Mary E. Kass, MD, FCAP

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Get to know Pathologist Dr. Mary E. Kass, who served patients in Washington, D.C.

A pathologist with over five decades of experience, Dr. Kass served as Chair of the Department of Pathology at MedStar Washington Hospital Center from 1968 until 2003.

Among her other roles, she served as director of laboratories and as chair of the hospital’s Peer Review, Quality Assurance, and Infection Control committees. She was also vice chair of the Governance Committee and chair of the Quality Committee of the MedStar Board.

As a not-for-profit, 912-bed academic and research center, MedStar Washington Hospital Center is the largest and busiest hospital in the greater Washington, D.C., metropolitan region. The hospital serves as a referral center for patients with the most complex conditions as well as a safety-net provider for residents of the immediate community.

Graduating with the class of 1967, Dr. Kass earned her medical degree from the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. She stayed on for a surgical internship, after which she completed a residency in pathology at GW and a rotation at MedStar Washington Hospital Center.

A Fellow of the American College of Pathologists (FCAP), the doctor attained board certification in anatomic pathology & clinical pathology through the American Board of Pathology (ABPath). The mission of the ABPath is to promote the health of the public and advance the practice and science of pathology by establishing voluntary certification standards and assessing the qualifications of those seeking to practice the specialty of pathology.

Immediate past CAP president, Dr. Kass was named the 2006 Pathologist of the Year at a Sept. 10 ceremony at CAP ’06 in San Diego.

During her term as president, she led the College to the successful negotiation of the $32 million contract with the National Library of Medicine for SNOMED CT and established the CAP annual meetings. She also brought together the leaders of all major pathology organizations in 2004 to form the Future of Pathology Group.

Before her election as president-elect in 2001, Dr. Kass was a two-term member of the Board of Governors. During her tenure on the Board, she served on several committees, chairing the Council on Scientific Affairs, the Board Review Program Committee, the Credentials Committee, the Pathology Staffing Committee, Ad Hoc Laboratory Accreditation Program Technology Project Planning Team, and the Public Affairs Committee. She was also a member of the CAP Executive and Finance committees.

Pathology is a branch of medical science that involves the study and diagnosis of disease through the examination of surgically removed organs, tissues, bodily fluids, and in some cases, the whole body. Pathologists are physicians who specialize in the diagnosis and management of diseases by laboratory methods. 

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