On July 9, 2026, Duke Pathology's graduating Pathologists’ Assistant (Path A) students presented their senior seminars in the Bryan Research Building before faculty, program staff, family members, and friends, marking an important milestone in their professional training.
The senior seminar serves as the capstone requirement for completion of the Duke Path A Program. During the presentations, students delivered in-depth reviews of autopsy cases they had worked on throughout their training, highlighting patient histories, autopsy findings, and key disease processes relevant to each case. The seminars demonstrated the students’ ability to synthesize complex clinical and pathological information while communicating their findings in a professional setting.
Students also showcased the skills they developed through the program’s biomedical photography curriculum, incorporating macroscopic specimen photographs and histology photomicrographs they captured themselves. Following each presentation, students participated in a question-and-answer session with audience members.
Later that evening, the Path A Program hosted its annual graduation banquet at the Washington Duke Inn in Durham, North Carolina. During the banquet, Program Director Michelle Johnson, MHS, PA(ASCP) honored each graduating student individually on the stage, recognizing academic achievements, leadership, and professional growth.
Nicole Tomsho, MHS, PA(ASCP) received the 2026 Pamela Vollmer Teaching Award, an honor selected annually by graduating Path A students to recognize the individual whose knowledge, teaching, and professionalism have had the greatest positive influence on their training experience. Tomsho has served as a staff Pathologists’ Assistant and preceptor in surgical pathology and autopsy at Duke since July 2022.
Additionally, Jonathan Chen, MHS, PA(ASCP), was presented with the 2026 Resident Teaching Award, which recognizes a preceptor for exceptional teaching effort and ability. Recipients are selected through resident voting. Chen has been a staff Path A in surgical pathology at Duke since August 2019.
Together, the day's events celebrated both the achievements of the graduating Class of 2026 and the educators whose mentorship helped prepare them for successful careers in pathology.