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Hoda's
a 'jewel' in Pathology's crown
by Cindy Abole
Public Relations
Since age 11, Rana S. Hoda knew she was going to be a doctor.
Dr.
Rana Hoda, center, enjoys working with cytopathology fellows Drs. Timothy
Kennedy and Joan Cedars.
At least that's what her father told his second daughter repeatedly
during her early years. Hoda was fortunate to be set on a path that would
defy the traditional ways of most Pakistani women.
Through her own courage and supportive upbringing, Hoda was able to
break away from suppressed stereotyped traditions of women living in an
Islamic state. She was able to enjoy the freedom of pursuing a career that
has allowed her to cut her own path through ambitious scientific merits
and achievements while balancing her life roles as wife and mother.
Since January, Hoda was been the director of MUSC's cytology section
and is a fine needle aspiration biopsy specialist, working under the Department
of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.
“Dr. Hoda brings a wealth of experience to our department, having worked
with all the giants in the field of cytopathology,” said Janice Lage, M.D.,
chair of MUSC's Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. “She has
a national and international reputation as a leader in the field of cytopathology.
She has authored a number of seminal papers in cytopathology literature
and contributed to the leading texts in cytopathology.”
Growing up in Karachi, Pakistan, Hoda, along with her three sisters
grew up to become confident, aspiring and independent professionals, thanks
to the guidance of her parents.
“My father wanted all of us to be highly-educated professionals,” Hoda
said. “At a time when most Pakistani parents were marrying off their daughters,
he was busy chalking out our careers. Education was always his prime motivation
for us.”
After graduating with a degree in biology from the Women's College,
she earned her medical degree at Dow Medical College, Karachi University
in 1983. In her graduating class few were women.
Her first position out of medical school and internship was spent as
a medical officer for the Pakistani government's agricultural development
bank. Hoda was one of two medical officers who provided basic medical care
for ministry staff members and their dependents. Within that year, she
was able to identify key public health needs of her patients. She helped
establish an immunization program for children and organized a diabetic
and hypertension clinic to help
patients.
“I never imagined that I would end up here in the United States and
doing what I'm doing,” said Hoda, who came to the United States with her
husband, Syed, who was beginning a pathology residency at Tulane University
in 1985. The pair met in medical school back in Pakistan.
Since Syed's immediate family had already immigrated and settled in
Louisiana, Hoda knew the possibility of relocating to the United States
was very real. “Moving from one country to another and leaving my immediate
family behind was difficult,” she recalls. “It was a big sacrifice.”
But giving up is not part of Hoda's practice. She went on to earn a
masters in human genetics from Louisiana State University in 1987. It was
also during that time that she gave birth to her son, Raza, in 1988.
Hoda's interests in tumor research and genetics led her to a specific
path that has helped distinguish her career. An interest in linking basic
pathology research and genetics allowed her to complete two residencies
with Cornell University Hospital in New York opening up opportunities to
work with the field's most distinguished researchers. In 1993, she served
a surgical pathology fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
and later completed a one-year cytopathology fellowship at the equally
prestigious Montefiore Medical Center, which is affiliated with Albert
Einstein Medical College. At Montefiore, she worked under cytopathology
pioneer and mentor Leopold G. Koss, M.D.
But being a partner in a dual-professional family and working in the
same branch of medicine has its ups and downs. At one point in their careers,
the Hodas worked in the same pathology department at Cornell's New York
Hospital where Syed is a surgical pathologist and director of autopsy service.
“It became very challenging to keep our professional and personal lives
apart,” Hoda said. “It was not easy. Working under those circumstances
can get in the way of either spouse's successes and achievements. Professionally,
I think its good for couples working in medicine to have separate workplaces.”
It was by coincidence that brought Hoda back south. While working in
New York, she met several colleagues who were from Charleston. “I had other
options in New York City, before visiting MUSC," Hoda said. “But after
meeting Dr. Lage, Dr. Tim Smith and other members of the department staff,
I was very pleased with the courtesy they extended to me and impressed
by the clinical and academic strength of the department. I thought Charleston
was a great place to grow professionally.”
Her interests in women's health, especially breast and cervical cancer
screenings, supplements her expertise and knowledge in thin-layer Pap testing
and needle biopsies. Hoda wants to help educate South Carolina women about
the benefits of effective screening tests, while educating clinicians about
the advantages of new technologies and diagnostic skills to help improve
the quality of Pap tests.
