Section Head of Genitourinary Pathology | UAB School of Medicine

Section Head of Genitourinary Pathology

University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) | Department of Pathology, Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine | Birmingham, Alabama

Position Overview

The Department of Pathology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is conducting a national search for an accomplished, academically oriented Genitourinary (GU) Pathologist to serve as Section Head of Genitourinary Pathology. This is a subspecialty leadership opportunity for an established GU pathologist who is ready to lead a growing, high-complexity GU service and consultation practice at one of the largest academic medical centers in the United States, in partnership with a Department Chair who is herself an internationally recognized GU pathologist.

The Section Head will lead the GU Pathology Section within the Division of Anatomic Pathology, provide subspecialty expertise across prostate, bladder, kidney, testicular, penile, and adrenal pathology, and guide the section’s continued growth in clinical service, education, scholarship, and outreach. The role is the pathology partner to UAB’s rapidly expanding Department of Urology, the Genitourinary Cancer Program of the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the UAB Medicine Cancer Service Line, and it supports the department’s strategy to expand subspecialization in surgical pathology and strengthen organ-specific diagnostic expertise.

The position opens at a moment of real institutional momentum. UAB Pathology ranked No. 12 nationally among pathology departments in the 2025 Blue Ridge rankings for NIH funding and reports more than $20 million in annual extramural research funding; it welcomed eleven new faculty between January and August 2026, went live on the Sectra digital pathology platform in June 2026, and is part of a UAB Medicine enterprise that is implementing a unified Epic electronic health record, with the remaining UAB Medicine entities scheduled to transition in February 2027. The Department of Urology, under a new Chair recruited from UCSF, has added eight faculty in the past year and expanded its clinical trial portfolio. Department Chair Cristina Magi-Galluzzi, M.D., Ph.D., the current President of the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology (USCAP) and President of the Genitourinary Pathology Society (GUPS), is personally committed to building GU Pathology at UAB into a nationally recognized program of distinction with the Section Head as its leader.

Position Specifics

• Title: Section Head, Genitourinary Pathology
• Academic Rank: Associate Professor or Professor, Department of Pathology, commensurate with qualifications and UAB policy
• Academic Appointment: Division of Anatomic Pathology, Department of Pathology, Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine
• Track: Tenure-earning, tenured, or non-tenure-earning appointments are available based on qualifications and preference
• Reporting Relationship: The Section Head reports to the Director of the Division of Anatomic Pathology (Oyedele Adeyi, M.D.) and works closely with the Chair of the Department of Pathology (Cristina Magi-Galluzzi, M.D., Ph.D.)
• Location: Birmingham, Alabama

Key Responsibilities

• Section leadership. Establish the clinical and academic priorities of the GU Pathology Section; direct diagnostic standards, quality assurance, turnaround, and workload distribution; recruit, develop, and mentor section faculty; and represent GU pathology within the Division and the Department.
• Diagnostic practice. Provide expert interpretation of biopsies, resections, and consultations involving the prostate, bladder, kidney, testis, adrenal, penis, and other GU sites, incorporating immunohistochemistry, FISH, and multigene next-generation sequencing panels through the Division of Genomic Diagnostics and Bioinformatics.
• Multidisciplinary partnership. Represent Pathology at the monthly GU tumor board and within the Cancer Service Line’s GU cancer team, working closely with Urology, Medical Oncology, Radiation Oncology, and Radiology, and partner with Urology and the O’Neal GU Cancer Program on registry, biobanking, clinical trial, and precision medicine initiatives.
• Consultation and outreach. Support the continued growth of UAB Pathology’s GU consultation and outreach services and help advance the Division’s goal of becoming the reference center for the Southeast.
• Education. Teach and mentor residents, fellows, and junior faculty through sign-out, conferences, and scholarship, and contribute to the GU Pathology Fellowship, the combined GYN/GU fellowship option, and the GU/Renal Pathology Fellowship.
• Scholarship. Maintain a program of scholarly activity appropriate to academic rank and collaborate with investigators in Pathology, Urology, and the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center.
• Digital pathology. Participate in the phased implementation of digital pathology within Anatomic Pathology, help evaluate and implement appropriately validated digital and computational tools for GU pathology, and contribute to the validation of digital workflows for prostate biopsies and other GU specimens.

