Naso, Julia

Naso, Julia

MD/PhD

Academic Rank(s)

Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine

Affiliation(s)

Vancouver General Hospital

Email

julia.naso@vch.ca

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Dr. Naso recently returned to Vancouver after completing fellowship Pulmonary Pathology at Mayo Clinic Rochester. She did her residency training in Anatomical Pathology through UBC, and is a graduate of the MD/PhD program, with her PhD in the Genome Sciences and Technology program and her undergraduate in Molecular Genetics. She is presently supported by UBC to develop an independent research program in thoracic malignancies, while also serving as a consultant pathologist at VGH. Her research interests include translating novel molecular testing approaching into clinically available tests that aid in the diagnosis and characterization of lung cancers.

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Academic Background

  • Pulmonary Pathology Fellowship at Mayo Clinic, Rochester MN. 2023
  • Anatomical Pathology Residency, University of British Columbia. 2022
  • MD/PhD, Genome Sciences and Technology Program, University of British Columbia. 2017
  • BSc Honors Molecular Genetics, University of Alberta. 2010

Awards and Recognition

  • Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Trainee Award
  • Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship
  • Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Scriver Family Studentship

Publications

  • Naso, J.R., Vrana, J.A., Koepplin J.W., Molina, J.R. and Roden, A.C. EZH2 and POU2F3 Can Aid in the Distinction of Thymic Carcinoma from Thymoma. Cancers 2023 Apr 13;15(8):2274.
     doi: 10.3390/cancers15082274.
  • Naso, J.R.*, Chan, J.*, Reisenauer, J., Edell, E.S., Stackhouse, K., Bungum, A.O., Vierkant, R.A., Pierson, K., Seidl, A., Sturgis, C.D., Meroueh, C., Huang, Y. and Hartley, C.P. Remotely Operated Robotic Microscopy for Rapid Diagnosis of Bronchoscopic Cytology Specimens. Accepted by Diagnostic Cytopathology May 2023  * co-first authors
  • Naso, J.R., Lo, Y.-C. and Sholl L.M. (2022). Updates in Pathology and Molecular Diagnostics to Inform the Evolving Landscape of Thoracic Surgery and Oncology. Journal of Surgical Oncology. Accepted Nov 28, 2022
  • Churg, A. and Naso, J.R. (2022).  Hypothesis: HEG1 and claudin-4 staining will allow a diagnosis of epithelioid and biphasic mesothelioma versus non-small-cell lung carcinoma with only two stains in most cases. Histopathology, Aug 25, 2022.
  • Naso, J.R., Tessier-Cloutier, B., Senz, J., Huntsman, D.G. and Churg, A. (2022). Significance of p53 Immunohistochemical Staining in Mesothelial Proliferations and correlation with TP53 mutation status. Modern Pathology. 35(1):77-81.
  • Naso, J.R.*, Levine, A.B.*, Farahani, H., Chirieac, L.R., Dacic, S., Wright, J.L., Lai, C., Yang, H.-M., Jones, S.J.M., Bashashati, A., Yip, S. and Churg A. (2021). Deep-Learning Based Classification Distinguishes Sarcomatoid Malignant Mesotheliomas from Benign Spindle Cell Mesothelial Proliferations. Modern Pathology. 34:2028-2035. * co-first authors
  • Naso, J.R., Cheung, S., Ionescu, D.N. and Churg, A. (2021). Utility of SOX6, DAB2, and Claudin-4 for the Diagnosis of Malignant Mesothelioma. American Journal of Surgical Pathology. 45(9):1245-1251.
  • Naso, J.R., Banyi, N., Al-Hashami, Zhu, J., G. Wang, G. Ionescu, D.N. and Ho, C. (2021). Discordance in PD-L1 Scores on Repeat Testing of Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinomas. Cancer Treatment and Research Communications. 27:100353.
  • Naso JR,  Topham JT, Karasinska JM, Lee MKC, Kalloger SE, Wong H, Nelson J, Moore RA, Mungall AJ, Jones SJM, Laskin J, Marra MA, Renouf DJ and Schaeffer DF. (2021). Tumor Infiltrating Neutrophils and Gland Formation Predict Overall Survival and Molecular Subgroups in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma. Cancer Medicine. 10(3):1155-1165.
