It is with profound sadness that we must share the news that our colleague Prabodh Gupta, MBBS, MD, Emeritus Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and a legend in Pathology and Cytopathology, has passed away.


Professor Emeritus Prabodh K. Gupta, MD (1937-2020)

Dr. Prabodh Kumar Gupta was an excellent physician and legend in Pathology and Cytopathology for over 45 years. Born in India, Dr. Gupta received his medical degree and pathology training at the All India Institute of Medical Science in New Delhi. He completed his training and clinical fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Subsequently, he returned to India and established a cytopathology laboratory in New Delhi. He then joined the faculty at Johns Hopkins, working with Drs. John Frost and Yener Erozan. He started his career at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center in 1988 as Professor and Director of Cytopathology and Cytometry. He served the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine as Director of Cytopathology with excellence and distinction for over 25 years.

Dr. Gupta achieved many seminal accomplishments during his tenure, which have created a legacy of the Division of Cytopathology being among top ten in USA. These include: establishment of state-of-the-art point-of-care Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA) services within the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He provided excellent clinical care whilst establishing the role of cytopathology as an essential tool in patient management. Dr. Gupta collaborated in numerous research projects on various aspects of cytopathology, including important studies on the problems associated with the use of intrauterine contraceptive devices and early lung cancer detection. He published over 270 scientific papers, editorials, books and book chapters as well as the textbook "The Fundamentals and Basic Concepts of Cytopathology." He served in an editorial capacity on many national and international cytopathology journals, was an active member of multiple prestigious local, national, and international pathology societies and was a past President of the American Society of Cytology (ASC).

One of Dr. Gupta’s most remarkable qualities was his tireless enthusiasm for teaching. As he remarked in his retirement speech, a passion for teaching is in his DNA. Throughout his career, he used every available tool, format and venue to teach medical professionals, from cytotechnology and medical students to pathology residents, cytology fellows, and practicing cytotechnologists, pathologists and clinicians; from conducting daily conferences in his cytology laboratory to delivering over 200 lectures, workshops and seminars at local, national and international meetings. Many of his trainees now hold leading academic positions throughout the United States. His excellence in cytopathology education and training is reflected in numerous teaching and lifetime achievement awards. Among these are: The 2005 Peter C. Nowell Award for outstanding teaching contributions at the University of Pennsylvania, the 2011 American Society of Cytopathology "Excellence in Education Award," the 2012 Papanicolaou Society of Cytopathology "L. C. Tao Educator of the Year Award," and the "Maurice Goldblatt Award" by the International Academy of Cytology.

Dr. Gupta made major contributions to the scientific and educational missions of a number of national and international organizations, including the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control, and the World Health Organization. A member of the American Society of Cytopathology for almost five decades, he served on numerous committees and has chaired several including the Budget and Finance, Awards, Editorial and Publications, and Nominating Committees. He served as a member of the Executive Board (1987-97), Vice President (1993-94) and President (1995-96). During his presidency he laid out the framework for the electoral process, which has given a broader segment of the ASC membership an opportunity to participate in the governance of the Society. In recognition of his great contributions to the field of cytopathology, Dr. Gupta received the highest honor of the ASC in 2001, the Papanicolaou Award.

Deeply committed to the education of trainees and staff, he created a line of multiple generations of world class pathologists, cytopathologists, and cytotechnologists. In light of his dedication and longstanding service to the Department, the HUP Cytopathology signout room was renamed in honor of Prabodh K. Gupta in 2015. A testament to his clinical expertise is being listed among the top 1% pathologists in the country by US News and World Report and as an America’s Top Physician numerous times, and being named a “Super Doctor” in Philadelphia in 2013.

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