Christopher D. Watt, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Pathology Residency Program Co-Director
Associate Director, Molecular Pathology Laboratory
University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
Contact InformationDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
3400 Spruce Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Email: christopher.watt@uphs.upenn.edu
Specialty Division
Precision and Computational Diagnostics
Clinical Expertise
Molecular Pathology
Education
B.S. (Biology), University of Kentucky, 1996
M.D. (Medicine), Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, 2005
Ph.D. (Cell and Molecular Biology), Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, 2005
Specialty Certification
Board Certified in Clinical Pathology (American Board of Pathology), 2008
Board Certified in Molecular Genetic Pathology (American Board of Pathology), 2009
Postgraduate Training
Resident in Clinical Pathology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 2005-2008
Fellow in Molecular Genetic Pathology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 2008-2009
Molecular Diagnostics in Personalized Medicine Fellowship, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 2009-2010
Clinical Research Certificate Program, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, 2009-2010
Awards and Honors
Franklin Medical Scholar Fellowship,
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 1996-1998
Medical Scientist Training Program,
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 1998-2005
Pennsylvania Muscle Institute Training Grant,
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 1999-2000
Cell and Developmental Biology Training Grant,
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 2001-2003
Chairman’s Award for Distinguished Service, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 2008-2009
Leonard Berwick Resident Teaching Award, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 2008-2009
The William Pepper Fellowship Award, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 2009-2010
Kevin E Salhany Award for Excellence in Clinical Teaching, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 2013-2014
Leonard Berwick Memorial Teaching Award, Perlman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, 2016-2017
Memberships and Professional Organizations
American Medical Association, Member, 2003 - Present
American Society for Clinical Pathology, Fellow Member, 2004 - Present
Association for Molecular Pathology, Associate Member, 2007 - Present
College of American Pathologists, Fellow Member, 2008 - Present
Pennsylvania Association of Pathologists, Member, 2011 - 2012
Selected Publications
Non-invasive determination of the O6-methylguanine-DNA-methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter methylation status in glioblastoma (GBM) using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Rathore S, Bakas S, Nasrallah MP, Bagley SJ, Akbari H, Ha SM, Mamourian EC, Watt CD, and Davatzikos C, Journal of Clinical Oncology 36(suppl): , 2018
Ras mutations are the dominant mechanism of secondary resistance to gilteritinib therapy for relapsed/refractory FLT3-mutated AML.
McMahon CM, Ferng TT, Canaani J, Rea B, Sargent RL, Morrissette JJD, Lieberman DB, Watt CD, Durruthy-Durruthy R, Pellegrino M, Eastburn DJ, Wang ES, Shah NP, Carroll M, Smith CC, and Perl AE, EHA Learning Center, 2018
Standardization of FLT3-ITD mutation allelic ratio reporting in the clinical laboratory setting.
Bhattacharyya S, Castro-Echeverry E, Kelly LM, Burnes CL, Gentile C, Roy S, Nikiforova M, Watt CD and Aggarwal N, The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, 2018
Optimizing RNA extraction to facilitate BCR/ABL1 quantitative testing.
Belman J, Gentile C, Lake JI, Roth JJ and Watt CD, The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, 2018
Mechanisms of acquired resistance to Gilteritinib therapy in relapsed and refractory FLT3-mutated acute myeloid leukemia.
McMahon CM, Canaani J, Rea B, Sargent RL, Morrissette JJD, Lieberman DB, Watt CD, Schwartz GW, Faryabi RB, Ferng TT, Shah NP, Smith CC, Caroll M, and Perl AE, Blood 130(s1): 295, 2017
Marginal zone lymphoma-derived interfollicular diffuse large B-cell lymphoma harboring 20q12 chromosomal deletion and missense mutation of BIRC3 gene: a case report.
Hatem J, Schrank-Hacker AM, Watt CD, Morrissette JJ, Rubin AI, Kim EJ, Nasta SD, Wasik MA, Bogusz AM., Diagnostic Pathology 11(): 137, 2016, PMID:27993143
Analytic Approach for Complete and Mixed Engraftment Analysis using Commercial Software.
Surrey LF, Smith JR, Lubin D, Van Deerlin V, Watt CD, The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics 18(6): 1030, 2016
Integration of rapid molecular testing for influenza and RSV into existing diagnostic workflow.
Li Y, Alby K, Watt CD, Roth JJ, The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics 18(6): 979, 2016
BCR-ABL1 molecular responses at 12-18 months predict long-term event-free survival in patients with tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI)-treated chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML).
Press RD, Watt CD, Cai L, Van Deerlin VM, Roth JJ, Gentile C, Loren A, and Eickelberg G, The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics 18(6): 964, 2016
Improvements in workflow after verification and implementation of the cobas® HPV Test.
Roth JJ, Windon AL, Strubinger J, Carlin A, Gentile C, Watt CD, McGrath CM, Van Deerlin VM, The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics 18(6): 970, 2016
