Professor Manuel Salto-Tellez

Professor Salto-Tellez,  MD-LMS, FRCPath, FRCPI  is the Chair of Molecular Pathology at Queen’s University Belfast and Clinical Consultant Pathologist at the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust and Deputy Director of the Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology. He is author or co-author of more than 200 internationally peer-reviewed articles in translational science, molecular pathology and diagnostics.

He studied Medicine in Spain (Oviedo), Germany (Aachen) and The Netherlands (Leiden). He specialized in Histopathology in the UK (Edinburgh and London) and in Molecular Pathology in USA (Philadelphia).

Prof Salto-Tellez leads the Northern Ireland – Molecular Pathology Laboratory (NI-MPL). This is a hybrid laboratory that is CPA accredited to take care of the molecular diagnostics of the whole of Northern Irealand  (population of 1.8 million) and, at the same time, support the translational research mission of the Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology.

Title: Personalised Medicine and the Future of Tissue Pathology

Personalised / Precision Medicine has revolutionized cancer treatment and, in parallel, is also deeply transforming the way we practice tissue pathology. The aim of this talk is to briefly review the status of molecular diagnostic tests applicable to tissues and cells, as well as the main technical and conceptual areas that, in my opinion, will be dictating the evolution of tissue pathology and its integration with the molecular era.

These areas are, among others – a) digital pathology in the pipeline of therapeutic pathology; b) tissue-based NGS and its integration in routine diagnostics; c) the promise of liquid biopsy diagnostics and its necessary “partnership” with tissue molecular testing; d) Pathology IT, databases and bioinformatics; and e) the training of future tissue pathologists.

In the process of this review, it may be apparent that a solid, integrated, morpho-molecular approach to pathology may serve our patients better.