Fellowships in Surgical Pathology (or one of its subspecialty areas) are usually of one year's duration and are designed to prepare trainees for a career as a general surgical or a subspecialty pathologist. They are designed to provide advanced training in specific clinical subspecialty areas as well as graduated responsibility in terms of diagnosis and case triage (within the guidelines permitted by HCFA). Construction of these fellowships is flexible and determined both by the expressed interest(s) of the fellow(s) and departmental needs; thus time spent on each of the selected subspecialty clinical services detailed below may range from 3 to 12 months.
Fellowships may be renewed for a second year in the case of individuals who show special aptitude or in the context of particular departmental need(s). Services covered by surgical pathology fellows (usually in blocks of 3 months) include Senior Resident in Surgical Pathology (SRSP), breast pathology, genitourinary pathology, gastrointestinal pathology, soft tissue pathology (including Dr. Fletcher's consult service), pulmonary pathology, head and neck/endocrine pathology, and cardiovascular pathology.
Rotations in women’s and perinatal pathology, dermatopathology, cytopathology and hematopathology can also be arranged for candidates with a special interest. The faculty principally engaged in each of these specialty areas are listed at the end of this page.
Responsibilities of the SRSP include:
While subspecialty fellows will help to handle or triage complex surgical resection specimens on their service in the Frozen Section or Surgical Cutting rooms, routine dissection of specimens (normally undertaken by 1st and 2nd year residents) is not part of these fellowships, although active involvement in the handling of consult cases (at all stages) on the given subspecialty service is expected.
When engaged in the surgical pathology subspecialties, fellows play an active and key role in each of the clinical services. In varying proportions, this will include:
While the principal purpose of these fellowships is to provide experience and training in a high-volume clinical environment, it is also hoped that fellows will find time to undertake clinically oriented research projects under the supervision of the faculty listed below. Fellows in Surgical Pathology are assigned mentors in an area of their interest to facilitate academic productivity.
Preference will be given to candidates who are Board certified or eligible for certification by the American Board of Pathology in anatomic pathology or anatomic and clinical pathology and who have demonstrated an interest in pursuing an academic career in surgical pathology. Applicants must be eligible for a Massachusetts medical license.
Fellowship application form and inquiries should be submitted by email to:
Department of Pathology
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
75 Francis Street
Boston, MA 02115
Phone: 617-732-4699
Fax: 617-278-6934
Email: bwhpathologyfellowships@bwh.harvard.edu
For questions regarding the status of an application and other inquiries please contact bwhpathologyfellowships@bwh.harvard.edu or the relevant Program Directors listed below.
For AY 2025-2026, the Surgical Pathology fellowship program is proudly participating in the Unified Approach and Common Timeline for surgical pathology and subspecialty fellowship recruitment.
We will begin accepting applications in March 2023. There is no deadline to apply, we will continue accepting applications until we fill all positions. In the summer, information on interviews will be given to selected applicants following review of a complete application. Interviews will begin on August 14, 2023.
For more information on the Surgical Pathology Unified Approach visit the Association of Pathology Chairs website. This page has the Unified Approach Guidelines for 2025-2026, Code of Conduct, FAQs, and tips for applicants.
Important Dates:
For questions regarding a particular fellowship (positions available, requirements, etc.) please contact the respective Program Director:
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