October 15, 2026
Ethics In Practice: Real-World Cases, Real Conversations – CAP
Robert Gallo: ‘You can’t just fund the obvious science’ | STAT
HOME – Engaged Leadership Academy
Award-winning Microscopy Image Disqualified Over AI Use | Nature
Transcript
Nick Lanyi
Coming up, the ethical and professional gray areas that worry pathologists today. A webinar gives you guidance for the tough spots. Plus, 50 years ago, Dr. Robert Gallo made one of the most important discoveries in cancer. His thoughts on its legacy may surprise you. Welcome to CAP News for Thursday, October 15th. I'm Nick Lanyi of the College of American Pathologists. Here's what's making news in pathology and laboratory medicine. Patient privacy, lab errors, and AI. Ethical questions are common in pathology. A CAP webinar from 1 to 2 p.m. Central on November 12th will walk through some of these tough areas with case vignettes and conversation. Dr. Mark Brissette is a co-leader of the webinar and a member of the CAP's Ethics and Professionalism Committee. He says digital pathology and AI are prompting new professional and ethical questions.
Dr. Mark Brissette
How do we protect patient identity? How do we make sure that appropriate diagnoses are made? How the information gets disseminated with AI? You know, that is changing really fast. You know, a lot of that is if some if an institution wants to get a certain AI system, does the lab just take it? Um or do we do our own validation for our own issues?
Nick Lanyi
Dr. Brissette says the session will also explore professional situations that can cause conflict, such as dealing with a difficult colleague.
Dr. Mark Brissette
Our hope is that we show people that there's no one right answer. Um there's more than one way to deal with the issue, probably any issue, um, and to know what resources there are available to help you.
Nick Lanyi
You can bring examples from your work for conversation and feedback from your peers. The session will include practical takeaways. Fifty years ago this fall, the journal Science published a paper describing what became known as Interleukin 2, or IL2. The protein is essential to the growth and regulation of T cells, which in turn play a key role in the body's immune response. The discovery, led by Dr. Robert Gallo of the National Cancer Institute, opened the door to modern cellular immunology and cancer immunotherapy. In a new perspective in the news site STAT, Dr. Gallo reflects on the discovery's legacy. IL2 made possible the discovery of the first human retroviruses, including ones that cause leukemia and HIV. But the larger lesson is about the nature of scientific discovery, the role of basic lab science. Dr. Gallo traces the basic studies that led to advances that he never imagined when he started. Quote, the discoveries that will change medicine a generation from now are probably being chased today by people asking questions no one else sees the value of yet, end quote. It takes years of hard work to be a good pathologist, but does all that training automatically mean you're a good leader and communicator too? Probably not. But those skills can be learned at the CAP's Engaged Leadership Academy. The ELA runs December 5th and 6th. Dr. Carey August is a longtime leader of the ELA. She says the sessions have evolved.
Dr. Carey August
We are extremely diligent about enhancing our ELA sessions based on the feedback we get. It started as this basic communication one-on-one, or maybe speaking in front of a group. It's expanded tremendously. And now, obviously, we have social media to think about. We have virtual presentations to think about.
Nick Lanyi
Mayo clinic pathologist Dr. Sam Albadri participated in ELA in 2024 to bolster his interpersonal skills as a manager.
Dr. Sam Albadri
What we want to avoid is basically ticking off all the boxes of all the possible types of lab tests that could present in a patient with slightly abnormal bleeding factors and or a suspected bleeding history. So I joined the Engage Leadership Academy course because basically I want to become more intentional about how I communicate. How can I build relationships? How I can manage difficult conversations with trainees, with employees, with the clinician, with admin personnel. And how can I help the team to work towards the common goals in the lab?
Nick Lanyi
Participants earn up to 7.5 CME credits when they complete the course. And finally, a warning about AI and ethics in microscopy image contests. The winner of Nikon's small world in motion competition was disqualified after scientists raised concern that his video of moving cilia was created with AI. The winner, an optical engineer at the National University of Singapore, said his team used an AI model in post-processing to enhance the presentation. Nikon said the disqualification was based solely on the video's eligibility under the rules and shouldn't be interpreted as judgment of the entrant's professional reputation or scientific contributions. That's all for today. Be sure to check the show notes for more information on today's stories. Got a story you'd like to hear on the podcast? Write to us at stories at CAP.org. We're back at 5 AM Eastern for another episode of the CAP News. I'm Nick Lanyi. Have a wonderful day.