Autopsy Service is open Mon-Fri 8am-3pm; Call Client Services 804-828-PATH (828-7284); 1-800-363-9234

Our Autopsy Service provides complete autopsy evaluation and professional consultation for VCUHS patients, area hospitals without the facility to perform autopsy examinations, and provides independent private autopsies under special circumstances. We also consider requests to perform autopsies (full or partial) for research tissue harvesting from outside institutions.

Our Service is staffed by faculty mentors who are certified in Anatomic Pathology, three Pathologists’ Assistants, and one or two rotating Pathology Residents who perform about 130 autopsies a year. Together, the VCUHS Pathologists and Pathologists' Assistants contribute many years of knowledge and experience to the Autopsy Service.

Our services are available Monday through Friday 8am-3pm. 
We are located in Sanger Hall, 1101 E. Marshall St. Rooms B2-002 through B2-008 in Richmond, VA.

Our large facility is located in an academic hospital setting. Because we are a teaching hospital, we offer university-level professional resources, a residency training program with multiple fellowship programs, and outstanding research.  Our trainees and faculty have a close relationship with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of the Commonwealth of Virginia and offer overlapping learning opportunities.

The Pathologists and Pathologists’ Assistants are vital teachers with a wealth of knowledge and experience for the Pathology Residency Program. All are tasked with teaching and assisting the Pathology Residents during their autopsy rotations. 

The Autopsy Service also contributes to the training and education of non-pathology physicians by providing post-mortem exposure to rare conditions and anomalies, as well as post-operative outcomes. It also provides an opportunity to identify ante-mortem conditions not noted before death. 

Leadership and Contacts

Hope Richard, MD, PhD

Hope Richard, MD, PhD

Chair, Anatomic Pathology Division; Associate Professor

Hope Richard, MD, PhD

Hope Richard, MD, PhD

Chair, Anatomic Pathology Division; Associate Professor

Pathology

Director of Autopsy;
Director of Neuropathology

Phone: (804) 628-1690

Fax: (804) 827-4434

Email: Hope.Richard@vcuhealth.org

Read More

Woon Chow, MD, PhD, MSHA

Woon Chow, MD, PhD, MSHA

Deputy Chief Health Informatics Officer at the Central Virginia VA Health Care System; Associate Professor

Woon Chow, MD, PhD, MSHA

Woon Chow, MD, PhD, MSHA

Deputy Chief Health Informatics Officer at the Central Virginia VA Health Care System; Associate Professor

Pathology

Associate Professor of Ophthalmology

Phone: (804) 828-7950

Fax: (804) 828-8733

Email: Woon.Chow@vcuhealth.org

Read More

Miguel Rufail, MD, PhD

Miguel Rufail, MD, PhD

Breast, Gastrointestinal and Cytopathology; Assistant Professor

Miguel Rufail, MD, PhD

Miguel Rufail, MD, PhD

Breast, Gastrointestinal and Cytopathology; Assistant Professor

Pathology

Medical Director, Tissue and Data Acquisition and Analysis Core (TDAAC)

Phone: (804) 828-9739

Email: Miguel.Rufail@vcuhealth.org

Read More