Michael B. Prystowsky, MD, PhD

Dr. Prystowsky has extensive leadership, research, education, program development and administrative experience. 

Pathology Services: As Chairman of the unified Department of Pathology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center (~700 FTE; budget ~$150M), Dr. Prystowsky has substantial experience in developing and managing service, research and educational programs. Our pathology service line delivers 24/7 service producing about 10 million test results per year for Montefiore patients. Dr. Prystowsky has engaged in many College of American Pathologists (CAP) programs as a governor of the college including both domestic and international laboratory inspections. In addition, the Montefiore women's healthcare team initiated a very successful See, Test & Treat program in May 2015 bringing much needed healthcare to women in the Bronx.

Education Activities:  Dr. Prystowsky has had a unique opportunity during the past several years to connect pathologists from all practice environments through educational efforts. This is possible because he chaired both the Undergraduate Medical Education Committee of Association of Pathology Chairs (APC) and the Council on Education (COE) for CAP. For undergraduate medical education, pathologists from many practice settings have contributed to developing national standards for teaching pathology to all medical students (https://journals.

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com/page/apc/pcme). Another educational effort bridges the Graduate Medical Education (GME) Committee of APC with the COE and Council on Scientific Affairs (CSA); members developed a test utilization course for residents that teaches both common problems in test selection and how to interact with ordering physicians. Dr. Prystowsky has first hand experience with the educational programs and their impact on the trainees (20 residents and 10 fellows) and faculty (greater than 50) whom he oversees and mentors.

Research Focus: In 1999 Dr. Prystowsky organized a multidisciplinary group including surgery, oncology, pathology, molecular biology, protein chemistry, computational biology and biostatistics to study Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC). Initial studies on molecular classification of HNSCC using microarray technology demonstrated that patient segregation by gene expression profiling is a better predictor of outcome than established clinicopathological variables. The Head and Neck Program includes multiple laboratories with research exploring basic mechanisms of tumor behavior, developing biomarkers and identifying molecular classifiers that define distinct subsets of patients. The questions arise from the tumor board, from taking care of patients, with the primary goal to develop new diagnostics that will optimize treatment selection at initial diagnosis.

A.     Positions and Honors

Professional Experience:

1978-1979          Post-Doctoral fellow in Biochemistry, the Rockefeller University

1981-1984          Resident in Pathology, The University of Chicago

1984-1993          Asst/Assoc Prof, Department of Pathology, University of Pennsylvania

1993-present     Professor, Department of Pathology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

1997-present     Chair, Department of Pathology, Einstein / Montefiore Medical Center

2002-2016         Associate Director, Einstein Cancer Center Shared Facilities

External Committees:

2001-2006                American Cancer Society, National Council for Extramural Research (Chair 2005-06)

2012-2019                      Association of Pathology Chairs, Undergraduate Medical Education Committee (Chair)

2012-2018         College of American Pathologists, Board of Governors

Honors and Awards:

Bachelor of Science cum laude, Phi Sigma Biological Honorary Society, Phi Kappa Phi Scholastic Honorary Society, Microbiology at Pennsylvania State University; Cancer Research Institute, Postdoctoral Fellow; Hartford Foundation Fellowship; Faculty Research Award, American Cancer Society; Fellow, AAAS; Michele Raible Distinguished Teaching Award, APC

B.      Contribution to Science

Dr. Prystowsky has contributed to the understanding of IL2-driven T lymphocyte activation, structural requirements for GM-CSF activity, to the molecular and whole animal studies of inflammation focusing on A1, an anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family member that he discovered. During the past 18 years he has organized a multidisciplinary group including surgery, oncology, pathology, molecular biology, protein chemistry, computational biology and biostatistics to study Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC). Initial studies on molecular classification of HNSCC using microarray technology demonstrated that patient segregation by gene expression profiling is a better predictor of outcome than established clinicopathological variables. The Head and Neck Program includes multiple laboratories with research exploring basic mechanisms of tumor behavior, developing biomarkers and identifying molecular classifiers that define distinct subsets of patients. The questions arise from the tumor board, from taking care of patients, with the primary goal to develop new diagnostics that will optimize treatment selection at initial diagnosis.