About the MacKenzie Chair of Pathology

Dr. Dani Zander was appointed as the MacKenzie Chair of Pathology, effective Sept. 1, 2016, and serves as the Chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at UC, and UC Health's Chief of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.  She is an internationally recognized lung pathologist who has been president of three national professional organizations in Pathology and held multiple other leadership positions in national and international professional and scientific organizations.  

Dr. Zander has abundant experience in leading and managing an academic department and working with faculty, administrators and staff to achieve excellence in clinical work, education, and research. Prior to joining the faculty at the UC College of Medicine, she spent almost ten years as Chair of the Department of Pathology at Penn State College of Medicine. During her years at Penn State, she was instrumental in expanding pathology and laboratory services, chaired multiple committees for the physician practice organization, and elevated the status and prestige of the department and the institution.

Dr. Zander earned her medical degree at the University of Florida in 1986. She next completed an internship in Pathology at Cornell University Medical Center/New York Hospital and then returned to the University of Florida to complete her residency in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology. Dr. Zander followed with more than 25 years of experience in academic Pathology.  She has held tenured faculty and leadership positions at the University of Florida College of Medicine, the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Penn State College of Medicine, and the University of Cincinnati. In 2008, she completed the prestigious Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine program. She has also served on many DOD and NIH study sections, and on editorial boards for multiple scientific journals.

Dr. Zander has authored numerous articles primarily focused upon pulmonary pathology, including many dealing with lung cancer and lung transplantation. She has edited four books on lung pathology and molecular pathology, including the recent second edition of Pulmonary Pathology published in 2017. She is the primary designer of the Pathology Leadership Academy, a national leadership course that she has directed and co-directed for several years, which is sponsored by the Association of Pathology Chairs. Dr. Zander is currently the elected President of the American Society for Investigative Pathology and recently completed her term as the elected Chair of the Programmatic Panel for the Department of Defense's Lung Cancer Research Program.  She has also held multiple elected officer positions for the Association of Pathology Chairs and currently serves as the Chair of the Leadership Development and Diversity Committee for this organization.

Dr. Zander also maintains an active clinical practice in diagnostic pulmonary pathology and cytopathology, enjoys her role as a teacher of residents and medical students, and continues to pursue research in lung diseases.