Required Qualifications

• M.D., D.O., or M.D./Ph.D. (or equivalent)
• Board certification in Anatomic Pathology or Anatomic and Clinical Pathology by the American Board of Pathology (or equivalent)
• Fellowship training in Genitourinary (Urologic) Pathology, or fellowship training in Surgical Pathology combined with at least five years of focused GU pathology practice
• A minimum of three years of post-fellowship experience with GU pathology as a principal area of practice; five or more years preferred
• Substantial experience diagnosing the full range of benign and malignant GU disease, including complex consultations
• Eligibility for an unrestricted medical license in Alabama
• Academic and scholarly record appropriate for appointment at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor
• Demonstrated experience in education and multidisciplinary clinical collaboration

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience directing a GU pathology service, section, fellowship, laboratory, or comparable academic program
• National visibility in GU pathology through GUPS, ISUP, USCAP, CAP, or editorial and committee service
• Record of peer-reviewed publications, invited presentations, program development, or funded research
• Experience with molecular diagnostics, genomic testing, digital pathology, or validated computational pathology applications
• Additional expertise in medical renal pathology or gynecologic pathology is welcome but not required

Ideal Candidate Profile

This search is targeting an established GU pathologist at the Associate Professor or Professor level who carries a demanding subspecialty service with efficiency and independence and who is ready to lead a section and shape its future. The role is designed as a career-defining step for a rising or established leader: someone who will lead the section, help train the next generation of GU pathologists, and grow into broader departmental leadership over time, working alongside a Chair who is a GU pathologist and a national leader in the discipline. Key attributes include:

• Exceptional diagnostician with subspecialty command of prostate, bladder, kidney, testicular, penile, and adrenal pathology and the ability to handle complex consultations independently.
• Program builder with a demonstrated interest in developing a GU pathology program that integrates clinical service, research, education, and outreach.
• Engaged educator who is generous with time and expertise and dedicated to mentoring residents, fellows, and junior faculty.
• Collaborative, high-EQ colleague with a strong presence at tumor boards and the ability to work effectively across Urology, Oncology, and Radiology.
• Academic orientation and a commitment to scholarship in GU oncology, precision medicine, digital pathology, or related fields; extramural funding is welcome but not required.
• Institutional citizen with a collegial, team-oriented approach, a long-term commitment to UAB, and the integrity to represent the department nationally.

Additional Leadership Responsibilities

The Section Head will participate in a departmental leadership structure that includes division directors, vice chairs, section heads, and laboratory medical directors. Additional fellowship, laboratory, or departmental leadership responsibilities may be considered based on experience and departmental needs.

Why Join UAB

• A Chair who is a GU pathologist. Dr. Magi-Galluzzi has led GU pathology at the Cleveland Clinic and UAB for two decades, currently serves as President of both USCAP and GUPS, and is personally invested in building GU Pathology at UAB into a program of distinction with the Section Head as its leader.
• An existing training platform. UAB offers a one-year GU Pathology Fellowship, a combined one-year GYN/GU option, and a separate one-year GU/Renal Pathology Fellowship.
• Rich case material. Approximately 2,500 GU specimens annually, including roughly 500 outside consultations; adrenalectomy specimens are included in the GU service, and a companion GU/Renal service evaluates approximately 850 medical renal biopsies each year.
• A department that is investing. In July 2026 UAB added a GU-trained pathologist to the Division of Anatomic Pathology following GU-focused fellowship training at UAB, and the department welcomed eleven new faculty between January and August 2026.
• A Urology partner in growth mode. A new Chair of Urology recruited from UCSF, eight new faculty in the past year, open clinical trials up from 26 to 32, a No. 17 national ranking in NIH funding among urology departments, and a new regional clinic at UAB St. Vincent’s East.
• A founding-partner opportunity in prostate cancer. Urology has made building UAB’s prostate cancer clinical and translational program its foremost priority, including clinically annotated registries and prospective biobanking, and wants a GU pathology leader at the table from the start.
• Digital pathology and a regional growth platform. Sectra is live, Leica GT450 Dx whole-slide scanners and remote frozen-section systems are in place, a unified Epic record is scheduled to reach the remaining UAB Medicine entities in February 2027, and UAB Medicine’s expanded statewide network offers a platform for future growth in GU consultation and outreach.

