Jan A. Nowak MD PhD
Northshore University Health System

The elucidation of the molecular structure of DNA and its significance for information transfer in living material some 50 years ago ushered in the golden age of molecular biology and promised to revolutionize the field of medicine.  We are in the midst of that revolution.  Our understanding of cell development and differentiation, of the molecular and genetic underpinnings of neoplasia, of the  molecular pathways of metabolism and immune regulation, and the varied molecular strategies employed by infectious agents demand that we rewrite our textbooks, and that we reinvent ourselves as physicians and laboratory professionals.  Our explorations of the human genome are only beginning, yet it is clear that our concepts of disease, and our understanding of our physiologic responses to disease, will be changed.

To comprehend these changes and to attempt to bring this newfound knowledge of molecular biology to clinical practice, to the bedside, is a bold and challenging endeavor.  No one can doubt that all practitioners of medicine will need to be “molecular”.  Pathologists, who are charged with the study of disease and the human response to it, are uniquely positioned to facilitate this transition.  Indeed, it is their responsibility not only to make this happen, but to educate their clinical colleagues as well.

Among all professional organizations, only the organization of Molecular Pathology dedicates itself to the “advancement, practice, and science of clinical molecular laboratory medicine and translational research based on the applications of genomics and proteomics”.  The molecular pathologists and laboratory scientists who constitute the membership of AMP remain true to the tradition of the physician scientists.  They stand with one foot planted in the research laboratory and the other in the clinic.  From their unique vantage, they have the necessary vision and skill to merge the two.

You will find that AMP members have taken on the varied challenges and responsibilities of this emerging clinical science.  It is AMP members who have established the first clinical molecular pathology laboratories, and developed the first clinical molecular tests.  AMP members strive to establish standards of practice that assure the quality and uniformity of our practices.  AMP’s educational efforts are extensive, including not only the presentations and lectures at our annual meeting, but also our journal, The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, our web site and list serve, and various short courses at professional meetings.  It is AMP members who have developed the numerous training programs in Molecular Genetic Pathology to prepare our specialty for the future.  Our members are also invested in the numerous ethical, regulatory, and fiscal discussions that must invariably accompany this new way of practicing medicine.

This is a wonderful time to be a physician and scientist.  I tell my students and residents that, short of travelling to the moon, I cannot think of a more exciting and fulfilling field of work than to be a molecular pathologist in 2009.  This is the spirit and enthusiasm that pervades the Association for Molecular Pathology. Welcome!

Jan A. Nowak, MD, PhD