surprising for someone who ended up in academics. How about this: While in my M.D./Ph.D. program at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, I won the state competition of the National Association of Teachers of Singing at the graduate school level. I guess that’s more unlikely. 

Final note: I’ve been lucky to have landed in a place and among people where my career could blossom, often in unexpected ways, and that I’ve been able to pay my good fortune forward through my work in patient care and medical education.

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