THE INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY OF PATHOLOGY ITS HISTORY AND ITS ROLE IN GLOBAL EDUCATION IN PATHOLOGY

The International Academy of Pathology (IAP) is dedicated to the advancement of Pathology through educational exchanges worldwide. It serves as an international pathology organization which coordinates activities of its divisions and encourages the formation of new divisions where appropriate.

This is accomplished through holding an international congress each biennium providing educational programs which advance pathology education, research and practice; providing access to highest quality pathology education worldwide through lectures and seminars, educational grants, international congresses and teaching materials; and encouragement of strategic placement of international congresses.

The purpose of the Academy will be the advancement of pathology through the following:

• Improvement of methods of teaching pathology in medical schools, laboratories, hospitals and medical museums.
• Coordination of anatomic pathology, pathologic physiology and comparative pathology with allied sciences and techniques
• Promotion of research in pathology and pathologic techniques
• The formation of national or larger geographic Divisions.
• Publication of journals and reports that will afford media, including electronic, for dissemination of the results of work in the above fields.
• Convocation of meetings and congresses for exchange of scientific information and ideas.

The IAP started in 1906 as the International Association of Medical Museums (IAMM), lead by Dr Maude Abbott, Museum Curator at McGill University in Montreal Canada and an expert on the pathology of congenital heart diseases, along with Major James Carroll, Curator of US Army Medical Museum in Washington, DC, USA; and Prof W. G. MacCallum, at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland. Dr Abbott served as Secretary of IAMM for 33 years (1907-1940) and was instrumental in laying strong foundations and expansion of IAMM.

After the end of WWII, there was a great interest in histochemistry and several members of IAMM established a new society, the Society of Histochemistry, thus impacting negatively on IAMM, with less attendance of its meetings and fewer articles to its Bulletin.

In 1952, F. K. Mostofi was elected to the office of Secretary-Treasurer. Discussions regarding changing the name of IAMM took place, and the name of the IAMM was changed finally in 1955 to International Academy of Pathology (IAP). The Bulletin of IAMM was replaced by a new successful journal: Laboratory Investigation and the first issue was released on January 1952. Dr Mostofi’s energy and strength, enthusiasm, knowledge, experience, and direction provided the touch to make the IAP what it is today. He was instrumental and helped greatly in resurrecting the dying IAMM to be the vibrant IAP of today. He travelled extensively to promote IAP, and helped in establishing many Divisions.

There are about 50 Divisions of IAP, with more being formed every year, with a total membership approaching 20,000 members. Each Division holds at least one annual meeting, and several holds, in addition, courses, workshops, and symposia. Some Divisions made assemblies based on geographical areas, the most notable is Asia Pacific Assembly that include many Divisions from that region, and holds a meeting every two years. Future assemblies are to b
established in Africa and Latin America.

About 15 Divisions have educational material on their websites; the most significant is the “Knowledge Hub for Pathology” on USCAP site, which contains an enormous amount of pathology-based educational materials for your use for free – approximately 70,000 pages, hundreds of thousands of up-to-date references, tens of thousands of illustrations, tables, graphs, and cartoons.

The Education Committee of IAP under the leadership of Prof Kristin Henry (UK) and later Prof HK Ng (Hong Kong) had been instrumental in supporting many activities of IAP Divisions all over the world by providing financial assistance and speakers. In addition, this Committee established bursaries to help young pathologists from underserved areas attend IAP meetings. The Committee also supported meetings held in countries that does not have Divisions such as Cambodia, Vietnam and Georgia. Recently, Goodwill Ambassadors dispatched by the Education Committee visited Palestine, Turkey and Georgia giving lectures and workshops in more than one center in those countries.

The British Division established “Schools” of pathology to help pathologists in Sri Lanka, Bosnia and the Arab Countries, holding an annual workshop in each of these countries. A Junior Academy of Pathology was initiated by the German Division. Collaboration between various Divisions is taking place.

We look forward to have the Turkish Division of IAP to establish itself as an influential organization in advancing education in pathology in a county with a large population, and a great need in getting its young pathologists catching up with advances in an ever changing landscape of pathology.