J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD, Dean, Perelman School of Medicine and EVP, University of Pennsylvania for the Health System; Kevin B. Mahoney, CEO, University of Pennsylvania Health System; and Deborah A. Driscoll, MD, SVP, Clinical Practices of the University of Pennsylvania, today announced the appointment of George Jabboure Netto, MD, as the next Chair of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Penn Medicine, effective August 1, 2023.

An accomplished physician-scientist specializing in genitourinary pathology and molecular genetic pathology, Dr. Netto is currently Professor and the Robert and Ruth Anderson Endowed Chair of Pathology at The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Heersink School of Medicine.

Dr. Netto has served in his role as Chair at UAB since 2016, following 12 years at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine as Director of Surgical Pathology Molecular Diagnostics and Professor of Pathology, Urology and Oncology. He is a Senior Scientist at the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, a member of the Board of Directors of the University of Alabama Health System Foundation and leads the School of Medicine task force on research strategic planning for Disruptive Technologies in Precision Health. Dr. Netto's record of achievements and academic accomplishments speaks to his ability to lead a vibrant department and empower a diverse, dynamic, and capable team of faculty. Under his leadership, the Pathology department at UAB Heersink School of Medicine developed and implemented a shared strategic vision with a focus on enhancing the quality-of-care delivery and patient safety, talent acquisition, team integration, and diversity. During his tenure, the department experienced its largest expansion in basic and translational research portfolio.

Dr. Netto's research has contributed significantly to the understanding of the molecular basis of prostate and bladder cancers. He is the editor in chief of Modern Pathology and serves as an expert co-editor of the 5th edition of the World Health Organization (WHO) Blue Book on the Classifications of Urinary and Male Genital Tumors. He is the associate editor for Advances in Anatomic and Molecular Pathology and a member of the editorial boards of several journals in the fields of Urology and Pathology. He has authored or co-authored more than 400 articles and chapters, including six books in urologic pathology, and is the editor of a widely recognized textbook, Genomic Applications in Pathology, currently in its second edition. He received his medical degree from Damascus University before residency in anatomic and clinical pathology at Baylor University Medical Center and fellowships in surgical pathology at the Washington University School of Medicine, and in urologic pathology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center prior to joining Johns Hopkins School of Medicine faculty in 2005.

 Dr. Netto’s appointment follows a national search led by Mitch Schnall, MD, PhD. Dr. Netto’s appointment marks the next phase of leadership for Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Penn Medicine, which previously excelled under the leadership of David B. Roth, MD, PhD, and, most recently, under the strong and capable stewardship of interim chair Kathleen T. Montone, MD.

Read the Penn Medicine news release