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Research

The Department of Pathology is deeply invested in scientific efforts to improve treatments in our field. Learn more about our department’s investigations below.

Message from the Vice Chair

"We are driven by a shared passion for discovery and a deep commitment to advancing human health through innovative research programs and collaborative partnerships among scientists and pathologists."

Peng Ji, MD, PhD
Vice Chair of Research 

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Areas of Research

Members of the Department of Pathology are defining the cellular and molecular basis of disease toward the development of new and improved strategies to diagnose and treat, inherited, acquired and infectious disorders. Learn more about the work being done in our labs.

Research Areas

Affiliated Research Centers and Institutes

The faculty members of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine’s Department of Pathology are engaged in research within the department and throughout Northwestern Medicine and Northwestern University. Our work throughout the community, including director appointments, illustrate the importance we put on scientific collaboration.

Research Cores

Core facilities provide cost-efficient access of state-of-the-art equipment, the most current technologies and expert technical advice to individual scientists.

Learn more about our affiliated cores

Research Resources

Recent Publications

RhoGEF Ect2 supports RhoA activity at cell-cell junctions through desmoplakin.

Zarkoob H, Kam CY, Koetsier JL, McCarthy E, Jaiganesh A, Kelsell DP, Sheikh F, Godsel LM, Green KJ.

Life Sci Alliance. 2026 Mar 12;9(6):e202503454. doi: 10.26508/lsa.202503454. Print 2026 Jun.

Concurrent driver mutations induce distinct tumour morphologies on radiological imaging.

Rodríguez Sánchez DI, Vanneste T, Middelkoop J, Maxouri O, Rostami S, Ursprung S, Boveradze N, Chupetlovska K, Castagnoli F, Landolfi F, Hong EK, Pizzi AD, Gennaro N, Snaebjornsson P, Bodalal Z, Beets-Tan R.

Eur J Radiol. 2026 May;198:112738. doi: 10.1016/j.ejrad.2026.112738. Epub 2026 Feb 18.

Variations in Therapeutic Plasma Exchange and Extracorporeal Photopheresis Practice Patterns: Survey Results From the ASFA Solid Organ Transplantation Subcommittee.

Lee GM, AlMozain NH, Alquist CR, Alsammak MS, Eichbaum Q, Karafin MS, Knudson CM, Lamba DS, Lopez-Plaza I, Mattiazzi AD, Raval JS, Schneiderman J, Setya D, Srivaths PR, Tanhehco YC, Tripathi PP, Webb J, Yamada C, Yunce M.

J Clin Apher. 2026 Apr;41(2):e70113. doi: 10.1002/jca.70113.

Family History and Solar Insolation in Bipolar I Disorder.

Bauer M, Glenn T, Achtyes ED, Alda M, Agaoglu E, Altınbaş K, Andreassen OA, Angelopoulos E, Ardau R, Aydin M, Ayhan Y, Baethge C, Bauer R, Baune BT, Balaban C, Becerra-Palars C, Behere AP, Belete H, Belete T, Belizario GO, Bellivier F, Belmaker RH, Benedetti F, Berk M, Bersudsky Y, Bicakci Ş, Birabwa-Oketcho H, Bjella TD, Brady C, Cabrera J, Cappucciati M, Castro AMP, Chen W, Cheung EYW, Chiesa S, Chanopoulou M, Crowe M, Cuomo A, Dallaspezia S, Desai P, Dodd S, Etain B, Fagiolini A, Fellendorf FT, Ferensztajn-Rochowiak E, Fiedorowicz JG, Fountoulakis KN, Frye MA, Geoffroy PA, Gitlin MJ, Gonzalez-Pinto A, Gottlieb JF, Grof P, Haarman BCM, Harima H, Hasse-Sousa M, Henry C, Hoffding L, Houenou J, Imbesi M, Isometsä ET, Ivkovic M, Janno S, Johnsen S, Kapczinski F, Karakatsoulis GN, Kardell M, Kessing LV, Kim SJ, König B, Kot TL, Koval M, Kunz M, Lafer B, Landén M, Larsen ER, Licht RW, Ludwig VM, Lopez-Jaramillo C, MacKenzie A, Madsen HØ, Madsen SAKA, Mahadevan J, Mahardika A, Mahfoudh K, Manchia M, Marsh W, Martinez-Cengotitabengoa M, Martini J, Martiny K, Mashima Y, McLoughlin DM, Meesters ANR, Meesters Y, Melle I, Meza-Urzúa F, Michaelis E, Mikolas P, Mok YM, Monteith S, Moorthy M, … See abstract for full author list ➔

Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2026 Apr;153(4):270-278. doi: 10.1111/acps.70075. Epub 2026 Feb 24.