Key Programmatic Details

Genitourinary Pathology Section

The GU Pathology Section provides comprehensive diagnostic services to UAB Hospital, UAB Medical West, and the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, and serves as the expert consultation resource for challenging cases referred through the Community Practice Pathology Program, Children’s of Alabama, the Birmingham VA Medical Center, and regional institutions. The section evaluates approximately 2,500 urologic specimens each year, including roughly 500 outside consultations, across the full spectrum of urologic pathology: prostate, kidney, bladder, testis, penis, and adrenal. GU volume is expected to grow with the Department of Urology’s expansion and regionalization.

The section is led today by Dr. Magi-Galluzzi. In July 2026, UAB added a GU-trained pathologist to the Division of Anatomic Pathology following completion of GU-focused fellowship training at UAB, and the incoming Section Head will help guide the continued development of the GU service and its faculty, educational, consultation, and scholarly activities. The section is supported by comprehensive immunohistochemical panels, FISH testing, and multigene next-generation sequencing through the Division of Genomic Diagnostics and Bioinformatics, and by a companion GU/Renal Pathology service. The section anchors a monthly multidisciplinary GU tumor board with Urology, Hematology and Oncology, Radiation Oncology, and Radiology, and residents spend at least two months on the GU service. UAB offers a one-year GU Pathology Fellowship, a combined one-year GYN/GU option, and a separate one-year GU/Renal Pathology Fellowship.

Department of Pathology

The UAB Department of Pathology is one of the largest and most comprehensive academic pathology departments in the United States, with roughly 100 faculty across eight divisions: Anatomic Pathology, Community Practice Pathology Program, Forensics, Genomic Diagnostics and Bioinformatics, Laboratory Medicine, Molecular and Cellular Pathology, Neuropathology, and Women’s Health. Eleven new faculty joined the department between January and August 2026, and a central departmental priority is the continued expansion of subspecialization in surgical pathology.

The department provides diagnostic services to UAB Hospital and its Highlands campus, UAB Medical West, and the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, and, through the Community Practice Pathology Program, to community hospitals and cancer centers in Gadsden and the Montgomery region, where it recently opened the Robert B. Adams Laboratory for cytology. Faculty evaluate approximately 50,000 surgical pathology cases each year in addition to extensive cytology, autopsy, hematopathology, and molecular diagnostic services.

Research is a defining strength. The department reports more than $20 million in annual extramural research funding and ranked No. 12 nationally among pathology departments in the 2025 Blue Ridge rankings for NIH funding. Faculty lead investigations in molecular genetics, bioinformatics, cancer biology, and precision medicine, with strong collaborations across UAB’s research institutes and the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the UAB Tissue Biorepository is housed within the department.

Education is central to the mission. The ACGME-accredited residency offers Anatomic Pathology, Clinical Pathology, and combined AP/CP tracks with approximately 27 residents in training, and the department sponsors ACGME-accredited fellowships in blood banking and transfusion medicine, cytopathology, dermatopathology, forensic pathology, hematopathology, medical microbiology, molecular genetic pathology, and neuropathology, along with subspecialty surgical pathology fellowships in genitourinary, GU/renal, breast, gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary, gynecologic, head and neck, and general surgical pathology.

UAB Pathology launched its digital pathology initiative in 2024. The department’s strategy is to build an increasingly digital and data-driven environment capable of connecting morphology with quantitative analysis, molecular information, validated artificial intelligence applications, and other clinical data. Implementation is proceeding in phases across clinical practice, education, and research: Sectra went live in June 2026, Leica GT450 Dx whole-slide scanners and remote frozen-section systems are in place at UAB Hospital and UAB Highlands, and near-term goals include remote frozen-section sign-out, tumor board integration, and validation of primary diagnosis for biopsies.

Department Chair: Cristina Magi-Galluzzi, M.D., Ph.D.

Cristina Magi-Galluzzi, M.D., Ph.D., is an internationally recognized genitourinary pathologist and the Robert and Ruth Anderson Endowed Chair in Pathology. She joined UAB in 2018 as Division Director of Anatomic Pathology and was named Chair of the Department of Pathology effective March 4, 2024, the first woman to lead the department. She came to UAB from the Cleveland Clinic, where she was a member of the faculty from 2003 to 2018, served as Director of Genitourinary Pathology from 2004 to 2018, and was Professor of Pathology at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University.