Hoda has taken steps to begin expanding cytopatholgy's own offerings,
specifically with their on-sight fine needle (FNA) aspiration service.
Needle biopsies are a common procedure and in cases of superficial lesions,
the test is performed by a cytopathologist. Deep-seated lesions are studied
using radiological-guidance, specifically with an ultrasound and CT. Its
purpose is to provide clinicians with a rapid, reliable test for understanding
and diagnosing lesions or tumors. According to Hoda, FNA offers more than
90 percent success in diagnostic sensitivity of tumor masses found in the
liver, lung, breast, lymph nodes, thyroid glands and other sites of the
body.
“The presence of a trained cytopathologist during testing can provide
clinicians with a clearer diagnosis through enhanced diagnostic sensitivity,”
said Hoda. “This collaboration aids in helping to reduce the scheduling
of non-diagnostic procedures by providing better service to patients while
improving a clinician's quality of work.”
In addition, Hoda wants to see more interdepartmental collaboration
with family medicine, Hollings Cancer Center, OB-GYN, gastroenterology
and other clinical areas. So far, her team has successfully completed preliminart
data from a joint study with the Department of Radiology. Its results,
among the results of other studies, have been submitted for the fall
meeting of the American Society of Cytopathologists.
“As a rising star and expert in cytopathology, Dr. Hoda brings
to MUSC and Charleston a national and international professional outlook
and unique combination of useful experiences,” said Tim Smith, M.D., director
of anatomic pathology, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.
“She has been educated by two of the giants in cytopathology, Drs. Prabodh
K. Gupta (of the University of Pennsylvania) and Koss (of Montefiore Medical
Center). Their efforts have obviously found fertile ground.”
On May 27, Hoda and MUSC Cytopathology section fellows, Timothy R.
Kennedy, M.D., and Joan Cedars, M.D., will present during the annual McKee
Memorial Cytology Seminar. The day-long event, which honors the work of
former cytopathology director Edward E. McKee, M.D., focuses on educating
pathology staff and statewide and regional students regarding new technical
procedures, review diagnostic techniques, while reinforcing key benchtop
skills. Hoda will speak about special stains and immunocytochemistry in
FNA cases, another aspect of cytology testing that aids in diagnosing lesions.
At the Department of Pathology's annual farewell party for outgoing
residents and fellows, Hoda was presented with the house staff award for
excellence in resident training and education. Her dedication to teaching
medical students and residents about all aspects of pathology has been
continuous throughout her career.
“Dr. Hoda is a gifted pathologist who has devoted herself to the pursuit
of excellence in all aspects of cytopathology,” Lage said. “We are extremely
fortunate to have recruited someone with her abilities to MUSC. She is
a jewel in our crown.”
Commuting professionals: a family affair
When cytology director Rana Hoda is not peering into the lens of an Olympus
microscope or conferring with other medical colleagues about a special
stain, she is commuting between Charleston and New York City. Her purpose
is to be with her husband and be a mom to their 11-year-old son, Raza.
Commuting is a practice that's not new to the Hoda family.
When Hoda accepted her first job as a cytologist in 1995, she worked
at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School in Philadelphia. At the
same time her husband, Syed, was working at Cornell's New York Hospital.
At home, Raza attended school in Princeton, N.J., a midpoint in the family's
daily commute. “For a period of time, my whole family was situated in three
different states. Everyone was about 100 miles apart, every day.”
But raising children in a dual-professional family which sometimes
operate hundreds of miles between parents is not uncommon.
For the past year, Pathology chair Janice Lage, M.D., has proved that
she can successfully run her department while managing her role as mother
to three children in Charleston. Currently, her husband, Mark, a prominent
epidemiologist and cancer researcher, is working at the NIH in Bethesda,
Md.
In less than a month, the Hodas lives will undergo yet another change.
Raza will be relocating to the Lowcountry to attend Porter Gaud School
and live with his mother.
“With just one child, we always realized that one of us would have
to be without our son,” said Hoda. “That's what makes it difficult at times.
I know it will be harder on my husband this time.”
The couple realized that New York City is not an ideal place to raise
their family. Raza's at an age where he needs more space and openness
to try new things and learn to make decisions, she said.
It's a period that Hoda can strongly identify with many years ago in
a far eastern country thousands of miles away.
“Raza loves Charleston,” she said with a smile. “In some aspects,
it reminds him a lot of New York City, minus the big crowds and aggravation.
I can see why many transplanted New Yorkers feel much more at home here.”
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