The invited speaker in this month’s edition of the CIBM Breakfast and Science Seminar was Prof. Inti Zlobec from the University of Bern who presented ”Introduction to Digital Pathology – the Third Revolution “
Chairing the event was Prof. Jean-Philippe Thiran, Head CIBM SP CHUV-EPFL Section, who introduced Inti as a recognized leader changing the world of digital pathology, from microscopy to digital tools. He also acknowledged their ongoing collaboration between their research groups through post-docs and co-supervision of PhD students in the context of machine learning for digital pathology.
Inti started her talk by defining this new modality called Digital pathology then went on to cover some clinical applications describing basic and advanced tasks and she also shared some research examples such as next generation Tissue MicroArray in the lab.
Inti had everyone’s full attention and was, amazingly, even answering questions brought up in the Zoom chat during her talk.
Inti concluded her talk answering inspiring questions from the audience.
A great thanks to Inti for sharing her work with such passion and enthusiasm with the participants joining from ETHZ, EMPA, SIB, FCBG, Lunaphore Technologies, Bruker, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III and the CIBM’s founding partner institutions, CHUV, UNIL, EPFL, UNIGE, and HUG.
Introduction to digital pathology- the “third revolution”
Prof. Inti Zlobec,
Head of the Translational Research Unit and Manager Tissue Bank Bern, University of Bern
Abstract: It has been called the “third revolution in pathology”! Indeed, digitization in pathology is having a profound impact on diagnostics and research. The possibilities for applying computational algorithms to histopathology images opens new and exciting avenues of investigation into disease processes, prognostication, therapy prediction and molecular subtyping. Moreover, genotype-phenotype correlations can be elucidated by analyzing the complex array of cellular microenvironments and interactions. Here, we discuss how digital pathology can be used, not only to help quantify biomarkers and classify tissues with potential use in diagnostic routine but also leads to a wealth of rich information that can be used to help refine our molecular classifications and eventually learn new histopathological features.
About the Speaker: Inti Zlobec received her PhD in Experimental Medicine from McGill University, Canada and pursued postdoctoral studies at the University Hospital Basel, Switzerland. She is now Associate Professor at the Institute of Pathology, University of Bern, Switzerland, where she leads the Translational Research Unit (TRU) and Tissue Bank Bern, two core facilities specializing in tissue biobanking, tissue-based visualisation techniques, digital workflows, image analysis, and next-generation Tissue Microarrays (ngTMA®). She leads the digital pathology group, on the one hand implementing digital pathology into routine diagnostics, and on the other using computational approaches applied to histopathology images of colorectal cancer to refine molecular subtypes and prognosis. Inti Zlobec is President and co-founder of the Swiss Consortium for Digital Pathology (SDiPath), which aims to promote interdisciplinary exchange in the field of digital pathology.
_______
Seminar Chair
Prof. Jean-Philippe Thiran,
Head of CIBM SP EPFL-CHUV Computational Medical Imaging & Machine Learning Section
The monthly meet-up seminar series is a great environment to ask questions or to share insights on challenges and solutions. It’s also a good way to broaden and enrich professional networks.