Get to Know David Hernandez Gonzalo, MD May Member Spotlight

David Hernandez Gonzalo 

Associate Professor at the University of Florida

Gainesville, Florida

What is your current role?
I am at UF Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine in Gainesville Florida. I am an Associate Professor and sign out GI, Liver and Breast Pathology. I get to teach at the Medical and Dental school as well as to our amazing group of residents and fellows.

What is the best part of your occupation? 
The best part of my job is the team of pathologists we have gathered at our institution. We are a very hard-working group led by Dr. Jennifer Hunt. I particularly love our diversity and camaraderie in our workplace is vital. I felt at home in UF right after joining the Pathology Department in July 2013.

How did you become interested in pathology?
I was blessed to have inspiring Anatomic Pathology teachers during Med school back in Spain and in Bonn (Germany) that instilled in me the passion for this amazing specialty. I love to render a definitive diagnosis that directs patient care. I particularly enjoy making unexpected diagnosis to the clinician that can directly impact patient's quality of life.

How did you become involved with the FSP?
I saw Dr. Kresak, Dr. Carmen Gomez-Fernandez and Dr. Leon’s passion and commitment for this Society, and it was honestly very contagious. I truly enjoyed sharing my interesting liver cases presentation during the last February meeting in Orlando.

Explain how you benefit from being a member of FSP?
We are fortunate to have great academic centers in Florida and every time I attend FSP, I am amazed by the quality of our own Florida presenters and also outside speakers. It is great to learn from each other and to see how things are being done at other hospitals. There are amazing leaders in FSP such as Dr. Jim Zhai. I am very confident he will be able to represent pathologists at the national level as future president of the CAP. 

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 love to see more advances in the field of pancreatic adenocarcinoma and more individualized treatments for the different hepatocellular carcinoma subtypes. In addition, it would be great to have more specific IHC stains to determine site of origin of different neoplasms.

What are your hobbies outside of the office?
Outside of the office I enjoy a variety of things! I enjoy water sports- swimming, paddle board, kayak, wake surfing. I also enjoy playing the organ. And spending time with my two kiddos. I enjoy traveling-- Costa Rica, Brazil, New Zealand are in my bucket list. Another hobby is cooking with friends (my specialty is Tortilla Española), grocery shopping at Wholefoods (and having lunch or dinner there if possible lol). Lastly, I enjoy cycling group rides.

What is something surprising that most people do not know about you?
I was born in Canary Islands (Tenerife in particular). The Canary Islands are an archipelago located off the coast of Morocco. We speak Spanish and belong to Spain. I do love to dance particularly Salsa, Reggaeton and Bachata.

Is there anything I did not ask that you would like to mention in this article?
I have been fortunate to have great mentors in my life such as Dr. Rish K Pai, Dr. John Goldblum, Dr. Daniela Allende, Dr. Downs-Kelly, Dr. Palacios and Dr. Campora. I also get inspired by the great work and leadership of my peers such as Dr. Kresak, Dr. Rivera and Dr. Feely.