New Vice Chair of Clinical Pathology

As part of the administrative leadership restructuring of the Department, we are pleased to announce that Magdalena Czader, MD, PhD, has agreed to serve as the new Vice Chair of Clinical Pathology and as Director of IU Health Pathology Laboratories, effective October 9. With this role, she will also be appointed to the Virgil Moon Professorship of Pathology in the Department.

We want to take this opportunity to offer our profound gratitude to Dr. Muhammad Idrees, the Louis Y. Mazzini Professor of Pathology, for his exemplary service and leadership as Vice Chair for Clinical Pathology and Director of the IU Health Pathology Laboratories since 2020, following the departure of Dr. Xiao-Ming Yin. With a steady hand and sound judgment, Dr. Idrees guided the Department through the unprecedented and difficult years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Idrees will now be able to devote his time again to projects more closely aligned with his research and clinical interests, such as his focus on the Immunohistochemistry Laboratory and his dedication to the continuing excellence of our urologic pathology subspecialty. In addition, he has personally chosen to pursue an MBA degree from the IU Kelley School of Business in order to build on his leadership skills and prepare him for future roles in the Department. We thank Muhammad for his commitment and for his willingness to serve the Department during a time of hardship and transition.

In equal measure, Dr. Czader also provided calm leadership and thoughtful guidance to the Department while serving as its Interim Chair, following the retirement of our late colleague Dr. John Eble. Dr. Czader is currently the Director of the Division of Hematopathology and serves as Medical Director for the IUHPL Hematology Laboratory and Clinical Flow Cytometry Laboratory. She is also the Director of the Hematopathology Fellowship Training Program.

At the national level, Dr. Czader served as President and Secretary/Treasurer, and on the Executive Committee of the Society for Hematopathology, and chaired the Nominating Committee of the Society for Hematopathology, while at the local level, she is active in the IUSM Promotion and Tenure Committees, the IUSM Women Advisory Council, the IUSM Graduate Medical Education Committee, and the Multiple Myeloma Precision Health Initiative. Dr. Czader joined the Department in 2002. Since then, she has been the recipient of several research grants, including an NIH K23 award, and has led numerous clinical contracts in laboratory medicine. She received her MD from Karol Marcinkowski University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland, and her PhD from the prestigious Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. She completed her AP/CP Residency and served as chief resident at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore and completed her Hematopathology Fellowship at the same institution.

Magdalena is a proven and steadfast leader in the Department. Throughout her numerous leadership positions, she has always focused on program building and on innovation, all while integrating the perspectives of diverse groups of individuals and building consensus across sometimes competing interests. She deeply understands the importance of teamwork and collaboration and is committed to creating an environment of excellence, support, diversity and inclusion.

Please join us in congratulating Magdalena and in welcoming her to this new role.