Faculty of Pathology Holds Annual Symposium at No. 6 Kildare Street

The Faculty of Pathology held its 43rd Annual Symposium at No. 6 Kildare Street on 8 and 9 February 2024. 

The programme featured a wide variety of topics, including technological advances in pathology and training within the field: 

• "National Strategy for Genetics/Genomics” - Dr Emma McCann, Consultant in Clinical Genetics, CHI, Crumlin and Interim National Clinical Director, National Genetics & Genomics Office 

• "Technological Advances in Pathology: The Multidisciplinary Genomics Laboratory” - Prof Siobhan Glavey, Consultant Haematologist and Professor of Pathology, RCSI, Dublin 

• "Integrated Genomic Profiling in Solid and Haematological Neoplasms" - Prof David Gonzalez de Castro, Professor of Genomic Medicine, Queens University, Belfast 

• “Modernising Microbiology: Application of Sequencing and Other New Tools in a Clinical Environment” - Prof Stephen H. Gillespie, Professor of Medicine, University of St Andrews, Scotland 

• “My Experience: Dr Richard Steevens’ Scholarship, Melbourne, Australia” - Dr Fionnuala Cox, Immunology Fellow, Melbourne, Australia 

• “My Experience: RCPI/PWC Management Consultancy Fellowship” - Dr Judi Lynch, Consultant Lead Consultant Virologist, National Cervical Screening Laboratory, Coombe Hospital, Dublin 

In the morning session, a keynote lecture on "Technological Advances in Pathology" was delivered by Prof Aleš Ryška from The Fingerland Department of Pathology, Charles University Medical Faculty Hospital, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic. 

The session was followed by a lively and engaging panel discussion, chaired by Prof Brendan Doyle. 

The afternoon keynote speaker, Prof Ian Cree, Histopathologist, Honorary Professor of Pathology, Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London and Retired Head of WHO Classification of Tumours at the International Agency for Research on Cancer, discussed "The Future of Cancer Diagnosis". 

The day concluded with the popular poster and rapid-fire oral presentation session, with awards presented to the winners of each section. The Faculty also announced the recipients of the George Greene Medal, John D Kennedy Medal and John O'Dowd Medal. 

Congratulations to our winners: 

• Poster Prize:  

• Dr Niamh Mooney, Department of Histopathology, St James' Hospital: The Importance of Clonality Testing - A Case of Accumulating B-Cell Lymphomas 

• Rapid Fire Poster Prizes: 

• Dr Niamh Reidy, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland; Beaumont Hospital, Dublin: 'Tip of the Iceberg'. How severe is 'severe' C. difficile? 

• Dr Eoghan O’Connor, St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin; University College Dublin; NHQI Programme Working Group: The role of multidisciplinary team meeting histopathology review and impact on revised reports; analysis of a national quality improvement programme. 

• George Greene Medal: Dr Sarah Kelliher, Haematology Specialist Registrar 

• John D Kennedy Medal: Dr Sinead O'Donnell, Consultant Clinical Microbiologist 

• John O'Dowd Medal: Dr Sean Whelan, Division of Medical Microbiology, University Hospital Galway 

Annual General Meeting: 

The Faculty of Pathology’s Annual General Meeting took place on the morning of 9 February, followed by a general discussion including various topics: 

• “The Future Trainer” - Dr Maeve Doyle, Consultant Microbiologist and Dean of Education and Academic Programmes at RCPI 

• “MedLIS Update 2024” - Mr Thomas Walsh, Laboratory Programme Manager at MedLIS 

• "Update on Open Disclosure” - Ms Angela Tysall, HSE Lead for Open Disclosure and Dr Orla Healy, National Clinical Director for Quality and Patient Safety 

• "Sustainability/Green Issues in Laboratory Medicine" - Dr Ana Rakovac, Consultant Chemical Pathologist at Tallaght University Hospital 

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