Thoracic Pathology Faculty Samuel A. Yousem, MD Sanja Dacic, MD, PhD N. Paul Ohori, MD Mission Statement The Thoracic Center of Excellence is based at UPMC Presbyterian and has a broad agenda focused on achieving excellence in clinical service, resident/fellow education, and translational research. The Center of Excellence supports diagnostic services at both Presbyterian and Shadyside Hospitals, offering skilled interpretation in the surgical pathology of thoracic, mediastinal, and cardiovascular diseases. This mission supports the focused efforts in thoracic oncology and interstitial lung disease of the Divisions of Thoracic Surgery and Pulmonary Medicine at the UPMCHS. The Thoracic Center of Excellence is active in housestaff education, with much of the educational efforts focused on training of residents through case analysis and discussion. A wealth of internal material is supplemented by an active consultation service, an extensive slide teaching collection and study sets in the pathology of lung transplantation. Housestaff officers are trained in the applications of histochemistry, immunohistochemistry, and molecular biological techniques in the evaluation of clinical and pathologic diagnostic problems as well as in the interpretation of radiologic images and functional studies. Our research focus is largely oriented toward utilizing our own and the resources of the Molecular Anatomic Pathology section of the Division of Anatomic Pathology for assessing the relationship of surgical pathology to molecular pathology to clinical outcome. Major focuses have been on clonality in unusual pulmonary proliferations, the relationship of molecular changes in non-small cell carcinoma to clinical outcome, and the utilization of histology and immunohistology in predicting acute and chronic rejection of lung allografts.