The International Academy of Pathology Malaysian Division (IAPMD) 9th Annual Scientific Meeting [ IAPMD2024 ] was held in the enchanting city of Kuching, Sarawak from 7th to 8th September 2024 at The Waterfront Hotel. The event was organized by the Histopathology Unit Department of Pathology Hospital Umum Sarawak, in collaboration with the Department of Pathology, Hospital Miri, International Academy of Pathology Malaysian Division (IAPMD), Kelab Patologi Hospital Umum Sarawak, and Persatuan Kakitangan Histopatologi Hospital Umum Sarawak.

The meeting's theme encompassed lung, molecular, endocrine, as well as head and neck pathology. Esteemed guest speakers include Professor Brandon Larsen from Mayo Clinic Arizona USA, Dr. Angela Maria Takano from Singapore General Hospital, Dr. Lau Kah Weng from National University Hospital, Singapore, Professor Anthony Gill from University of Sydney New South Wales Australia, and Professor Alfred Lam from Griffith University Queensland Australia.

I would like to share with readers on how the Malaysian Division of International Academy of Pathology was established. As early as 2007 there were rumbles and small discussions on setting up the Malaysian Division each time after we attended IAP meetings organized by country and regional divisions elsewhere in the world. It was not materialized until after the IAP meeting held in Cape Town in 2012. Three of us; Datuk Dr Norain Karim, Professor Dr Wong Kum Thong and myself had serious conversation on how to have it done. On returning from Cape Town, we went into full gear. 

Many of the interim council members became full council members when we had our first election in 2014 and subsequently many get re-elected after each term, till this day. Our first AGM was graced by the IAP President at that time, Professor Samir Amr. Currently there are 291 histopathologists registered as Life and Ordinary members which is about 85% of total histopathologists in the country. Though still young, the members are active in conducting academic activities, averaging 5-7 activities per year. The Annual Scientific meeting is held in different cities in Malaysia and the city where it will be held is announced four years in advance. Pathologists from the state where the city is located will be the responsible organization team for this annual event.

On 15 th May 2017, another milestone was achieved. We established our own Quality Assurance Program [IAPMDQAP]. The trial run was conducted in 2015. The establishment was under the guidance of Department of Standard Malaysia and we hope to have it internationally recognized by having ISO17043 accreditation certification. We started with General Module [two runs per cycle] and on July 15 th , 2020, we launched Dermato-pathology Module [one run per cycle]. We plan to include Technical Module including immunohistochemistry as well. The subscribers of this QAP programs are from Malaysian public, university and private pathology laboratories.

A relatively recent academic activity is ‘Weekend with IAPMD Live’, a short discourse on specific topic of histopathology given by Malaysian pathologists who have undergone sub-specialty training in specific area, given in a relaxed virtual environment. Besides academic activities, we also have engagement with public, university and school students, educating them on pathology and role of pathologists in annual event called National Pathology Day. IAPMD activities often have joint activities with other societies such College of Pathologists Academy of Medicine Malaysia, WASPALM [ World association of Pathologists and Laboratory Medicine ] and Malaysian Society of Cytology and few more.

​In 2023, Malaysian Division will host the 13 th Asia Pacific IAP Congress. All these information, activities and more could be viewed on our website www.iapmd.net.

​IAP Malaysian Division was thrilled when we were given the mammoth task of hosting the 13th Asia Pacific International Academy of Pathology Congress 2023. The team set out to organize the event on the beautiful island of Penang but a physical event was not possible due to Covid 19 and its uncertainties. The organizing team then decided a virtual conference was the way to go. It was indeed challenging as we had little experience and it was a whole new ball game but I dare say we hit a home run.

The team with the help of numerous Malaysian Anatomic pathologist including those from IAPMD, Malaysian Society of Cytology and Oral Pathologist worked very hard to identify and invite renowned speakers from all over the world and to coordinate the entire event. Over 80 speakers were invited and presented in the congress covering more than 20 subdisciplines in pathology.

The 13th APIAP Congress was held from the 16th to 18th June 2023, with 0n-demand lectures available from the 6th of June 2023. The congress attracted a total of 402 delegates, both local and overseas, over the 3 day period and the on-demand lectures had more than 3000 views. Interactive discussions and Q&A sessions made the event more personal.

Collaborations with the Chinese American Pathologist Association (CAPA) and Hans Popper Pancreatobiliary Pathology Society for special Companion Seminars and Breakout Session also made the congress a success.

The event was supported by Abbvie, Roche, Leica and Histocenter sdn Bhd, Matrix Optics (M) Sdn Bhd, Thermo Fisher Scientific and Ultimed Scientific and we would like to thank them for their contribution.
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Overall it was an amazing congress, made possible by the efforts of the organizing committee and commitment of all Malaysian Pathologist.

Prepared by: Dr Pavitratha Puspanathan