must be well acquainted. However, since 2001, forensic teaching at every level in Florida has been handicapped by a revision to the Medical Examiner law that prevents use or release of any photographic, other visual, or audio recordings for any purpose other than evidence for court proceedings. As written, the law prevents use of all past, present or future medical examiner photos in the medical education of health care professionals, law enforcement groups, or in medicolegal training programs. These limits also prevent publication in any scientific journal.

The Medical Examiner law revision resulted from the death of Dale Earnhardt, the great star of NASCAR racing, who was killed on February 18th 2001 in a crash at the last turn of the 2001 Daytona 500 Race. His family, rightfully, was concerned because photos of prior NASCAR accidents had been unscrupulously sensationalized by internet and tabloid publications, without regard to the families involved. Such publication of Earnhardt’s autopsy and accident photos, they contended, would painfully invade their privacy. After several newspapers petitioned the Medical Examiner to release the

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Text Box: As this academic year progresses, we will have to bid adieu to four of our faculty members. Dr. William Murphy will be retiring in January after a decade of service to our department. Dr. Murphy joined the University of Florida staff in 1994 midway through a very productive academic career. After graduating Harvard Medical School, he trained in pathology at Case-Western Reserve University following a surgical internship year at the Medical College of Virginia. He then completed a fellowship in immunology at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation before joining the staff of the University of Tennessee. At Tennessee, he practiced for 18 years during which time he served as associate professor and professor of pathology and urology and as associate director of cytopathology and chief of nephropathology and electron microscopy. After a one-year interim as director of anatomic pathology at Tulane University he joined the staff at the University of Florida. While at Florida, he has served as professor as well as two years as director of anatomic pathology. He is well published, authoring five books including co-authoring the Tumors of the Kidney, Bladder, and Related Urinary Structures Armed Forces Institute of Pathology fascicle published this year. He also serves on multiple editorial boards including Modern Pathology, Human Pathology, Journal of Urologic Pathology, the American Text Box: Journal of Surgical Pathology, and Acta Cytologica. Dr. Vonda Douglas-Nikitin will also be leaving the department during this academic year. Dr. Douglas-Nikitin joined the University of Florida Pathology staff in 1999 after completing her residency at the University of Michigan and fellowship in hematopathology at Northwestern University. Since her appointment as assistant professor, Dr. Douglas-Nikitin has played an active role in the education of medical students, residents, and fellows. In addition to teaching at daily sign-out and lecturing to medical students, she has been a member of both the hematopathology fellowship and residency training committees, director of medical student electives in pathology, director of an NIH short-term summer research program for minority students, and mentor for the Minority Association of Premedical Students. Additionally, she has authored a number of articles and recently completed a book chapter in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (Guy Faguet, Humana Press 2003). Dr. Douglas will be joining a practice at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan. Dr. Melissa Li, who joined the UF pathology faculty in 2003 will be leaving to join a private pathology practice in Oregon. Dr Li served as part of the gastrointestinal pathology unit as well as part of the District 8 Medical Examiner’s office here in Text Box: The Faculty Buzz

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Florida Pathology

Forensic Pathology Teaching and NASCAR

by Dominique Coco

by Dr. William Donnelly

Forensic pathology is a required and exciting area of pathology training with which every pathology resident

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