Dr. Reema Jaffar is the Director of Gastroenterology Pathology with QDx Pathology where she joined the pathology team more than six years ago. She received her medical degree from Jawaharial Nehru Medical College Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India. Dr. Jaffar received her Anatomic and Clinical Pathology residency training at Umass Memorial Medical Center in Worchester, MA. She received her fellowship training in Pediatric and Perinatal Pathology at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago, IL. She received her Gastrointestinal and Surgical Pathology Fellowship training at McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University in Chicago IL. With more than 11 years of experience, Dr. Jaffar’s specialties include Gastroenterology and Pediatrics Pathology. She is board certified in Anatomic Pathology and Clinical Pathology by the American Board of Pathology.

On International Women’s Day 2023, QDx Pathology Services is honored to feature Dr. Jaffar’s background and contributions to pathology

Q: Why pathology? What drives your passion to practice pathology or what initially intrigued you about studying and committing to a career in pathology?
A: “It’s genetic and I have the mutation! My mom is a pathologist and so is my sister. I have always loved science. Med school opened many avenues, but I was drawn towards Pathology because it is a science that provides a definitive answer. It helps in narrowing a broad differential diagnosis. I am an amateur artist and find it easy to remember different patterns of disease in tissues. With the help of lab tests and biopsy results,  I can aid the physician in patient care and treatment. I find it to be a very satisfying and rewarding role for me in health care.”

Q: Please share one of your most memorable cases:
A: “Warning: sad case. During my fellowship, I read the colon biopsies on a 34-year-old young man as malignant. I called the physician to see if there was a mistake with the age. The physician confirmed the age and said that his mother had died young from a stomach malignancy. His father had also died of a malignancy. His sibling was a cancer survivor. That was my first case of Lynch Syndrome. The MMR panel came back deficient. I was able to provide critical information to this family that would change his chemotherapy and give him a better chance to fight the cancer.”