Kathryn S. Rice, MD

I am a pediatric forensic pathologist, a specialty within medicine that is tasked with providing answers to families in some of their hardest days. Through performing autopsies, I am able to help families take a step towards closure, answer lingering questions from clinical teams that will aid in the care of future patients, and contribute to the research of rare conditions. In addition to my autopsy work, I exam specimens from living patients such as explants, cancer resections, and biopsies to provide a wide spectrum of diagnoses from appendicitis to a new cancer.

One of the aspects of my work that I find particularly rewarding is my work with heart specimens. As a clinician, I dissect explanted hearts from children who have received a new heart via transplant. For these cases I am often given the honor of meeting with families to show them their child's original heart, walk through their child's diagnosis and the various procedures that they have undergone to keep their original heart functioning until they could receive a transplant. As an educator, I get to teach teams of trainees from various specialties about congenital cardiac malformations using a historic collection of rare heart specimens. As a researcher, I get to work with multi-disciplinary teams across our institution and local community to further knowledge about the cardiac outcomes in dystrophy patients, genetic conditions that affect cardiac function, and causes of sudden cardiac death.

Outside of work I enjoy gardening, DIY projects and various crafts.