Dr. Magi-Galluzzi is board certified in Anatomic Pathology with deep expertise in prostate, bladder, kidney, adrenal, and testicular malignancies. Her research focuses on prostate carcinogenesis, tumor biomarkers, and genomic assays that advance precision medicine in GU oncology, and she is a Senior Scientist of the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center. She has authored more than 280 peer-reviewed publications and dozens of book chapters, is the editor of four books in GU pathology, and contributed to the fifth edition of the WHO Classification of Urinary and Male Genital Tumours. She is the 2026 to 2027 President of USCAP, having previously served as Vice President, President-Elect, and a member of its Board of Directors; the President and a founding member of the Genitourinary Pathology Society; a Fellow of the College of American Pathologists; and an honoree of The Pathologist’s Power List of global leaders in pathology.

Division of Anatomic Pathology

The Division of Anatomic Pathology delivers fully subspecialized diagnostic services across UAB Medicine and its regional partners through sections in autopsy, bone and soft tissue, cardiac, cytopathology, dermatopathology, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, head and neck, pulmonary, and renal pathology. Gynecologic and breast pathology are provided by the Division of Women’s Health.

The division has been led since June 2025 by Oyedele Adeyi, M.D., an internationally recognized liver and transplant pathologist with nearly 120 peer-reviewed publications who joined UAB from the University of Minnesota, where he was Professor and Director of Surgical Pathology, following thirteen years at the University of Toronto. Dr. Adeyi also serves as Section Head of Gastrointestinal Pathology and holds the C. Bruce Alexander Endowed Professorship in Pathology. His vision for the division emphasizes subspecialty expansion, program development, outreach growth, and digital pathology adoption, all in service of UAB’s goal of becoming the premier referral center for the Southeast.

Department of Urology and GU Oncology Partners

The UAB Department of Urology is in a period of rapid growth under Thomas Chi, M.D., MBA, FACS, who became Professor and Chair on January 1, 2025, and holds the Anton J. Bueschen, M.D., Endowed Chair of Urologic Surgery and Research. Dr. Chi joined UAB from UCSF, where he served as Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs and Regionalization. In the past year the department has recruited eight new faculty, created an Academic Community Urology section, expanded its open clinical trials from 26 to 32, ranked No. 17 nationally in NIH funding among urology departments, and opened a new clinic at UAB St. Vincent’s East. Dr. Chi has identified the growth of UAB’s prostate cancer clinical and translational program as a top strategic priority and views a strong GU pathology partner as central to that plan.

Urologic oncology is led by Jeffrey Nix, M.D., MSHA, FACS, Chief of Urologic Oncology and Director of Robotic Surgery, and includes Sunil Sudarshan, M.D., Associate Director for Basic Science of the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center and an NIH- and VA-supported kidney cancer investigator; Charles Peyton, M.D., Director of Clinical Trials and recipient of the 2025 NCI Early Career Cancer Clinical Investigator Award; and James Ferguson, M.D., Ph.D., whose federally funded bladder cancer research is conducted with Pathology’s Sooryanarayana Varambally, Ph.D. GU medical oncologists include Mollie deShazo, M.D., and Joelle Hamilton, M.D., and GU radiation oncology is led by Andrew McDonald, M.D., M.S., holder of the ROAR Southeast Cancer Foundation Endowed Chair in Radiation Oncology. UAB Urology is recognized by the Testicular Cancer Awareness Foundation as the only Testicular Cancer Center of Excellence in the Southeast, and its Program for Personalized Prostate Cancer Care integrates MRI/ultrasound fusion biopsy, genomic testing, focal therapy, and robotic surgery.

Kidney cancer is UAB’s most established GU research strength, bladder cancer is a growing program with federally funded translational work, and prostate cancer is a program-building opportunity: UAB’s catchment carries a high burden of prostate cancer among African American men, making it a setting of national importance for prostate cancer research and disparities work, and the Department of Urology is building the registry and biobanking infrastructure to support it. Pathology’s Vice Chair for Research, Selvarangan Ponnazhagan, Ph.D., leads laboratory research in prostate cancer biology and therapeutic resistance.

