Beyond the political headlines, the past few months have seen a stream of reports of ground-breaking medical advances – many of them firmly rooted in the pathology specialties. To explore some of these further, our theme for this issue is ‘Pathology at the cutting edge’. Read our feature articles to learn about the first therapeutic applications of CRISPR-Cas9, bispecific antibodies, the state-of-the-art in phage-based therapies and diagnostics, and an update on mRNA cancer vaccines – all with accompanying explainers.

To harness such exciting advances and maximise the benefit to patients, the medical profession, academia and industry must work together. To this end, the College has launched an Industry Leaders’ Forum, which held its inaugural meeting at the College in April. Roundtables and plenaries stimulated wide-ranging discussions on how best to collaborate – we carry a report of the event from College Corporate and Public Engagement Manager, Penny Fletcher.

Meanwhile, leaps forward in the life sciences have been accompanied by those in digital capabilities, which will be similarly game-changing. Together with the Royal College of Radiologists, the College has held meetings with ministers in Downing Street and produced a roundtable report on the use of AI in diagnostics; there has also been an encouraging level of engagement from all the devolved nations. College Policy Officer, Danny Scarsbrook, outlines these developments.

At the same time, as more pathology departments transition to digital reporting, we must ensure that patients’ views and interests are represented; Dr Bethany Williams and colleagues from the National Pathology Imaging Co-operative Patient and Public Advisory Group discuss the importance of the patient voice in the age of digital and computational pathology.

However, no amount of progress in medical science and technology can lead to improvements in care if we do not have the workforce we need to run our services – this remains a core concern that the College is prioritising on a number of fronts. One of those is to ensure we are attracting great new colleagues for the future. We have a number of initiatives to do that, several of which are featured in this issue. Learn more about the medical elective small grants scheme, launched to mark our Diamond Jubilee in 2022; our recent pathology careers webinar series aimed at undergraduates and Foundation doctors; and the PathQuest event, which explored careers in diagnostic neuropathology and paediatric and perinatal pathology. You can also find out more about National Pathology Week 2024, which will run from 4–10 November, which for the first time will run collaboratively with the Pathology Alliance.

Death certification reforms become statutory in September 2024 for all deaths registered in England and Wales. Dr Suzy Lishman, the College’s Senior Advisor on Medical Examiners, sets out the main changes. Regarding issues in Scotland, consultant forensic pathologist Dr Gemma Kemp has provided a review of ‘Sudden Deaths and Fatal Accident Inquiries in Scotland: Law, Policy and Practice’, a book authored by Gillian Mawdsley of the College’s Lay Advisory Group.

We also have a report from Kelley Price on the International Team’s recent Global Health Workforce initiative, which is funded by the Tropical Health Education Trust and involves working with College partner organisations in Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya.

It is always a pleasure to highlight successes and awards. As the Pathology Portal goes from strength to strength, its latest accolade is a high commendation award at the Health Services Journal awards. The College’s 2024 Achievement Awards were also recently announced – 6 in total, including 2 for a new category of sustainability. Congratulations to all the winners and highly commended teams, who are featured on the College website. Congratulations also go to the winners of our 2023 Trainee Research Medals.

Appreciations in this issue remember the huge contributions of Professor Kim Suvarna, a great friend of and contributor to the College, and Dr Charlotte Williamson OBE, who did so much to ensure patient voices were heard in healthcare. College was extremely privileged to work with both. They are greatly missed.

Finally, following April’s Bulletin issue on the theme of climate change and sustainability in pathology, we publish a letter to the Editor from Professor Brian Summers on the topic of climate change and its impact on veterinary medicine. If the articles in this issue inspire a response from you, I would be delighted to hear from you, so please do get in touch.

Summer holiday season will soon be in full swing. With that in mind and in the hope that some of you may manage to find the odd few spare minutes on your travels or staycations, why not test out your pathology general knowledge with the Bulletin’s first ever pathology-themed crossword? The first correctly completed attempt, selected at random, will win an item of College merchandise. I look forward to receiving your entries – consultation with Dr Google is allowed!

Return to the July 2024 Bulletin

Read next

From the President – July 2024

15 July 2024

Introduction to pathology at the cutting edge

15 July 2024

Member only content

Inaugural Industry Leaders’ Forum held at the College

15 July 2024