  • Naso JR, Povshedna T, Wang G, Banyi N, MacAulay C, Ionescu DN and Zhou C. (2021). Automated PD-L1 Scoring for Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma Using Open-Source Software. Pathology and Oncology Research. 27:609717.
  • Naso JR, Wang G, Banyi N,  Derakhshan F, Shokoohi A, Ho C, Zhou C, Ionescu DN. (2021)  Comparability of Laboratory-Developed and Commercial PD-L1 Assays in Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma. Annals of Diagnostic Pathology. 50: 151590.
  • Churg, A. and Naso, J.R. (2020) The Separation of Benign and Malignant Mesothelial Proliferations:
    New Markers and How to Use Them. American Journal of Surgical Pathology. 44(11):e100-e112.
  • Naso, J.R., Yang, H-M. and Schaeffer, D.F. (2021) Variability in synoptic reporting of colorectal cancer pT4a stage and lymphovascular invasion. Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine. 145(3):343-351.
  • Naso, J.R. and Churg, A. (2020) Claudin-4 Shows Superior Specificity for Mesothelioma vs Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma Compared to MOC-31 and Ber-EP4. Hum Pathol. 100:10-14.
  • Naso, J.R., Tsuji, S. and Churg, A. (2020) HEG1 is a Highly Specific and Sensitive Marker of Epithelioid Malignant Mesothelioma. The American Journal of Surgical Pathology. 44(8):1143-1148.
  • Naso, J.R. Bras, J, Villamil, C., Ionescu, D.N., Wang, G., Shaipanich, T., Beaudoin, E., Myers, R., Lam, S. and Zhou, C. (2020) Cytologic features and diagnostic value of PeriView FLEX transbronchial needle aspiration targeting pulmonary nodules. Cancer Cytopathology. 128(5):333-340.
  • Naso, J.R., Hughesman, C.B. and Yip, S. (2020) Circulating tumor DNA testing is here – what pathologists need to know. Canadian Journal of Pathology. 12(2): 25-29.
  • Naso, J. R., Wang, G., Pender, A., Wong, S.K., Zhu, J., Ho, C., Ionescu, D.N., and Zhou, C. (2020) Intratumoral heterogeneity in PD-L1 immunoreactivity is associated with variation in non-small cell lung carcinoma histotype. Histopathology. 76(3):394-403.
  • Naso, J.R., Wong, D., Wong, D., Chen, C-H., Hoang, L.M.N. (2019) Tropheryma whipplei endocarditis presenting as chronic valvular disease: A case report and review of literature. Human Pathology: Case Reports. 18: 200231.
  • Naso, J.R., Chiu, C.G., Goecke, M.E., Chang, D. and Shiau, C.J. (2019) Benign spindle cell lesions of the breast: a diagnostic approach to solitary fibrous tumour, nodular pseudoangiomatous stromal hyperplasia and nodular fasciitis. Journal of Clinical Pathology. 72(6):438-442.
  • Pon, J.R., and Marra, M.A. (2015) Clinical impact of molecular features in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and follicular lymphoma. Blood. 127: 181-6.
  • Pon, J.R., and Marra, M.A. (2015) MEF2 transcription factors: developmental regulators and emerging cancer genes. Oncotarget. 7: 2297-312.
  • Pon, J.R., Wong, J., Saberi, S., Alder, O., Moksa, M., Cheng, S.W.G., Morin, G.B., Hoodless, P.A., Hirst, M., and Marra, M.A. (2015) MEF2B mutations in non-Hodgkin lymphoma dysregulate cell migration by decreasing transcriptional activation of MEF2B target genes. Nat Commun. 6: 7953.
  • Pon, J.R., and Marra, M.A. (2015) Driver and passenger mutations in cancer. Annu. Rev. Pathol. 10: 25–50.
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Research Interest

Dr. Naso’s research interests include translating novel molecular testing approaching into clinically available tests that aid in the diagnosis and characterization of lung cancers. Specific areas of interest include:

  • Lung cancer
  • Mesothelioma
  • Molecular testing
  • Cancer epigenetics
  • Genome-wide sequencing

Current Projects In My Lab Include

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Teaching Interest

Dr. Naso is actively involved in teaching residents and medical students, as well as mentoring graduate students and other research students.