Ira. J. Bleiweiss, MD
Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Director, Breast Pathology Service
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Contact InformationHospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
6 Founders Pavilion
3400 Spruce Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Tel: 215-662-2569
Fax: 215-615-0463
Email: ira.bleiweiss@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Specialty Division
Anatomic Pathology
Itmat Expertise
Breast pathology diagnosis, breast cancer predictive and prognostic markers
Education
BA (Biological Basis of Behavior), University of Pennsylvania, 1980
MD (Medicine), St. George's University School of Medicine, Grenada, West Indies, 1984
Specialty Certification
Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) certification, 1983
Anatomic and Clinical Pathology, American Board of Pathology, 1988, 2014 (recertified via voluntary program)
Certified Laboratory Director for General Histopathology, New York State Department of Health, 2003
Postgraduate Training
Clinical Clerkship, Methodist Hospital of Brooklyn, Manhattan State Psychiatric Center, 1983-84
Resident, Anatomic and Clinical Pathology, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, 1984-88
Chief Resident, Anatomic and Clinical Pathology, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, 1987-88
Fellow, Surgical Pathology, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, 1988-89
Fellow, Anatomic Pathology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1989-90
Awards and Honors
Certificate of Merit for Scientific Exhibit for "Benign enlarging non-palpable breast masses in post menopausal women" with collaborators, 81st Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, 1995
Certificate of Merit for Scientific Exhibit for "Benign enlarging non-palpable breast masses in post menopausal women" with collaborators, 96th Annual Meeting of the American Roentgen Ray Society, 1996
Elected by his peers for inclusion in Best Doctors in America, 1996-2007, 2009-15
America’s Top Doctors: New York Metro Edition, 2003-15
Honoree, 13th Annual Celebration of Life Gala of the Mount Sinai Breast Health Resource Program, 2005
New York’s Best Doctors, 2007-14
Listed in Top Ten Breast Cancer Papers 2008 for "Atypical duct hyperplasia at margin of breast biopsy – Is re-excision indicated?" with collaborators, Annual Meeting of the American Society of Breast Surgeons, 2008
New York Super Doctors, 2010-15
Honoree, 7th Gala Dinner Dance of Lean on Me, 2010
Senior Pathology Faculty Recognition Award by Residents for Exceptional Performance in Resident Education in Anatomic Pathology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 2014
Honoree, Annual Dubin Breast Center Benefit, 2014
Newsweek’s 2015 Top Cancer Doctors, 2015
Memberships and Professional Organizations
New York Pathological Society, 1990-present
International Academy of Pathologists, US/Canadian Division, 1990-present
New York Metropolitan Breast Cancer Group, 1990-present
Society for Applied Immuno-histochemistry, 1991-94
American Society of Breast Disease, 1991-present
National Cancer Institute (NCI) Clinical Trials Cooperative Group Program, 1996-present
State of New Jersey Commission on Cancer Research, 2000-02
Cancer Family Registry for Breast Cancer Studies (CFRBCS), 2002-present
Association of Directors of Anatomic and Surgical Pathology, 2003-present
The New York Cancer Society, 2003-09
The Arthur Purdy Stout Society of Surgical Pathologists, 2003-present
Young Survival Coalition: Young Women United against Breast Cancer, 2003-present
Pathologists' Club of New York, 2003-04
The International Sentinel Node Society, 2006-present
College of American Pathologists, 2009-present
The International Society of Breast Pathology, 2009-present
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Effective Health Care Program, Department of Health and Human Services, 2014
Web Links
Selected Publications
Ensuring remote diagnostics for pathologists: an open letter to the US Congress
Lennerz JK, Pantanowitz L, Amin MB, Eltoum IE, Hameed MR, Kalof AN, Khanafshar E, Kunju LP, Lazenby AJ, Montone KT, Otis CN, Reid MD, Staats PN, Whitney-Miller CL, Abendroth CS, Aron M, Birdsong GG, Bleiweiss IJ, et al. Nat Med 28(12):2453-2455, Dec 2022. doi: 10.1038/s41591-022-02040-6. PMID: 36266514.
