John Sundberg, D.V.M., Ph.D., DACVP

There is an old saying that "pathology is the mother of medicine." Diseases, and more specifically the discipline of studying diseases (pathology), are why we have medicine and biomedical research. Correctly identifying a disease and the various processes each disease undergoes as it develops is the basis of most work done at The Jackson Laboratory.

While Dr. Sundberg semi-retired in 2019, closing his research laboratory that focused on genetic based skin diseases for over 40 years, he continues to work on several grants at The Jackson Laboratory and provides support for collaborators worldwide.

He currently works with Drs. Carol Bult and Dale Begley on the Mouse Models of Human Cancer Database. He provides photomicrographs of spontaneous and experimentally induced mouse cancers and continues to expand the immunohistochemistry spreadsheet with results of new antibodies constantly being optimized by our Histopathology Scientific Service on which he serves as the faculty advisor. Dr. Sundberg also works with Drs. Julia Oh and Anita Voigt on a UV light cutaneous carcinogenesis project.

Dr. Sundberg continues to actively teach the next generation of investigators and pathologists as the PI for an R13 meeting grant, Pathology of Mouse Models of Human Diseases, the 20th annual meeting of which will be held the end of September 2022. As an extension of this annual meeting, Drs. Sundberg, Peter Vogel (St. Jude), and Jerrold Ward (retired, NIH) recently completed a new book, Pathology of Genetically Engineered and Other Mice (Wiley), that will be published in January 2022. In addition, he is on the organizing committee and a regular lecturer in PATHBIO, a European Union international consortium running 3 annual meetings on anatomy and physiology, pathology, and imaging of mouse models throughout Europe. He also continues to sponsor visiting scientists who come to work with him directly to help them interpret results of their research.

Dr. Sundberg’s institutional service continues as the faculty advisor for the Histopathology Sciences Scientific Service. He works with Lesley Bechtold, the service manager, and her staff to support the management and quality control of the service. He regularly reviews slides to assure quality is maintained when new equipment is purchased and put online, often reviews immunohistochemistry slides and creates photomicrographic montages for the service website for new antibodies being optimized, and helps with training as needed.