David S. Klimstra, M.D.

2019 Maude Abbott Lecture

Dr. Klimstra is an Attending Pathologist and Chairman of the Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and also a Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Weill Medical College of Cornell University.  He received his M.D. degree and completed his Anatomic Pathology Residency at Yale University, and undertook fellowship training in oncologic surgical pathology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.  He is an internationally recognized expert on the pathology of tumors of the digestive system, pancreas, liver and neuroendocrine system.  His research focuses on the correlation of morphological and immunohistochemical features of tumors of the gastrointestinal tract, liver, biliary tree, and (most notably) pancreas with their clinical and molecular characteristics.  His work has contributed significantly to our understanding of the pathology, genomics, and clinical behavior of a wide array of pancreatic neoplasms, and he has been instrumental in refining and standardizing the approach to classifying and grading neuroendocrine neoplasms.  Dr. Klimstra has published over 375 primary articles and has co-authored the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology fascicles on Tumors of the Pancreas and Tumors of the Gallbladder, Extrahepatic Bile Ducts and Ampulla of Vater, and he co-authored the most recent WHO classifications of tumors of the Digestive System and of the Endocrine Organs.  He has lectured world-wide on topics related to tumor pathology, has mentored over two dozen GI pathology fellows, and has received several teaching awards.