Dani S. Zander, MD
Director
Dr. Zander is a Collaborative Professor in the Department of Pathology and Cell Biology at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine. From 2016 to June 2025, Dr. Zander served as the MacKenzie Chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Cincinnati, and Chief of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine for UC Health. She previously served as Chair of the Department of Pathology at Penn State and held other faculty and leadership positions at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and the University of Florida College of Medicine.
Dr. Zander practiced as a lung pathologist and cytopathologist with research focused primarily on lung cancer and lung transplantation. She has been an editor of five pulmonary pathology and molecular pathology books, served as the elected president of four pathology societies and she is a past president of the Association of Pathology Chairs (APC), recently renamed as the Association for Academic Pathology (AAPath). She has published numerous papers, served on DOD and NIH study sections, and was elected chair of the DOD's Lung Cancer Research Program's Programmatic Panel. She has also held multiple editorial positions including that of Associate Editor of the American Journal of Pathology.
Leadership education and training, especially for academic pathologists, has been a passion for Dr. Zander throughout her career. She led the design and launch of the first Pathology Leadership Academy of the APC in 2016. Dr. Zander has also served as a mentor for faculty, residents and medical students and has been recognized with several teaching awards including the prestigious national Robbins Distinguished Educator Award given to Dr. Zander in 2025 by the American Society for Investigative Pathology.
Dr. Zander received her Bachelor of Arts degree in chemistry from New York University and her Doctor of Medicine from the University of Florida. Dr. Zander was chosen as a director because of her significant experience in pathology and laboratory medicine and her extensive experience in clinical research.