Stritch students snag competitive, national pathology award
It’s not often medical students from the same school receive the same award in the same year. But in July 2020, Stritch School of Medicine students M2 Cullen Lilley and M3 Shuchi Zinzuwadia did just that, winning the College of American Pathologists (CAP) Foundation Medical Student Travel Award.
The Medical Student Travel Award encourages and supports students who show a strong interest in the specialty of pathology as a career. While awardees are typically invited to attend the College of American Pathologists Foundation’s annual meeting, this year, Zinzuwadia and Lilley will instead receive a stipend to travel and spend time with a mentor of their choice to gain valuable insights into pathology.
"It is a matter of great pride that not just one, but two Stritch students received this competitive honor and recognition from the College of American Pathologists Foundation.”
"It is a matter of great pride that not just one, but two Stritch students received this competitive honor and recognition from the College of American Pathologists Foundation,” said Stritch Associate Professor of Pathology Dr. Kamran Mirza, who has mentored both students alongside Professor of Pathology Dr. Ameet Kini. “We are extremely proud of Cullen and Shuchi and are excited to continue supporting them and other students as they explore the field of pathology.”
Lilley co-founded PathElective, a novel pathology education website that offers an interactive, engaging pathology experience to medical students. At Loyola, he is enrolled in the MD/MA dual-degree program, studying health policy and bioethics. He is the president of SCOPE, the pathology interest group at Loyola, the vice president of academic development for PathSIG, the national virtual pathology student interest group, and the vice president for the internal medicine interest group at Loyola.
His interest in pathology began when he was working in a clinical microbiology lab and later as a public health microbiologist. “I saw amazing men and women working behind the scenes to advance clinical care through continual process improvement, testing utilization, research, and new testing validation studies,” says Lilley. “The field of pathology truly incorporates all the areas of science, medicine, and the humanities that I have always loved.”
Zinzuwadia holds a similar fascination with pathology and enjoys its balance between clinical science and clinical medicine. "It is amazing to physically see the patient's diagnosis on the slide and be a crucial part of the health care team,” she says. Zinzuwadia has three abstracts accepted for this year’s CAP Foundation annual meeting. Using the award stipend, she plans to travel to the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and study with Dr. Roseann Wu, assistant professor, clinical pathology and laboratory medicine.