Faculty Spotlight: Gabriela Gohla

Dr Gohla’s medical career started in Hamburg, Germany where after finishing medical school in 1988, she worked as both a resident in anatomic pathology and clinical oncology at Humboldt University in Berlin and hematology for a total of 6 years. After getting additional training in tropical medicine and dermatopathology at Jefferson Institute of Dermatopathology in Philadelphia. She worked as a staff pathologist heavily focused on breast cancer.  She moved to Canada in 2004, where she started her current position as an anatomical pathologist at St Joseph’s Hospital to learn something new. Here at McMaster, she embodied problem-based learning and was sought after by the residents for her simple and practical way of signing out, and a kind and cool workstyle. No wonder she was the recipient of the resident-nominated teaching award at the summer PMM annual retreat 2023. She has also been involved in undergraduate medical school teaching. She has been the coordinator and a presenter at the weekly breast pathology/radiology correlation rounds at St. Joseph’s Hospital since 2004. One of her notable research achievements is in the validation of the use of radioactive seed in targeted removal of breast cancers in partial mastectomies, which was a paradigm shift from using a needle localization technique for breast localization surgeries. She continues working on this project with Dr. P. Lovrics. Apart from being a book contributor to German medical books,  author/ co-author of numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, and presenter of research at multiple international meetings.

Dr Gohla is a proud pet owner of her favorite walking buddy/Border Collie Caleigh. Dr. Gohla looks forward to continuing to contribute to breast pathology teaching as she eases into a part-time role in the near future.

Q. What is your specialty?

A. Breast pathology and dermatopathology

Q. What is your favorite aspect of your position?

A. Creating a learning program with a student for histology available on the Anatomy Website.

Q. What has been your favourite project(s)?

A. Three projects stand out. The first is whole-mounted histological slides of full cross-sections of prostatic cancer specimens. The second is the validation of the use of radioactive seen in the targeted removal of breast cancers in breast localization surgeries. Third, the validation of new IMA technology to assess surgical margins in breast reaction specimens in the surgical suite; the later two projects Dr. Gohla continues to work on with Dr. P. Lovrics.

Q. What’s something about you (a fun fact) that people may not know?

A. She was one of the leaders of the first breast cancer screening programs in Germany.