Department of Pathology and Microbiology

The Pathology Department of Aga Khan University (AKU) is a unique and huge establishment with not only academic interest but also serving the clinical laboratory of Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) that caters to the needs of whole country through its 127 collection points and three statistics laboratories.

The Pathology Department has six major sections: Histopathology, Haematology, Blood Banking, Microbiology, Chemical Pathology and Molecular Pathology.

Research programme of the department are strong with several research grants, PhD students and research officers. The major research interests of the department are in infectious diseases and cancer. Research programs in mycobacterial infections, antimicrobial resistance and health care associated infections are well established. In addition the department also has research programs in cancer particularly molecular genetics of carcinoma and breast cancer. The department has research collaboration with several universities in UK and USA .

Teaching responsibilities of Pathology faculty are immense and diverse and include undergraduate and residents teaching besides PhD graduate programme and trainee technologists programme.

The Department also has a three to four year residency program accredited by the College of Physicians and Surgeons (CPSP) in four disciplines: Histopathology, Haematology, Clinical Chemistry, and Microbiology.

The one-year trainee technologist programme is unique in Pakistan . In this, 26 trainees, mostly with BSc and MSc qualifications, are taken each year. This highly successful programme started with a handful of trainees in 1985. It provides training not only for routine work, but also training to meet and maintain high quality standards required by international health care systems.

On average, the clinical laboratory receives 9000 tests per day and has a total staff of 1200. The pathology faculty of 40 includes five professors, nine associate professors, eight assistant professors, six senior instructors and nine instructors and three part time lecturers.

The laboratory is one of the first to receive the ISO 9002 certification and JCIA certification.

Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi