About the Department of Pathology & Molecular Medicine | Pathology | School of Medicine

The Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine of Queen’s University and the affiliated University Hospitals Kingston undertakes comprehensive programs in education, research and clinical care. More than fifty departmental Faculty teach laboratory medicine and the pathogenesis of disease, train the next generation of biomedical research scientists and laboratory physicians, conduct basic and translational research which advances the understanding and treatment of disease and deliver diagnostic services and clinical programs to the people of Southeastern Ontario.

The Department offers, and participates in, a wide range of educational programs. Faculty have an integral role in teaching pathobiology in undergraduate medical, undergraduate life science and graduate curricula. Our Graduate program, which offers both MSc and PhD degrees, provides training in basic biomedical research in cancer biology, genetics, vascular biology and molecular hemostasis. Postgraduate programs in Anatomic Pathology, General Pathology and Hematopatholgy train laboratory physicians for both the community and academic sectors and postdoctoral training opportunities are available for research scientists as well as diagnostic laboratory scientists specializing in Genetics. We also participate actively in the training of laboratory technologists in a variety of disciplines. The Department is particularly proud of its Educational Outreach Program which introduces high school and elementary school students to the science of pathology and molecular medicine. The courses the program offers are developed, coordinated and taught by our graduate students.

The common theme of departmental research programs is molecular medicine: that is, the elucidation of the pathogenesis of disease at the molecular level and the application of this knowledge to the design and implementation of novel therapies. Our established programs include cancer biology, vascular biology, genetics, molecular hemostasis, amyloidogenesis and cholesterol metabolism. Through collaborations with the Queen’s Cancer Research Institute we also have an emerging strength in translational research.

The Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine is closely integrated with the Clinical Laboratory Services Program of Kingston General Hospital and the acute care site of University Hospitals Kingston, through five divisions: Anatomic Pathology; Hematopathology; Genetics; Clinical Microbiology; and, Clinical Chemistry. Faculty play a vital consultative role in clinical care through the provision of diagnostic laboratory services and engage in direct patient care through Clinical Genetics, Infection Control and Transfusion Medicine programs. The Department also plays an integral role in the delivery of laboratory medicine services across Southeastern Ontario through the provision of laboratory administrative services to regional hospitals, leadership in regional Infection Control programs and a Regional Forensic Pathology Unit which is located in Kingston General Hospital.