On Feb. 13, 2025, Associate Professor of Pathology Giselle López, MD, PhD, gave a talk titled "The Role of Pathologists in Big Data Studies" at the University of Chicago Department of Pathology. She also presented an unknown slide session, “Crash Course on Surviving Neuro Frozens,” to residents.
López’s talk was part of the department’s "Pathobiology of Disease" series. First, she described the basic principles underlying various spatial big data approaches that measure Ribonucleic Acid (RNA), or protein levels across a slide. The term “big data” refers to extremely large and complex datasets that are difficult to process and analyze using traditional data processing tools. Then, she outlined how pathologists can collaborate with researchers on such studies to identify scientifically interesting questions, annotate the tissues, and interpret the results. Finally, she provided an example of how pathologists can initiate such studies, starting with identifying a question, and then finding, funding, and assembling a research team to run studies and publish results.
For the unknown slides session, López showed a series of neuropathology intraoperative frozen or smear slides and discussed the differential diagnosis and possible pitfalls for each example. She provided common real-world pitfalls for those covering surgical neuropathology frozens service – a process used during brain or nerve surgeries to examine tissue samples quickly.
López earned her MD and PhD degrees from Duke and has been an integral member of Duke Pathology since 2018. Her lab is focused on searching for cures for brain tumors.
In October 2023, she received the Spark Award from the Association for Women in Science (AWIS) in recognition of her strong leadership skills and for her vocal advocacy for diversity and inclusive scientific practices. Read more about the award and advocacy work here.
In July 2023, the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) named López to its prestigious ASCP 2023 40 Under Forty list. The list includes 40 high-achieving pathologists, pathology residents, and medical laboratory professionals under age 40 who are being honored for professional excellence. Read more about that honor, and watch a short video about her work here.
She is active in building pathways into pathology for pre-med students from diverse backgrounds and has developed a virtual pathology shadowing program. In 2024 she was accepted into the Society for Neuro-Oncology (SNO) Future Leaders Development Program.