With most content available exclusively to members, each issue draws together the latest news and articles relating to a relevant theme. The most recent issue of the Bulletin, published in October 2024, explores pathology’s role in resolving health inequalities. The issue features articles on inequalities in stem cell transplantation, the Welsh healthcare system, antimicrobial resistance, genomics, cancer treatment and artificial intelligence. The next issue of the Bulletin will be published later in January.

To gain a deeper insight into the inner workings of the Bulletin, we spoke to the Editor, Professor Angharad Davies. She told us about her role, the value of the Bulletin for herself and the wider membership, and how to contribute your own pieces to the magazine.

Can you tell us a bit about your background and what drew you to a career in pathology? 

I attended a Welsh-medium comprehensive school in North Wales, and then went to Cambridge for undergraduate medical studies. The medical course in Cambridge was (and still is) very strong on pathology, and I was very fortunate to have Dr Derek Wight, Director of Histopathology at Addenbrooke’s hospital, as Director of Studies in Pathology at my college. The Pathology Final MB exam was challenging and rewarding, and I found that the more pathology I learned, the more the rest of medicine started to make sense. I left with a distinction in pathology and strongly believe that proper pathology teaching is fundamental to medical study. 

I’d always been interested in microbes and infections. As a teenager I’d read a book about trials of strategies to eradicate schistosomiasis in St Lucia, which I found fascinating. When it came to specialising, I naturally gravitated towards medical microbiology.  

What does the role of Bulletin Editor entail? 

As Bulletin Editor I decide on the theme for each issue, and then commission articles on that theme which I hope will be of interest to our readers. Recent themes have included health inequalities, and climate change and sustainability in pathology. The Bulletin also has a lot of other content aside from the featured theme articles, such as meeting reports, book reviews, updates from the various College directorates about events and activities, and more. For the July issue, I composed a pathology-themed crossword, which was tackled by pathologists from as far afield as Brazil! 

The College’s fantastic Publishing team do much of the hard work drawing everything together, but most items cross my desk for review too. We keep on top of each issue with biweekly editorial meetings. 

What interests you most about editing the Bulletin? Have there been any particular articles or interviews that have impacted you? 

Editing the Bulletin puts me in the privileged position of liaising with many esteemed pathologists from across the entire breadth of our specialties, and this is an enormous pleasure. I get to read all their contributions and learn a lot about all sorts of advances and ideas. For example, when putting together our climate change and sustainability issue, it was wonderful to find out about all the measures people are taking in labs up and down the country. In July, we featured cutting-edge advances in different specialties and I learnt about all sorts of developments, for example about the introduction of bispecific antibodies for lymphoma, and the application of phages in (veterinary) diagnostics, which was something I’d never really considered before. 

What makes the Bulletin a valuable resource for members of the College? 

The Bulletin aims to inform and to keep readers in touch both with what is going on in the College and in pathology more widely. Each issue has content relevant to most specialties, and general content of interest to all. It also acts as a reminder that as well as the nitty gritty of our own specialties, we are part of a wider community, all rising to the challenge of delivering the best services possible for patients. 

What sort of things do you look for from contributions to the Bulletin, and what advice do you have for members who would like to write for/contribute to it? How does this process work? 

We are looking for all sorts of items. Of course, we are interested in those which will be of general interest to all our readers, even if they work in different specialties. But we are also interested in content that will be useful for members in different specialty areas, so articles can be quite specific too. I always welcome enquiries from those with ideas for contributions, so if you have something in mind, please do get in touch to discuss. If your idea is taken up, you will be provided with a deadline and a word count. Your draft will then be edited for house style by the Publishing team. You will have an opportunity to review the final proofs before they are published. 

When writing for the Bulletin, please keep in mind the breadth of our readership, particularly on an international level. Even if your topic is quite specialty-specific, or UK-specific, try and keep it as accessible as possible for others.  

How has editing the Bulletin benefited your own professional development? 

I learn a huge amount with each issue. The role entails editing content from across the specialties, whereas I might previously have turned only to the infection-related articles. I am in awe of the advances made in other fields, which I previously had only a vague awareness of, if at all. It has really broadened my horizons and, for me, further underscored the huge contribution of pathologists of all stripes to healthcare. 

What are your hopes for the pathology profession over the next 5 years? How do you think the College could support in this?  

The critical role of pathology, and the expertise needed to deliver it well, are consistently underestimated. Sometimes this is even by pathologists themselves – we really do tend to undersell ourselves. Pathology informs so much clinical decision-making, and good pathology services make healthcare much more efficient, as well as better for patients. My hope is that the importance of high-quality pathology to patient care continues to become better recognised. The College is working hard to promote this message at every opportunity. 

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Make sure to look out for the latest issue of the Bulletin in the coming days. The Bulletin is hosted digitally on the College website, so you can access all previous issues when logged into your member account.  

Are you interested in contributing to the Bulletin? If so, we’d love to hear from you. Please contact the Publishing team at [email protected] who can offer advice on submitting an article for publication.