On the Shoulders of a Giant: Contributions of Thomas Grogan, MD to Hematopathology

Roger A Warnke,Yasodha Natkunam

doi:10.3390/hemato2010006

Abstract

The story of Thomas Grogan, MD is one of the most compelling narratives in the modern history of pathology. Progressing from a quintessential academic pathologist to an entrepreneur and a renowned inventor, his remarkable journey is one of creativity, courage, and a keen focus on improving the care of cancer patients. By enabling precision health and empowering the pathologist in that mission, he transformed the landscape of diagnostic pathology. In this review, we describe some of his salient contributions and how his vision has shaped and continues to shape hematopathology today.

Highlights

IntroductionIn the Summer of 1978, a curious young physician with an interest in immunology and pathology arrived at Stanford University Medical Center
T-cell engagers (BiTEs) and related cellular therapies are emerging as the generation of lymphoma therapies. These strategies are increasingly requiring precise measurement including expression, downregulation and subcellular localization of several targets on lymphoma and leukemia tissue samples. Immunohistochemical assays, including those performed on the Ventana platform, as well as flow cytometry are routinely used to evaluate eligibility for clinical trials that are currently on-going for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), B-lymphoblastic lymphoma/leukemia, mantle cell lymphoma and plasma cell myeloma among others [54,55,56,57]
Systems Inc., its affiliate organizations within Roche Diagnostics, and the broader field of pathology, on a quest to improve cancer diagnosis for all patients. Along his remarkable journey from the basement to co-founding a company valued in the billions, Dr Grogan’s vision for patient care remained crystal clear

Summary

Introduction

In the Summer of 1978, a curious young physician with an interest in immunology and pathology arrived at Stanford University Medical Center He had just completed two years as Chief of the Hematology Laboratory at the Walter-Reed Army Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, under the mentorship of Dr Costan Berard, who was the Chief of Hematopathology at the National Institutes of Health [1]. At Walter-Reed Army Medical Center, he was exposed to the clinical and operational aspects of a hematology laboratory, which spurred him to explore hematopathology as a subspecialty His arrival at Stanford coincided with the pioneering days of applying monoclonal antibodies to human tissue biopsies to aid in pathology diagnoses [2,3,4].

Arrival at Stanford and Entry into Hematopathology

Beginnings of Immunohistochemistry

The Promise of Immunohistochemistry

Realizing a Vision

Enabling Precision Health

Conclusions