Michel Nasr, MD, has been named as chair of the Department of Pathology at Upstate Medical University.

The appointment, effective June 1, was announced by Lawrence Chin, MD, dean of the Norton College of Medicine.

“I am proud to welcome Dr Nasr as chair of the Department of Pathology,” Chin said. “Under his interim leadership, he has set a foundation for expanded services throughout the region, while embracing expanded uses of technology in this rapidly changing field that will benefit our patients, clinicians, students and residents. I am pleased to have him remain in this important leadership role, now as chair.”

The Department of Pathology employs approximately 300 employees and features more than 30 faculty who provide testing, interpretation and consultation services for the hospital and its associated clinics. More than 6 million tests are performed annually. It is the only academic regional pathology laboratory serving the Central New York community.

Nasr joined Upstate in 2018 as medical director of clinical pathology and genomics, having served previously on the faculty at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.

As provincial medical director of genomics and lymphoma service lead at the University of Manitoba, Nasr was a member of the “In Sixty” program, an initiative aimed at providing clinical guidance on the work-up of patients suspected of having lymphoma. The team demonstrated the most effective and efficient ways for patients to get a diagnosis and treatment within 60 days.

Nasr is author of numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, including one on the development and validation of diagnostic assays for detecting SARS-CoV2 in the Journal of Molecular Diagnostics. 

He is coauthor of the widely used book Lymph Node Pathology for Clinicians (Springer, 2019). Another noteworthy credit is serving as coauthor of a chapter on Leukocytic Disorders in Henry’s Clinical Diagnosis and Management by Laboratory Methods, (Elsevier, 2021), a key clinical pathology reference.

As interim chair of Pathology, Nasr implemented several initiatives, including the establishment of the SPORE laboratory to provide efficient, high-quality histology and digital pathology laboratory services to Upstate researchers, external academic collaborators as well as the private sector (pharma/biotech companies). He also represented Pathology in the New York State Laboratory Leadership Consortium, which was formed in April 2020 to support a regional response to the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, he has strengthened department finances, and introduced new technology and teaching experiences for medical students and residents.

Nasr earned his doctor of medicine degree from the Kursk State Medical University, Kursk Russia (1999), and completed residencies at American University of Beirut Medical Center, Upstate Medical University (1999-2007) and fellowships in hematopathology and molecular genetic pathology the University of Iowa (2007-2009).