Fabio Tavora, MD, PhD

I am a surgical pathologist, scientist, and academic based in Fortaleza, Brazil, with subspecialty expertise in pulmonary pathology, genitourinary pathology, cardiovascular pathology, and molecular diagnostics.

I completed my medical degree at the Federal University of Ceará (2002), followed by residency training in Anatomic Pathology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (Baltimore), a fellowship in Pulmonary and Mediastinal Pathology at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (Washington, DC), and a fellowship in Genitourinary Pathology at The Johns Hopkins Hospital under the mentorship of Dr. Jonathan Epstein. I subsequently served as a Staff Pathologist in the Department of Genitourinary Pathology at AFIP, and more recently completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Brown University (2019–2020).

I earned my PhD from Universidade Federal de São Paulo/EPM (2013), with a focus on lung cancer biomarkers and molecular pathology, specifically investigating the expression of signaling pathway molecules in resected lung adenocarcinomas. My mentors were Prof. Allen Burke and Prof Marcelo Franco, to whom I am immensely grateful.

In 2011, I co-founded Argos Laboratory, a reference anatomic and molecular pathology laboratory in Fortaleza that processes over 100,000 specimens annually, with a strong emphasis on oncologic pathology. I serve as its CEO and Director, overseeing clinical operations, quality assurance, and the integration of digital pathology and AI-assisted diagnostic workflows.

I hold a faculty position at the Federal University of Ceará Graduate Program in Pathology, where I mentor graduate students and lead multiple ongoing research projects focused on lung cancer biomarkers (PD-L1, ALK, EGFR, GSK-3β), prostate cancer (PTEN, ERG), and immune profiling in thoracic oncology.

My scientific contributions include co-authorship of three major pathology textbooks — Practical Cardiovascular Pathology and Atlas of Tumor Pathology: Tumors of the Heart and Great Vessels (both with Dr. Allen Burke), and Practical Thoracic Pathology — along with over 100 peer-reviewed publications. I have been an invited contributor to the WHO Classification of Tumours (Lung/Thymus/Heart: 2014, 2020–21, 2025–26; Genitourinary: 2021) and serve as a member of the Pathology Committee of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) (2025–2027).

Beyond the laboratory, I am passionate about education, particularly expanding pathology training across Latin America and Africa. I am an active speaker, podcast contributor, and course director, translating complex diagnostic concepts for students, pathologists, and oncologists.