Dr.
Kasper, Richard
BSc, MD (Univ of Toronto), FRCPC
Academic Ranks(s):
Clinical Associate Professor, UBC, Dermatopathologist for Kelowna General Hospital and Interior Health Region
Affiliations(s):
Kelowna General Hospital
After graduating from Uof T medicine in 1980 I completed my general pathology residency at U of Alberta and started working as a hospital and private pathologist in Edmonton. Our group grew Kasper Medical Laboratories and I moved to Calgary in the early 90’s while being a clinical assisstant professor at Uof A and U of Calgary and Medical director of the private laboratory. Alberta laboratory reorganization in the mid 90’s resulted in laboratory partnerships and I took the ooportunity to do a fellowship in dermatopthology with Philip LeBoit and Tim McCalmont at UCSF in San Francisco in 1998-99.
I taught and worked at Calgary Laboratory Services and U of C, mostly in dermatopathology, until 2005, when I was recruited back to UCSF San Francisco. I was a clinical associate professor in the departments of pathology and dermatology at UCSF until 2007, with about 30% teaching time with dermatology and pathology residents. In 2007, I reluctantly resigned from UCSF due to Canadian departure tax laws which would have caused too high a price to stay in the United States. Currently, I am a staff pathologist at Kelowna General Hospital with about 70% of time spent in dermatopathology and consults, with the remainder in clinical and general surgical pathology.
Academic Background
- MD, University of Toronto. 1980
- FRCPC (General Pathology). 1985
- Diplomate, American Boards of Dermatopathology and Anatomical Pathology. 1999
Awards and Recognition
Publications
- Horst BA, Kasper R, LeBoit PE. CD4+, CD56+ mycosis fungoides: case report and review of the literature. Am J Dermatopathol. 2009 Feb;31(1):74-6.
- Pincus LB, McCalmont TH, Neuhaus IM, Kasper R, Oh DH. Basal cell carcinomas arising within multiple trichoepitheliomas. J Cutan Pathol. 2008 Oct;35 Suppl 1:59-64. Epub 2008 Jun 9.
- Ting PT, Kasper R, Arlette JP. Metastatic basal cell carcinoma: report of two cases and literature review. J Cutan Med Surg. 2005 Jan;9(1):10-5. Review.
- Elsayed S, Kuhn SM, Barber D, Church DL, Adams S, Kasper R. Human case of lobomycosis. Emerg Infect Dis. 2004 Apr;10(4):715-8.
- Kasper RC, Wood GS, Nihal M, LeBoit PE. Anetoderma arising in cutaneous B-cell lymphoproliferative disease. Am J Dermatopathol. 2001 Apr;23(2):124-32.
Research Interest
My interests are in dermatopthology, soft tissue pathology and pathology of infectious diseases
Current Projects In My Lab Include
Teaching Interest
Teaching Narrative
At the University of Calgary:
At the medical school, I assisted in the pathology-teaching component of the medical school reproduction course taught to first year students. In the anatomical pathology program, I had been responsible for teaching didactic courses in Dermatopathology and infectious disease pathology. I was responsible for regular Dermatopathology slide sessions with the residents and individual teaching as residents rotate through Dermatopathology. More informal teaching was done at the weekly Friday morning slide sessions with the pathology staff and residents who examine unknown slides supplied by the pathologists where I regularly submitted cases. I had also volunteered to give occasional CPC discussions and formal lectures at the CME sessions for the Pathology department.
At UCSF:
Regular sessions at the multi-headed microscope for sign out of routine and consultation cases of the UCSF dermatopathology service, with dermatology and pathology residents and visiting international fellows. Separate review sessions of more challenging or instructive cases for the dermatology residents occurred on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Presentation of dermatopathology for UCSF Department of Dermatology clinical case conference occurred on Wednesday mornings. Daily, noon-hour conferences occurred with the UCSF dermatopathology group and all residents, visitors and fellows to discuss interesting and challenging cases. One afternoon per week, each at the VA hospital and San Francisco General Hospital, I was responsible for sign-out and discussion of those hospitals’ dermatopathology cases with the rotating residents in pathology and dermatology.
At Sunnybrook Hospital, U of Toronto:
Attended Thursday noon pathology rounds with presentation of interesting cases and was assigned a monthly resident for dermatopathology teaching. Attended and presented melanoma cases for the Sunnybrook melanoma study group. Gave invited lectures to dermatology residents and pathology staff.
At Interior Health Authroity, B.C.:
I have had the pleasure of teaching and mentoring three colleague Interior Health pathologists who chose to spend one of their CME weeks learning dermatopathology at Kelowna General Hospital with me. A final year dermatopathology resident from U of Alberta also spent a week at KGH with me learning dermatopathology. A pathologist from Edmonton, about to write her international dermatopathology diploma examination, spent a week at KGH with me preparing for this examination. We have weekly telepathology conferences to share cases around Interior Health Authority and dermatopathology takes up most of these rounds.