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
Chair, Anatomic Pathology Division; Associate Professor
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
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
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
Miguel Rufail, MD, PhD
Breast, Gastrointestinal and Cytopathology; Assistant Professor
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