Sidra Medicine has appointed Professor Gordan Vujanic as Senior Attending Physician in Pediatric Pathology. Prof. Vujanic will be working closely with Dr. Adrian Charles, Chief of Anatomical Pathology and will be leading pediatric pathology services at Sidra Medicine. This includes fetal, perinatal and pediatric surgical pathology.
Prof. Vujanic is renowned for his work and international studies on pediatric renal tumors. In addition to his new role at Sidra Medicine, Prof. Vujanic is the Chair of two leading organisation dedicated to cancer research – the UK Children’s Cancer and Leukemia Group Pathology Panel as well as the International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP) Pathology Panel, a global organization dedicated to research and study of pediatric tumours.
“The diagnosis of many diseases is made exclusively by pathologists – this is the first and crucial step towards the appropriate treatment and care of our patients. It is especially the case for children with cancer, where our diagnosis is critical for determine the correct treatment and predicting the prognosis. In order to achieve this, I will be working closely with our clinicians and researchers to implement a range of modern methods and techniques within our pathology labs. This will play a key role in supporting the path towards providing personalized medicine, treatment and care at Sidra Medicine,” said Prof. Vujanic.
In addition to his role in pediatric pathology, Prof. Vujanic will also be delivering training in the field as well as expanding on perinatal pathology services. This will help review the factors related to the perinatal deaths in order to determine why they happened and provide important information for counselling for future pregnancies.
“I am thrilled to be a part of the internationally recognized and respected team at Sidra Medicine. I look forward to playing a key role in supporting the organization in its exciting journey of expansion that will transform specialist healthcare services for the people of Qatar,” continued Prof. Vujanic.
As Chair of the UK and SIOP Pathology Panel, Prof. Vujanic introduced, for the first time ever, a rapid (‘real time’) central pathology review – which enabled children to be diagnosed and staged accurately, avoiding mistreatment. This was a drastic change from previous studies, where 20 to 25 per cent of tumors were misdiagnosed and/or mis-staged.
Prior to joining Sidra Medicine, Prof. Vujanic was the Professor of Pediatric Pathology at Cardiff University School of Medicine in Wales. During his tenure, he developed pediatric pathology services for Wales as one of the centers of excellence in the United Kingdom.
Commenting on the appointment, Dr. Adrian Charles said, “Prof. Vujanic’s appointment to our team, highlights Sidra Medicine’s specialist expertise and commitment to providing world-class care for our patients. He will work in close collaboration with our clinical and research colleagues as well as our partners across the healthcare network to help advance pediatric pathology services in Qatar. We are also keen to support his initiation of global research programs related to pediatric renal tumors in the country.”
Prof. Vujanic is the principal author of the SIOP Working Classification of Renal Tumours of Childhood which has been used as the basis for treatments of these tumors around the world in the last 20 years, and the principal author of papers recognizing new tumor entities. He has published extensively on the topic, resulting in over 100 articles published in peer-reviewed journals and five book chapters.
Prof. Vujanic is currently working on another SIOP Renal Tumor study and rapid central pathology review for over 30 participating countries from around the world.
“This current SIOP study will help establish Sidra Medicine as a center of excellence in the field of renal tumors, as all the global cases will be sent to Qatar for my review and opinion. I am grateful for the opportunity to further develop the potential of such studies in Qatar, as it will have a major impact on the treatment and care of hundreds of children around the world, as we jointly work to save lives and advance healthcare services, “ concluded Prof. Vujanic.