Korean Pathologists Association of North America
2026 Winter Reminders
KOPANA Trainee Abstract Award ---DUE 2/15/26
We have extended the deadline for the Trainee Awards to 2/15/26. If you know of any trainees who might be interested in joining KOPANA and have abstracts to be presented at USCAP, please forward this information as well.
We are soliciting USCAP abstracts by KOPANA/KSP members for the Trainee Abstract Award.
Please submit USCAP abstracts that are accepted for presentation wherein KOPANA/KSP trainees are first authors to the Education Committee chairs, Soo-Jin Cho and Karen Choi (Soo-jin.cho@ucsf.edu, ekchoi@med.umich.edu) by Feb 15th, 2026. Awards ($200 per person) will be awarded to those who attend both the KOPANA Companion Society session and KOPANA Annual dinner on Sunday.
· The award will be given at the KOPANA Annual Dinner on Sunday, and trainees MUST be present in person to receive the award. Additional information about the dinner will be provided in future correspondences.
· Please forward this information to your trainees who may qualify for these awards.
KOPANA and KSP trainee members: Please include the following information via email:
1. KOPANA/KSP members: Award applicant information
1. Name, affiliation, year in training (PGY)
§ The applicant must be the first author and be in training (pathology residency or fellowship program) or should have been a trainee when the study was conducted.
2. USCAP presentation format (poster/platform), date, time, and location (poster number) of the presentation.
3. Name of the coauthors and their affiliations (please indicate the senior author).
2. Title of the abstract
3. Abstract
Please email this information to the KOPANA Education Committee chairs, Soo-Jin Cho and Karen Choi (Soo-jin.cho@ucsf.edu, ekchoi@med.umich.edu) by Feb 15, 2026.
The trainee must be present at both the KOPANA Companion Society session and KOPANA Annual dinner on Sunday, to receive the award.
KOPANA Annual Dinner/Social at USCAP
We are currently planning for KOPANA annual dinner and social gathering at USCAP. Exact time and location are TBD, but please pencil in the events for Sat and Sun evenings!
- Social gathering: SAT 3/21 evening, after the USCAP welcome reception
- KOPANA annual dinner: SUN 3/22 evening, after the KOPANA Companion Society meeting (trainees must be present to receive the trainee award)
KOPANA Companion Society Inaugural Meeting: USCAP Companion Society: Korean Pathologists Association
After more than twenty years of hosting KOPANA gatherings at USCAP Annual Meetings since 1992, KOPANA is now an official USCAP Companion Society!
We would love to see you in person for this inaugural meeting if you will be coming to San Antonio. If you cannot join in person, please access the recording of the phenomenal lectures. KOPANA annual dinner will follow the completion of the companion meeting to celebrate this beginning of the new chapter in KOPANA's journey. We hope to see you at these events!
TOPIC: Entities of Uncertain Biological Potential: Emerging Concepts and Controversies—see info below and the link for the presentations and speakers
https://2026am.uscap.org/schedule/
DATE/TIME: Sun, March 22 at 4:30 PM - 6:30 PM
This course will explore entities of uncertain biologic potential, including serrated epithelial change in inflammatory bowel disease, gestational trophoblastic disease, follicular-patterned thyroid tumors, and rare pulmonary mesenchymal tumors including PEComa and smooth muscle neoplasms. It will review current concepts related to their morphologic criteria, clinicopathologic features, and immunohistochemical and molecular profiles, and will highlight ongoing debates regarding their biologic behavior.
Presentations
4:30 PM
Serrated Epithelial Change in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Won-Tak Choi, MD, PhD, University of California, San Francisco
5:00 PM
Gestational Trophoblastic Disease
Kyu-Rae Kim, MD, PhD, Ewha Womans University School of Medicine
5:30 PM
Controversies in Follicular-Patterned Thyroid Tumors
Chan Kwon Jung, MD, PhD, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital
6:00 PM
Rare Pulmonary Mesenchymal Tumors
Eunhee S. Yi, MD, Mayo Clinic
2025 Fall Newsletter
KOPANA is now an official USCAP Companion Society!
Hello KOPANA/KSP members, After more than twenty years of hosting KOPANA gatherings at USCAP Annual Meetings since 1992, KOPANA is now an official USCAP Companion Society! We’re thrilled to announce that our first official KOPANA Companion Society meeting will take place during the 2026 USCAP Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas (March 21–26, 2026). This milestone marks a new chapter in KOPANA’s journey, and we invite you to join us in person (with a hybrid option available) to celebrate this exciting beginning together. Below, you will find information about:
- Inaugural KOPANA Companion Society meeting: Sun, March 22 at 4:30 PM - 6:30 PM https://2026am.uscap.org/schedule/
- Euiham/Trainee award requirements and deadlines--DUE January 2, 2026
- Plans regarding KOPANA annual dinner/social gathering at USCAP
- Recap: Korean Society of Pathologists 2nd International Congress of KSP
KOPANA Companion Society Inaugural Meeting: USCAP Companion Society: Korean Pathologists Association
- TOPIC: Entities of Uncertain Biological Potential: Emerging Concepts and Controversies—see info below and the link for the presentations and speakers https://2026am.uscap.org/schedule/
- DATE/TIME: Sun, March 22 at 4:30 PM - 6:30 PM
This course will explore entities of uncertain biologic potential, including serrated epithelial change in inflammatory bowel disease, gestational trophoblastic disease, follicular-patterned thyroid tumors, and rare pulmonary mesenchymal tumors including PEComa and smooth muscle neoplasms. It will review current concepts related to their morphologic criteria, clinicopathologic features, and immunohistochemical and molecular profiles, and will highlight ongoing debates regarding their biologic behavior.
