Deborah E. Powell

President USCAP 2000-2001


Biographic Profile




Born - Lynn, Massachusetts

Academic Degrees - AB: Radcliffe College, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, 1960; MD: Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, 1965

Training - Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, D.C.; Pathological Anatomy Branch, National Cancer Institute, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland

Academic Appointments - 1970 - 1976 Assistant Professor of Pathology, and Director of Electron Microscopy; (1973), Georgetown University School of Medicine and Dentistry, Washington, D.C.; 1976 - 1997 Associate Professor then Vice Chair and Professor (1980) and Chair (1988) of Pathology, University of Kentucky Medical Center, Lexington, Kentucky; 1976 - 1988 Director of Diagnostic and Electron Microscopy, University of Kentucky Medical Center, Lexington, Kentucky; 1997 - 2002 Executive Dean and Vice Chancellor for Clinical Affairs, University of Kansas School of Medicine, Kansas City, Kansas; 2002 Dean of the Medical School and Assistant Vice President for Clinical Sciences at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Selected Career Highlights


  • Over 100 publications in multiple areas of anatomic pathology.

  • President, Arthur Purdy Stout Society (1999-2001).

  • Elected to the Institute of Medicine (2000), which advises the federal government on national health and science policy.

  • Three-time recipient of the Golden Apple Teaching Award from her medical students at the University of Kentucky (1979, 1981, 1982).

  • Trustee of the American Board of Pathology, and President (2004) of the American Board of Pathology.

  • Recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from the Association of Pathology Chairs (2007).

  • Chair of the Council of Deans of the Association of American Medical Colleges (2004).

  • Member, Editorial Board of:
    • Human Pathology (Associate Editor for Education)
    • Cancer Cytopathology
    • The Breast Journal

  • Member of the Advisory Council of the NIH Office of Research in Women's Health (1999-2001) and Chair of the NIH Review Committee for this office (2005).

  • ACGME: Chair of the Resident Review Committee (RRC) for Pathology and Member of the Board of Directors (RRC).

  • Family includes: Ted, Mandy, Adam, Josh, Nate and the grandchildren.