Revitalising an academic pathology department: lessons learnt

Pathology is a specialty that bridges basic medical science and clinical practice. In the era of personalised medicine, this specialty is facing unprecedented challenges. Some of these challenges are institution-specific, while many are shared worldwide at different magnitude. This review shares our team efforts in the past 5  years, 2012–2017, to revitalise a century-old academic pathology department in three aspects: administration, clinical service and academic development. The lessons learnt and insights gained from our experience may provide guidance to leaders in pathology or in other related specialties.