Presentations
- 4:30 PM: Serrated Epithelial Change in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Won-Tak Choi, MD, PhD, University of California, San Francisco - 5:00 PM: Gestational Trophoblastic Disease
Kyu-Rae Kim, MD, PhD, Ewha Womans University School of Medicine - 5:30 PM: Controversies in Follicular-Patterned Thyroid Tumors
Chan Kwon Jung, MD, PhD, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital - 6:00 PM: Rare Pulmonary Mesenchymal Tumors
Eunhee S. Yi, MD, Mayo Clinic
KOPANA Trainee Abstract Award and EuiHam Abstract Award (application due date edited)
We are soliciting USCAP abstracts by KOPANA/KSP members for the Trainee Abstract Award and Euiham Abstract (Travel) Award.
The Euiham Award was initially established in 2006 by the late Dr. Jae Y. Ro to help KSP trainees in need attend USCAP. After successfully raising funds through the generous contributions from Dr. Ro’s family, his mentee Dr. Kyu-Rae Kim in Korea, and KOPANA leadership members, KOPANA established an endowment to continue the award. The Euiham Award will be given to one KSP trainee attending the USCAP meeting in the spring and to one KOPANA trainee attending the fall KSP meeting in Korea each year.
- TRAINEE ABSTRACT AWARD (now due 2/15/2026): Please submit USCAP abstracts that are accepted for presentation wherein KOPANA/KSP trainees are first authors to the Education Committee chairs, Soo-Jin Cho and Karen Choi (Soo-jin.cho@ucsf.edu, ekchoi@med.umich.edu). Awards ($200 per person) will be awarded to those who attend both the KOPANA Companion Society session and KOPANA Annual dinner on Sunday.
- EUIHAM AWARD (past due): To apply for the EuiHam Award ($750 per person), Korean Society of Pathologists (KSP) trainees who have first authored abstract(s) accepted for presentation at USCAP and plan to travel to attend the USCAP annual meeting (San Antonio, TX) should also apply for the Euiham Award when they submit the application for the Abstract Award (see instructions below).
- The Awards will be given at the KOPANA Annual Dinner on Sunday, and trainees MUST be present in person to receive the award. Additional information about the dinner will be provided in future correspondences.
- Faculty members - please forward this information to your trainees who may qualify for these awards.
KOPANA and KSP trainee members: Please include the following information via email:
- KOPANA/KSP members: Award applicant information
- Name, affiliation, year in training (PGY)
- The applicant must be the first author and be in training (pathology residency or fellowship program) or should have been a trainee when the study was conducted.
- USCAP presentation format (poster/platform), date, time, and location (poster number) of the presentation.
- Name of the coauthors and their affiliations (please indicate the senior author).
- KSP members only: Are you applying for the EuiHam Abstract Travel Award as well? (KSP members only; Yes / No).
- EuiHam Abstract Award is a travel award granted to a KSP trainee member in Korea. Therefore, the applicant should be planning to travel to the US to attend the USCAP meeting in person.
- If “Yes”, please submit a brief personal statement that includes any financial needs, addressed to the KOPANA Education Committee Chairs.
- Title of the abstract
- Abstract
- Name, affiliation, year in training (PGY)
Please email this information to the KOPANA Education Committee chairs, Soo-Jin Cho and Karen Choi (Soo-jin.cho@ucsf.edu, ekchoi@med.umich.edu). The trainee must be present at both the KOPANA Companion Society session and KOPANA Annual dinner on Sunday, to receive the award.
KOPANA Annual Dinner/Social at USCAP
We are currently planning for KOPANA annual dinner and social gathering at USCAP. Once more information becomes available, we will send more information with a link for RSVP--please stay tuned for updates!
RECAP: Korean Society of Pathologists 2nd International Congress of KSP
The Korean Society of Pathologists held another phenomenal international meeting this year—the 2nd International Congress of the Korean Society of Pathologists (KSP), which took place on October 30–31, 2025, in Seoul, Korea. Three KOPANA members—Drs. Won-Tak Choi, Soo-jin Cho, and Yuna Kang—participated in the meeting as speakers for the Joint Symposium with KOPANA, and Drs. Hwajeong Jenny Lee and Hee Eun Lee served as moderators for the seminars. Other KOPANA members also contributed as attendees. Please keep an eye out for more information about the upcoming International Congress of KSP in the coming years—we hope you’ll have the opportunity to join at future meetings!
Yuna Kang, MD
Assistant Professor
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Department of Pathology & Lab Medicine