O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center

The O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB is the only NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center in Alabama and one of the original eight NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the nation. Continuously funded by the NCI for more than 50 years, the Center received an “Outstanding” rating at its 2022 Cancer Center Support Grant renewal. It is home to more than 400 cancer physicians and researchers, cares for approximately 20,000 patients each year, and maintains more than 200 active cancer clinical trials.

The Center is led by Director Barry Sleckman, M.D., Ph.D., in partnership with UAB Medicine’s Cancer Service Line leadership; in April 2026 it welcomed Jorge Cortes, M.D., as Chief of Hematology and Deputy Director, and urologist Sunil Sudarshan, M.D., serves as Associate Director for Basic Science. Its Genitourinary Cancer Program brings urology, medical oncology, radiation oncology, radiology, and pathology together in coordinated multidisciplinary care, and offers the incoming Section Head outstanding opportunities to collaborate on high-impact programs in prostate, kidney, and bladder cancer.

UAB, the Heersink School of Medicine, and UAB Medicine

The University of Alabama at Birmingham is a nationally and internationally recognized public research university and academic health center, Alabama’s largest employer with more than 35,000 employees, and a Carnegie Research 1 institution with more than $866 million in annual research expenditures. The Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine, Alabama’s largest medical school, has 1,800 full-time faculty across 27 academic departments, approximately 845 medical students, and nearly 1,200 residents and fellows, with regional campuses in Huntsville, Montgomery, and Tuscaloosa. The school ranks No. 28 among U.S. medical schools in NIH funding (Blue Ridge Institute, FY2025), with Anesthesiology, Pathology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Family Medicine ranked in the national top 15.

UAB Medicine is anchored by UAB Hospital, the fifth-largest hospital in the United States, with approximately 1,400 beds, which was ranked No. 1 in Alabama in the 2026 to 2027 U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals rankings, with nationally ranked specialties and a High Performing designation in Cancer. The UAB Health System is a nearly $7.5 billion enterprise with more than 30,000 physicians, healthcare professionals, and staff, more than 3,100 beds, and 133 locations across all 67 Alabama counties. On November 1, 2024, UAB completed its $450 million acquisition of Ascension St. Vincent’s, adding five hospitals and more than 5,200 associates as UAB St. Vincent’s, and UAB Medicine is implementing a unified Epic electronic health record across the enterprise, with UAB St. Vincent’s live since July 2026 and the remaining UAB Medicine entities scheduled to transition in February 2027.

Section Head of GU Pathology Job Opportunity at UAB Department of Pathology

Where You Will Live: Birmingham, Alabama

Birmingham is the center of Alabama’s largest metropolitan area, home to nearly 1.2 million people, and combines Southern hospitality, urban amenities, and affordability, with a cost of living about ten percent below the national average and housing costs roughly a quarter below. Families are drawn to Homewood, Vestavia Hills, Mountain Brook, and Hoover, which hold four of the top six positions among Alabama school districts in the 2026 Niche rankings, while neighborhoods such as Highland Park, Forest Park, and Avondale offer historic character and a lively restaurant and arts scene closer to downtown.

The city is home to multiple James Beard Award winners, and eleven Birmingham restaurants were recognized in the inaugural MICHELIN Guide American South in 2025. Birmingham offers an opera, a ballet, a symphony, restored historic theaters, museums, and music and film festivals, along with extensive parks and trails including Ruffner Mountain, Red Mountain Park, Oak Mountain State Park, and Railroad Park downtown. Residents are under three hours from Atlanta and Nashville and about four hours from Gulf Coast beaches.

How to Apply

The UAB Heersink School of Medicine has retained Academic Med to assist with this strategically important search, which is led by Academic Med Principals Gentry Zacheis and Jim Hagood. Interested candidates are encouraged to submit a curriculum vitae and a brief letter describing their clinical experience, leadership background, and academic interests confidentially to the search firm. Confidential inquiries, nominations, and expressions of interest are also welcome.

Jim Hagood, Managing Director, Academic Med

Email: ji*@**********ed.com

Phone: 214-730-0735

Gentry Zacheis, President and CEO, Academic Med

Email: ge****@**********ed.com

Phone: 214-396-5124

For additional physician leadership opportunities in academic medicine, visit academic-med.com/jobs.

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