223: You Don’t Need a Scanner to Start Digital Pathology | ACVP Podcast

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You don't need a fancy scanner, a huge budget, or a computational background to get started in digital pathology. That's what I told the ACVP podcast — and I meant it. In this episode, I share my full digital pathology journey: from being completely intimidated by scanners during residency, to building a career that combines toxicologic pathology, image analysis, and remote work at a global CRO.

If you're a resident, a trainee, or even a seasoned pathologist who hasn't fully stepped into the digital space yet — this one's for you.

We talked about practical ways to get started, what foundation models actually mean for our daily work, how to build a team when implementing digital pathology at your institution, and why change management might be the most underestimated skill in this whole process.

What we cover:

• [00:00] My background — from veterinary school in Poland to digital pathology
• [03:22] Why I chose industry over academia, and what that transition looked like
• [05:02] How a simple IHC side project became my entry point into digital pathology
• [07:11] How digital slides helped me pass my boards — and fall back in love with histopathology
• [10:24] My first job at a digital pathology image analysis company
• [12:00] What my current role at Charles River Laboratories looks like day-to-day
• [13:53] The best free resources for trainees to start exploring digital slides RIGHT NOW
• [15:26] Why pathologists need to understand image analysis principles — segmentation, classification, object detection
• [19:31] Foundation models, transformer architecture, and why annotation bottlenecks may soon be a thing of the past
• [24:13] Practical advice for institutions implementing digital pathology — equipment, teams, and managing resistance to change
• [27:30] How I unplug: trail running, weight training, and pathology-themed earrings

Resources & Links:

• Joint Pathology Center (JPC) digital slides: https://www.jpc.org
• Davis Thompson Foundation — Noah Slidebox: https://www.davisthomasonfoundation.org
• QuPath (free, open-source image analysis): https://qupath.github.io
• Digital Pathology Place: https://www.digitalpathologyplace.com
• Watch the full conversation on YouTube: https://youtu.be/wTDdlxJzq-A?si=xkz5YNljrUX5Snhd

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