A “world-class” gastrointestinal pathology expert and cancer biologist will lead departments in the GW Hospital and in the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, according to a medical school release Tuesday.

Antonia Sepulveda, who is the president-elect of the Association for Molecular Pathology, will serve as GW Hospital’s chief of pathology service and clinical laboratory director and chair the medical school’s Department of Pathology starting Oct. 1, according to the release. Sepulveda said in the release that she will prioritize bolstering clinical, scientific and translational research in the medical school.

“It is a great privilege to be chosen to chair the Department of Pathology and join GW’s leadership and the pathology and clinical laboratory team to promote GW as one of the world’s elite research institutions and a top destination for patients, students, trainees, staff, and faculty,” Sepulveda said in the release.

She will also serve as the Ralph E. Lowey professor of oncology, the release states.

Sepulveda previously served as the vice chair for translational research and the director of the Division of Gastrointestinal Pancreas and Liver Pathology in the Department of Pathology and Cell Biology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, according to the release.

Sepulveda led the surgical pathology department at the University of Pennsylvania and was the school’s founding director of molecular anatomic pathology and molecular test development, the release states.

Outgoing medical school Dean Jeffrey Akman said in the release that Sepulveda’s background in medicine, research and education will allow her to drive the pathology department and the GW Cancer Center toward “preeminence.”

“We are delighted to welcome a world class cancer biologist and leader in gastrointestinal pathology and molecular diagnostic pathology to serve as the new chair of the Department of Pathology,” Akman said.