Description: The program has been in existence since 1980; 39 individuals have completed the program. It is a two-year program with the goals to develop trainees diagnostic skills in kidney diseases through active participation in the work-up of kidney biopsies. An important objective of the program is also to teach the trainees the mechanisms underlying the various disease processes that affect the kidney and the molecular underpinnings of these processes. This includes the critical review of pertinent and current literature on the disease processes in any given biopsy case. This is not an ACGME accredited program.
The Pathologist-in-training concentrates on the structural expression of the medical processes that affect the kidneys. The renal pathology fellow isexpected to participate in the work-up of the routine daily load of kidney biopsies that the department receives from in-house patient as well as from anumber of referring institutions across the country. We currently process about 1500 kidney biopsy per year, about 85% of these cases are referred fromoutside institutions; virtually all biopsies and many nephrectomy specimens are analyzed by light, immunofluorescence, and electron microscopy by the renalpathology fellows. The work of the renal pathology fellow includes a detailed examination and description of the findings at the light, immunofluorescence,and the electron microscopy level,formulation of preliminary diagnoses, review of the findings with the staff pathologist, a preliminary communication withthe attending nephrologist, and the preparation of the final report, incorporating all the findings obtained by light, immunofluorescence,and electronmicroscopy. In this program,the direct examination of the specimen by immunofluorescence and electron microscopy, and the necessary measurements of
structures by morphometric means in many cases, is done routinely by the renal pathology fellow and then confirmed by the staff pathologist. The cases arethen reviewed at each step of the process by the staff pathologist, other trainees, and pathology and nephrology residents on rotation on renal pathology at the time.
The fellowship is fully integrated to the core ACGME-accredited Pathology Residency Training Program of the Department of Pathology and the ACGME-accreditedNephrology Fellowship Program at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The renal pathology fellow interacts on a daily basis with the pathology residents andnephrology fellows that rotate through the Renal Pathology Service as an elective. During the training the renal pathology fellow will also attend andparticipate in all of our weekly hospital-wide and departmental conferences, including Teaching Conferences that are part of the Residency Training Program,the Nephrology Grand Rounds held in combination with the renal pathology and nephrology groups from the Massachusetts General Hospital, the teachingconferences of the Renal Division of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital which are part of the Fellowship in Nephrology, Pathology Grand Rounds, the Oncology-Pathology Conference for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Surgical Pathology Conference, several of our subspecialty conferences, weekly teachingconferences, and a weekly Pathology Conference where residents and fellows in training make short presentations of current cases and review the pertinentclinical, morphological, and molecular advances in a particular topic. In addition, the renal pathology fellow will be able to engage in research activitiesrelated to kidney pathology and case reviews for publications or meant as teaching material, often collaboration with members and trainees of the RenalDivision at the hospital. Review of pertinent literature for unusual cases is part of our routine work-up of kidney biopsies; also the renal pathologyfellow performs this task.
Requirements: Board-eligible or certified in Anatomic Pathology or equivalent in foreign country
Applications and inquires should be sent to:
Helmut G. Rennke, M.D.,
Program Coordinator
Renal pathology fellowship
Department of Pathology
75 Francis Street
Boston, MA 02115
phone: (617) 732-5459
email: hrennke@partners.org
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