Professor of Pathology Education, at Barts and the London, Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry

Interview location: Pathology building at Barts and the London, Whitechapel, London
Interview date: 9th October, 2007

Key Themes: Attributes of a Pathologist, Autopsy, Children, Life, death and the hereafter, Relationship with clinicians

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Histopathology is not a science in the classical sense... [It] is a subjective interpretation of appearances down a microscope based on your previous experience and your knowledge of the patient's history.

Paola Domizio is one of few professors of pathology education.  One of the things her Italian immigrant parents instilled in her was the importance of learning and working hard, and two of her mentors were clearly gifted teachers -- as she herself has turned out to be. “I'm inspired by the students learning, I'm inspired by the fact that they seem to enjoy it, I'm inspired by getting the problem students through.”

Within medical education pathology tends to be seen as a hard science, and has been affected by the shift from facts to communication skills within the curriculum.  Yet, she points out, “histopathology is not a science in the classical sense... [but] is a subjective interpretation of appearances down a microscope based on your previous experience and your knowledge of the patient’s history.”