Dr. Tina Bocker Edmonston (Assistant Professor of Pathology) received her medical degree from Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich, Germany. During four years of residency training in anatomic pathology at Regensburg University, Germany, she developed an interest in the molecular carcinogenesis of colorectal cancer and in hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer syndrome (HNPCC). She then joined Dr. Richard Fishel's laboratory at the Kimmel Cancer Center of Thomas Jefferson University for 3 years as a post-doctoral fellow to focus on the basic science of DNA mismatch repair and on HNPCC screening with molecular diagnostic methods. After completing her residency training in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology at Thomas Jefferson University and subspecialty training in Molecular Genetic Pathology at the University of Pennsylvania she became the research director of the Molecular Pathology Laboratory at Thomas Jefferson University. Her main research interest is molecular diagnostics and molecular characterization of solid tumors.  

Dr. Fred Gorstein , is the Jacob and Sophie Rubin Professor and Chairman of the Department of Pathology, Anatomy and Cell Biology at the Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University.

Prior to moving to Philadelphia in 1994, he served as the Chairman of the Department of Pathology at Vanderbilt University.  Dr. Gorstein received his undergraduate education at the University Heights College of New York University and his MD from NYU in 1955. He completed a residency in internal medicine on the NYU service of Bellevue Hospital in New York City, after which he joined the Pathology Department of the same institution as a resident and USPHS postdoctoral fellow in Pathology in the laboratory of Dr. Baruj Benacerraf.

Under the supervision of Dr. Benacerraf and subsequently, Dr. Peter Miescher, Dr. Gorstein investigated the mechanisms of autoimmune disease and immune platelet destruction. These studies conducted almost a decade prior to the discovery of T and B cells, demonstrated the importance of lymphocytes in the induction of (auto)immune damage. Subsequently, Dr Gorstein joined the laboratory of Germ Free Animal Research (NIAID) at NIH where utilizing a germ free system, he and his co-worker, Dr. Bruce Phillips demonstrated the critical role of a bacterial component in initiating amebic infection in the germ free animal. With Dr. Bertram Gesner, he demonstrated that autoimmune murine thyroiditis could be transferred with lymphocytes. Dr. Gorstein has had a long time interest in gynecologic pathology and served as the director of the combined NYU-Bellevue Hospital Service for several years. In collaborative studies with Drs. Ann Thor, William Rodgers, and Kevin Osteen utilizing cultured endometrial cells, they demonstrated the role of epithelial-stromal interaction in the regulation of metalloproteinase expression in normal endometrium and endometriosis. These and other studies have been published in over 80 peer reviewed publications.

Over a period of more than 28 years Dr. Gorstein served as the associate editor and editor and editor in chief of Human Pathology. Doctor Gorstein has had a long term and continuing interest in undergraduate and graduate education. He served as the director of Residency Training at two institutions and has been a strong advocate for a competency based structure for residency programs for more than a decade. He estimates that he has participated in the training of more than 250 residents and clinical fellows in pathology over the past 40 years.

As the chair of Pathology at Vanderbilt University, and more recently at Thomas Jefferson University, he has participated in intramural and national organizations concerned with health policy issues and medical administration. As the chair of the College of American Pathologists he was instrumental in establishing the CAP Foundation Scholars Award program. He served as the president of UAREP (Universities Associated with Research and Education in Pathology), was an officer of the many boards of many organizations such as the American Registry of Pathology and the council of the Association of Pathology Chairs. He has been the recipient of distinguished service awards from Vanderbilt University and the Association of Pathology Chairs.