Get to Know Alexandra Mease, MD - September Member Spotlight

Alexandra Mease, MD
Anatomic & Clinical Pathology Resident 
University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine
Tampa, Florida

What is your current role?
I am currently a PGY-2 resident in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology at the University of South Florida. I also hold the position of Wellness Liaison for our program.

What is the best part of your occupation? 
The best part of my occupation is having the opportunity to learn and push myself everyday while helping provide vital diagnostic information to clinicians that guides patient care. There is truly so much to learn each day as a pathology resident, especially because this specialty spans so many aspects of medicine. I also love interacting with my co-residents and attendings, they make residency that much more enjoyable!

How did you become interested in pathology?
I became interested in pathology after being introduced to forensic pathology by a lecture from a medical examiner during my second year of medical school. After this, my interest in pathology continued to grow as I sought out opportunities for rotations and research within the field. I realized that pathology encompassed everything I found fascinating in medicine and knew it would captivate me for the duration of my career. 

How did you become involved with the FSP?
I became a member of FSP during my first year of residency. I attended the February conference in Orlando this year and presented a poster on an interesting forensic autopsy case.

Explain how you benefit from being a member of FSP. 
Being a member of FSP and attending meetings allows me to gain cutting edge practical pathology knowledge, form crucial relationships while networking with peers and attendings, and build my resume as I begin to plan for fellowship and beyond.

What would you like to see occur in the field of pathology (i.e., scientific advances, greater awareness of the field, etc.) during your career? 
I would like to see the integration of AI and machine learning into pathology, as these technologies could assist pathologists in analyzing large amounts of data more quickly and accurately, potentially leading to earlier and more precise diagnoses. The widespread adoption of digital pathology systems could enhance collaboration among pathologists intra- and interdepartmentally and even globally. I would also like to see more resources put towards forensic pathology due to the need for more forensic pathologists nationally.

What are your hobbies outside of the office?
My hobbies outside of the office are cycling, spending time with my dogs, playing pickleball, and exploring local restaurants.

What is something surprising that most people do not know about you?
Something that surprises people when they find out, after they see how much I love dogs, is that I am actually allergic to them and other animals! This doesn’t stop me from spending lots of time with dogs and even fostering several in the past, including my two current adopted dogs, Daisy and Darwin.

Is there anything I did not ask that you would like me to mention in this article?
My primary subspecialty interest right now is forensic pathology, and I plan to pursue a fellowship in this field.