Polymorphic central nervous system (CNS) immune deficiency/dysregulation-associated lymphoproliferative disorders show a uniquely aggressive clinicopathologic profile compared to their extra-CNS counterparts.

Alvarez FR, Nayman EI, Chen YH, Chen QC, Jamshidi P, Dixit K, Tariq H.

Hum Pathol. 2026 Apr;170:106051. doi: 10.1016/j.humpath.2026.106051. Epub 2026 Jan 22.

Long-Read Genome Sequencing Establishes Biallelic Pathogenic Variants in DNM1 With Distinct Functional Effects as the Cause of Early Infantile Developmental and Epileptic Encephalopathy.

Drackley A, Peter M, Akbari HH, Ivanisevic J, Ing A, Regan-Fendt K, McMullen P, Yap KL.

Am J Med Genet A. 2026 Apr;200(4):947-951. doi: 10.1002/ajmga.70012. Epub 2025 Dec 4.

Prevalence, Clinical Factors and Impact of Dysphagia After Cardiac Surgery for Congenital Heart Disease.

Hahn S, Willette S, Lay A, Schroeder J, Hazkani I, Valika T, Ghadersohi S.

Pediatr Cardiol. 2026 Apr;47(4):1677-1686. doi: 10.1007/s00246-025-03953-y. Epub 2025 Jul 10.

Characterizing placental dysfunction with DNA methylation profiling and placental histopathology.

Illing HJ, Freedman AA, Beraldo EO, Keenan-Devlin L, Miller GE, Borders AE, Robinson WP, Ernst LM.

Placenta. 2026 Mar 25;176:53-61. doi: 10.1016/j.placenta.2026.02.008. Epub 2026 Feb 10.

C4b-binding protein as an antigenic target in the pathogenesis of antiphosphatidylethanolamine autoantibodies.

Hou S, Lindholm PF, Thurman JM, Lee J, Ramsey-Goldman R, Zhao M.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2026 Mar 24;123(12):e2528183123. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2528183123. Epub 2026 Mar 18.

Determinants of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy across 186 countries: a multifaceted analysis using structural equation modeling.

Van Truong L, Van Nguyen T, Trang VTT, Le TTT, Thum CC, Nguyen D, Wong YJ, Jain N, Binh MNLT, Anh DH, Marzouk S, Sabet C, El Idrissi FE, Thuy LT, Huynh KLA, Makram AM, Pham HH, Lesmana E, Simadibrata DM, Abbas AM, Kudsi MA, Minh NA, Ngoc NT, Binh NH, Nam NT, Ali IA, Gurav JS, Tri NHM, Tin PT, Makki A, Albakkar M, Naji MH, Jouini JA, Anand A, Al-Moughales AAAR, Tuyen PB, Kashyap A, Mohamed MHN, Alhosni H, MohamedAhmed BBA, Ramanarayanan S, Menna C, Ramzi A, Arnaout M, James JM, Van Pham M, Mokhtar FMB, Mani E, Kumari U, Fathima SS, Rampengan DDCH, Pham Thi Cam H, Elhadidy AMAM, Okeh DU, Soetomo CT, Latti P, Babu P, Ghanam AK, Osman MOA, Putrinata NPMH, George G, Alhumrani ZAK, Kwaah PA, Saad MA, Ibrahim AID, Mohamed MAS, Dinh XT, Salim J, Bouey J, Huy NT; TMGH Online Research Club Global Team.

Vaccine. 2026 Mar 17;78:128196. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2026.128196. Online ahead of print.

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