People of Pathology Podcast
Episodes
Episode 228: Dr Luis Cano – Beyond the Slide: Where AI Is Really Transforming Pathology
Today my guest is pathologist Dr Luis Cano
What we discuss with Dr Cano:
- How personal experience led to medicine and pathology
- His early fascination with computers
- The intersection of pathology and AI
- The writing process for Getting Started in Digital Pathology
- Launching Beyond the Slide on Substack
- Using AI with a purpose
- The concept of “human in the loop”
- AI for targeted therapy
- Unlocking hidden slide data
- AI in histology workflows
- Future pathology lab vision
Links for this episode:
Pathologists’ Assistant Shadowing Network
Getting Started With Digital Pathology
People of Pathology Podcast:
Episode 227: Dr Amanda Hemmerich – Building Global Digital Pathology At IQVIA Laboratories
Today my guest is Dr Amanda Hemmerich from IQVIA Labs.
What we discuss with Dr Hemmerich:
- The work of IQVIA labs
- Her role as Global Director of Digital Pathology Innovation
- What a typical day is like in this role
- Managing challenges of global regulations
- Her career path from private practice, to academia, to industry
- Skills she learned along the way that are useful now
- How to manage rapid change in digital pathology
- Why it’s important to get involved with professional organizations
- How digital pathology might evolve in the next five to ten years
Links for this episode:
Pathologists’ Assistant Shadowing Network
Streamlining Clinical Development and Maximizing Trial Success with an Enterprise Pathology Platform
Next Gen Clinical Research – Interview with The Pathologist
People of Pathology Podcast:
Episode 226: Marissa Spencer – #PathAssistDay 2026: Reflection, Growth, And The Future Of PAs
Today my guest is Pathologists’ Assistant Marissa Spencer for our 4th annual PA Day special episode
What we discuss with Marissa:
- Why it’s important to regularly reflect on your career and your development
- How the relationship between Pathologists and PAs is evolving
- Teaching the “why” instead of just teaching the “how”
- How this method creates foundational knowledge that is transferrable to other specimen types
- The future of PA education and why it might need to change
- Opportunities for PAs to be more patient-facing
- Advice for aspiring pathologists’ assistants
Links for this episode:
Pathologists’ Assistant Shadowing Network
People of Pathology Podcast:
Episode 225: Dr Derrick Forchetti – Staying Curious And The Predictive Future Of Pathology
Today my guest is Dr Derrick Forchetti.
What we discuss with Dr Forchetti:
- Dr. Forchetti’s journey into pathology and the mentors who influenced his career
- Choosing hematopathology and the appeal of combining clinical and anatomic pathology
- Early interest in computers and how technology became part of his medical career
- The role of informatics in modern pathology practice
- Digital pathology and how it is changing workflows and diagnostics
- Why AI will augment pathologists rather than replace them
- Lessons from past technological advances like immunohistochemistry and molecular pathology
- Using AI and digital pathology for predictive analytics
- Research on predicting colon cancer risk in patients with tubular adenomas
- The concept of pathology evolving from a diagnostic field to a predictive field
- The importance of collaboration between physicians, engineers, and data scientists
- Advice for residents and pathologists interested in technology and informatics
- The importance of staying curious and being open to new technology
- How pathologists can help shape the future of AI in medicine
Links for this episode:
Pathologists’ Assistant Shadowing Network
South Bend Medical Foundation uses AI to predict colorectal cancer risks earlier
People of Pathology Podcast:
Episode 224: Clara Cirks – Living Through Cancer, The Power Of Storytelling, Finding Perspective
Today Dr Meredith Herman and I interview Clara Cirks.
What we discuss with Clara:
- Clara’s journey with stage 4 lung cancer
- Using social media as advocacy and video journaling
- “Cancer questions with Clara” and cancer education on TikTok
- The therapeutic power of storytelling
- Connecting patients, clinicians, and community
- Perspective from pathology: seeing the person behind the specimen
- Identity, survivorship, and living with cancer
- Disability, independence, and self-advocacy
- The impact of community events like the Above + Beyond Cancer Gala
- Why patient voices matter in medicine
Links for this episode:
Pathologists’ Assistant Shadowing Network
Clara on TikTok
Clara on Instagram
Living with Metastatic Lung Cancer: Clara’s Honest Take on Life and Treatment
Clara’s Story: Blood Donations Saved My Life
People of Pathology Podcast:
Episode 223: Yair Rivenson – Inside The Virtual Staining Revolution At Pictor Labs
Today my guest is Yair Rivenson, CEO of Pictor Labs
What we discuss with Yair:
- His engineering and computational imaging background
- How AI and microscopy intersected to form the foundation of Pictor Labs
- The origin story of Pictor Labs and why it was founded in 2019
- What “virtual staining” really means and how autofluorescence enables it
- Training stain models: data requirements, timelines, and workflows
- The impact on tissue preservation, waste reduction, and turnaround times
- Applications in biorepositories, pharma research, and biomarker discovery
- Creating new stains based on lab or industry needs
- The future vision: virtual stains as a data layer for pathology
- How AI can turn tissue into a “hypothesis-generating machine”
Links for this episode:
Pathologists’ Assistant Shadowing Network
Virtual Tissue Staining with Yair Rivenson from Pictor Labs – Impact AI podcast
People of Pathology Podcast:

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