Congratulations to the 2026 Founders’ Award Recipient
David E. Elder, MBChB, FRCPA
Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
David E. Elder, BMedSc, MB, ChB, FRCPA, is a Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, and also holds a secondary appointment in the Department of Dermatology. During this tenure, he served for ten years as Vice Chair and Director of the Division of Anatomic Pathology. He is currently an active member of the Surgical Pathology Section and Melanoma and Skin Cancer Tumor Board, and serves as the Director of the Dermatopathology Subspecialty.
Dr. Elder has been active in melanoma research and management since 1978. This includes leadership roles in the translational Penn-Wistar NCI SPORE grant, which has maintained continuous funding since 2001, and serving as a principal investigator and/or co-investigator on multiple NCI R01 and PO1 grants. He is a longstanding member of the Melanoma Genetics Consortium and served as the Principal Investigator for an NCI R01 grant investigating melanoma genetics for a decade. He is a senior member of the M-PATH group, which established a streamlined diagnostic approach for melanocytic proliferations by categorizing diverse terminologies into four treatment-based groups. Additional contributions to standardizing cancer diagnostics include serving on the AJCC Pathology Committee for three revisions and participating in the WHO Classification of Skin Tumours project for four editions, notably as Co-Author of the 2nd Edition and Lead Editor of the 4th Edition. He has authored more than 300 peer-reviewed manuscripts and 50 chapters and editorials. He has edited or authored 18 books, most notably the seminal textbook Lever's Histopathology of the Skin (8th through 12th Editions) and its companion Synopsis and Atlas (four editions). This work has been highly cited.
As an educator, Dr Elder has mentored thousands of medical students, residents, and fellows, with four current trainees entering dermatopathology programs this year. His honors include a Lifetime Honorary Fellowship from the British Society for Dermatopathology, recognition as a Distinguished Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia, and as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Skin Cancer Research Award of the American Skin Association, and consistent inclusion in Philadelphia Magazine's "Top Docs".