— College of Medicine — Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology — Faculty — Mary E. Edgerton, MD, PhD

Mary E. Edgerton, MD, PhD

Professor, UNMC Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology

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Mary E. Edgerton, MD, PhD, is a professor in the UNMC Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology. As a Marshall Scholar to the United Kingdom, she completed a PhD in biophsyics, using mathematical models to study membrane-bound reactions in Archaebacteria.

Dr. Edgerton completed two post-doctoral fellowships in the US. She then went to work for two of the largest oil and gas companies in their refinery research facilities where she developed mathematical models of catalytic processes.

After nine years of research, Dr. Edgerton attended medical school, followed by an anatomic and clinical pathology residency and a surgical pathology fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania.

She also has worked at Vanderbilt University, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

A common thread in her research has been the collection of and quality assurance in data and biospecimens, mathematical modeling of processes, coding computer simulations of these processes, and ultimately pattern analysis. She is board-certified as a clinical informatician, in addition to anatomic pathology and clinical pathology, and specializes in breast pathology.

Education & Training

BS: Physics, University of Texas, Austin, TX, 1976.
PhD: Biophysics, University of East Angilia, Norwich, UK, 1979.
MD: Medical College of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 1994.
Research Fellow, University of California, San Francisco, CA, 1979-80.
Research Fellow, State University of New York, Stony Brook, NY, 1980-81.
Clinical Intern, Medical College of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 1994-95.
Clinical Resident, Pathology and laboratory Medicine, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 1995-99.
Clinical Fellow, Surgical Pathology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 1999-2000.

Research

Dr. Edgerton collaborates with other informaticians on the development and use of tools for interoperability of anatomic pathology reports, in particular the use of the electronic cancer protocols developed by the College of American Pathologists and their mapping to SNOMED codes for subsequent data mining. She participates at a national level in discussions about electronic interoperability and data standards in the electronic health record and the development other tools such as FHIR API’s for data transfer. She is currently collaborating on a funded opportunity from the FDA to study laboratory data interoperability from the perspective of improving patient safety and is exploring the potential utility of Generative AI in pathology practice.

Expertise/Area of Focus

Breast pathology, cancer synoptic reporting, data interopability and pattern analysis.

Honors & Awards

Summa Cum Laude, University of Texas at Austin, 1976.
Marshall Scholarship to the United Kingdom, Marshall Commission,
Innovative Research Award, Mobil Research & Development Corporation, 1988.
Career Development Scholarship, American Association of University Women, 1991-92.
Merit Scholarship, Medical College of Pennsylvania, 1991-94.
Magna Cum Laude, Medical College of Pennsylvania, 1994.
Janet Glasgow Memorial Citation, American Medical Women’s Association, 1994.
Rittenhouse Book Award, Rittenhouse Bookstore, 1994.
Informatics Award, College of American Pathologists, 1999.
Informatics Award, College of American Pathologists, 1999.
Arthur Purdy Stout Fellow, Arthur Purdy Stout Society, 1999 – 2000.
Distinguished Service Award, College of American Pathologists, 2022 – 23.

Professional Memberships

Alpha Omega Alpha
College of American Pathologists
United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology
Association of Pathology Informatics
Houston Society of Clinical Pathologists, Houston, TX
High Level Strategic Group, North American Association of Central Cancer Registrars, Atlanta, GA