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Kristian T. Schafernak, MD Department Contact: |
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Brief Bio
A renowned pathologist, hematopathologist and educator, Dr. Schafernak serves as the interim chair of the Department of Pathology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix.
Dr. Schafernak has extensive experience within the field of pathology as both a clinician and researcher. His research areas include: the genetics of pediatric leukemias and lymphomas, inborn errors of immunity and thyroid cancer.
A member of the Phoenix Children's medical staff since 2015, he practices in the Departments of Hematopathology/Cytopathology and Clinical Genomics. Dr. Schafernak’s dedication to training future physicians is exemplified in his role as an associate professor of Child Health and Pathology at the U of A College of Medicine – Phoenix, as well as in his service on both the Curriculum and Nominating Committees.
Dr. Schafernak is active in several prestigious medical societies. He serves on the Board of Directors for the American Board of Clinical Chemistry, which is one of only nine boards that are approved by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to certify doctoral-level scientists to direct high-complexity clinical/medical laboratory testing; as an appointed member of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Image Bank Task Force; as a member of the Scientific Steering Committee for the U.S.-Mexico Cytogenetics Laboratory Program, a science-based educational collaborative partnership between ASH, la Agrupación Mexicana para el Estudio de la Hematología; and in the U.S. National Cancer Institute Office of Latin American Cancer Development. For four years, he represented the American Society for Clinical Pathology on the Editorial Review Board of Lab Tests Online (labtestsonline.org), an award-winning health information Web resource available in 15 countries and 13 languages.
Through his involvement as associate editor of Hematology/Hematopathology for the free, online resource Pearls of Laboratory Medicine, and as section editor of Hematology/Coagulation for the American Association for Clinical Chemistry Learning Lab for Laboratory Medicine on NEJM Knowledge+, a cloud-based adaptive learning platform that personalizes education based on the learner's specific needs, he has been able to share his expertise with learners nationally and internationally.
Dr. Schafernak has published (authored or co-authored) 60 journal articles, letters and editorials, and 14 book chapters, including chapters for the 5th edition of World Health Organization/International Agency for Research on Cancer "blue books" on both Soft Tissue and Bone Tumors and Hematolymphoid Tumors, the gold standard for the diagnosis of tumors; and the 3rd edition of Hematopathology, the reference textbook for the field.
A native of Illinois, Dr. Schafernak completed a master of public health (concentration in Health Services), as well as the Summer Certificate Program in Health Care in Developing Countries at Boston University, before returning to his home state to pursue his MD and a postdoctoral fellowship in neurological sciences at Rush University.