Clinico-pathological features of breast tumors associated with Li-Fraumeni Syndrome (abs # 179)
Narasimhamurthy M, Good M, Desai H, Le A, Bleiweiss IJ, Maxwell K, Nayak A. In “USCAP 111th Annual Meeting: Real Intelligence, Abstracts, Breast Pathology.” Mod Pathol 35 (Suppl 2): 196-198, Mar 2022. doi: 10.1038/s41379-022-01030-w.
Does the status of the tumor bed at surgical margins affect local recurrence and overall prognosis in patients undergoing lumpectomy status post neoadjuvant therapy? (abs # 203)
Zhao X, Nayak A, Bleiweiss IJ. In “USCAP 111th Annual Meeting: Real Intelligence, Abstracts, Breast Pathology.” Mod Pathol 35 (Suppl 2): 224-225, Mar 2022. doi: 10.1038/s41379-022-01030-w.
Time to Treatment Initiation for Breast Cancer during the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic
Hawrot K, Shulman LN, Bleiweiss IJ, Wilkie EJ, Jankowitz RC, Laughlin AI. JCO Oncol Pract 17(9):534-540, Sep 2021. doi: 10.1200/OP.20.00807. Epub 2021 Mar 12. Erratum in: JCO Oncol Pract 17(11):694, Nov 2021. PMID: 33710914; PMCID: PMC8457793.
Pathologic characterization of Non-Malignant Breast Lesions Detected by 3D-Digital Breast Tomosynthesis (DBT) versus 2D-Digital Mammography (DM) (abs # 73)
Assi J, Bleiweiss I, Nayak A. In “USCAP 110th Annual Meeting: Never Stop Learning, Abstracts, Breast Pathology.” Laboratory Investigation 101 (suppl 1): 79-81, Mar 2021. doi: 10.1038/s41374-021-00550-4.
Iatrogenic Issues in Breast Pathology
Bleiweiss IJ, Nayak A. Breast J 26(6):1179-1184, Jun 2020. doi: 10.1111/tbj.13868. Epub 2020 May 7. PMID: 32383293.
Microglandular Adenosis: A Possible Non-Obligate Precursor to Breast Carcinoma With Potential to Either Luminal-Type or Basal-Type Differentiation.
Damron AT, Korhonen K, Zuckerman S, Tchou J, Dumoff KL, Bleiweiss IJ, Nayak A. Int J Surg Pathol 27(7):781-787, Oct 2019. doi: 10.1177/1066896919845493. Epub 2019 May 2. PMID: 31046496.
Adenomyoepitheliomas of the Breast Frequently Harbor Recurrent Hotspot Mutations in PIK3-AKT Pathway-related Genes and a Subset Show Genetic Similarity to Salivary Gland Epithelial-Myoepithelial Carcinoma
Lubin D, Toorens E, Zhang PJ, Jaffer S, Baraban E, Bleiweiss IJ, Nayak A. Am J Surg Pathol 43(7):1005-1013, Jul 2019. doi: 10.1097/PAS.0000000000001275. PMID: 31094929.
Evaluation of Biomarkers in Multiple Ipsilateral Synchronous Invasive Breast Carcinomas
Navale P, Bleiweiss IJ, Jaffer S, Nayak A. Arch Pathol Lab Med 143(2):190-196, Feb 2019. doi: 10.5858/arpa.2017-0494-OA. Epub 2018 Sep 7. PMID: 30192170.
MYB rearrangement and immunohistochemical expression in adenomyoepithelioma of the breast: a comparison with adenoid cystic carcinoma
Baraban E, Zhang PJ, Jaffer S, Lubin D, Feldman M, Bleiweiss IJ, Nayak A. Histopathology 73(6):897-903, Dec 2018. doi: 10.1111/his.13708. Epub 2018 Oct 22. PMID: 30003572.
