Medical Director · Digital Pathology · AI Pioneer

Dr. Fedaa
Najdawi

MD, FCAP, FASCP  ·  ASCP 40 Under 40

Pioneering the convergence of artificial intelligence and anatomical pathology. Transforming diagnostic medicine through precision AI tools — unlocking hidden information in tissue to improve patient outcomes globally.

Dr. Fedaa Najdawi, MD, FCAP
Fedaa Najdawi, MD
Medical Director · Informatics & Digital Pathology · VUMC
Explore
492+
Citations
19
Publications
3
Countries Licensed
12+
Years Experience
3
AI Patents
Mission

“AI can assess changes within the tissue beyond what the human pathologist’s eye can perceive.”

There is a lot of information locked in the tissue. Dr. Najdawi’s work at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, PathAI, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital is about getting access to it — using machine learning to standardize histologic assessment, accelerate clinical trials, and personalize patient care at scale.

Focus Areas

Advancing Precision Pathology

Digital Pathology Implementation

Leading VUMC’s institutional transformation from glass slides to whole-slide digital imaging, implementing whole-slide imaging infrastructure for oncology, liver, cardiac, and autopsy cases to support diagnostics, research, and education.

AI-Driven Diagnostic Models

Developed industry-leading AI models for quantitative IBD disease activity scoring (AIM-HI UC) and biomarker discovery (IBD-Explore) at PathAI, with applications in clinical trial endpoints.

GI & Endocrine Pathology

Board-certified anatomical pathologist with dual Harvard fellowships in gastrointestinal, liver, and endocrine pathology. Specialized expertise in IBD, celiac disease, and thyroid carcinoma.

Biography

A Career Defined by Precision & Purpose

From surgical training in Amman to pathology fellowships at Harvard, Dr. Najdawi has built one of the most distinctive careers at the intersection of AI and anatomical medicine.

Dr. Fedaa Najdawi, MD, FCAP, FASCP, is the Medical Director of Informatics and Digital Pathology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and an Assistant Professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

She is a board-certified gastrointestinal pathologist and Fellow of the College of American Pathologists (FCAP) and the American Society for Clinical Pathology (FASCP). She holds medical certifications in the United States, Australia, and Jordan.

Prior to joining VUMC, Dr. Najdawi served as Director of Pathology at PathAI in Boston, guiding a multidisciplinary team to build AI-powered diagnostic tools including AIM-HI UC and IBD-Explore. Before PathAI, she trained at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, completing two fellowships in gastrointestinal, liver, and endocrine pathology.

Her research is published in Modern Pathology, Laboratory Investigation, Scientific Reports, and Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. She holds 3 patents in digital pathology and was recognized as an ASCP 40 Under 40 honoree in 2024.

FCAP

Fellow, College of American Pathologists

FASCP

Fellow, American Society for Clinical Pathology

Board Certified

American Board of Pathology — Anatomical Pathology

3 Licenses

USA · Australia · Jordan

Scholarship

Research & Publications

Cited 492+ times across peer-reviewed journals, Dr. Najdawi’s work spans AI in IBD, celiac disease, thyroid carcinoma, lung cancer, and the broader integration of machine learning into clinical pathology.

MANUSCRIPTS UNDER REVIEW
● Manuscripts Under Review (5)
Under ReviewAIIBD
Machine Learning Models for Comprehensively Quantifying Ulcerative Colitis Whole Slide H&E-Biopsy Images Enable Prognostic Models of Therapeutic Response to Adalimumab
[Co-Investigator, Under Review]
Under ReviewAIIBD
Leveraging Artificial Intelligence for Enhanced Histological Scoring and Tissue Characterization in Ulcerative Colitis: A Comparison with Human Pathologists
[Co-Investigator, Under Review]
Under ReviewThyroid
Multifocality in Sporadic Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma Is Associated with Low Tumor Grade and No Difference in Somatic Driver Mutations or Overall Survival When Compared to Unifocal Tumors
[Under Review]
Under ReviewAILung Cancer
Implementing Trust in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Diagnosis with a Conformalized Uncertainty-Aware AI Framework in Whole-Slide Images
Nature Biomedical Engineering [Co-author, Under Review] · DOI: 10.1101/2024.12.27.24319715
View Preprint →
Under ReviewAI Foundation Model
PLUTO: Pathology-Universal Transformer
arXiv [Co-author, Under Review] · DOI: 10.48550/arXiv.2405.07905
View on arXiv →
Under ReviewIBD
Development of the Early Childhood Duodenum Across Ancestry, Geography and Environment
[GUTAge Project, Under Review]
● Published Peer-Reviewed Manuscripts (19)
2024AICeliac Disease
Fully Automated Histological Classification of Cell Types and Tissue Regions of Celiac Disease is Feasible and Correlates with the Marsh Score
Scientific Reports, 2024 · DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-79570-1  [Senior/Corresponding Author]
Michael Griffin, Aaron M. Gruver, Chintan Shah, Qasim Wani, Darren Fahy, Archit Khosla, Christian Kirkup, Daniel Borders, Jacqueline A. Brosnan-Cashman, Angie D. Fulford, Kelly M. Credille, Christina Jayson, Fedaa Najdawi, Klaus Gottlieb
View in Scientific Reports →
2024IBDReview
Challenges in IBD Research 2024: Precision Medicine
Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, 2024 · DOI: 10.1093/ibd/izae084
Sana Syed, Brigid S. Boland, Lauren T. Bourke, Lea Ann Chen, Laurie Churchill, Angela Dobes, Adam Greene, Caren Heller, Christina Jayson, Benjamin Kostiuk, Alan Moss, Fedaa Najdawi, Lori Plung, John D. Rioux, Michael J. Rosen, Joana Torres, Fatima Zulqarnain, Jack Satsangi
View in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases →
2024AIGI Pathology
Advancing AI Integration in the Pathology Workflow: Exploring Opportunities in Tubular Gastrointestinal Tract Biopsies
Laboratory Investigation, 2024 · DOI: 10.1016/j.labinv.2024.102043
Fazilet Yilmaz, Arlen Brickman, Fedaa Najdawi, Evgeny Yakirevich, Robert Egger, Murray B. Resnick
View on PubMed →
2024Thyroid
A Novel Prognostic Nomogram for Predicting Disease-Free Survival in Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma
Histopathology, 2024 · DOI: 10.1111/his.15141
Yagiz A. Aksoy, Bin Xu, Kartik Viswanathan, Mahsa S. Ahadi, Abir Al Ghuzlan, Bayan Alzumaili, Mohamed-Amine Bani, Justine A. Barletta, Nicole Chau, Angela Chou, Adele Clarkson, Roderick J. Clifton-Bligh, Antonio De Leo, Snjezana Dogan, Ian Ganly, Ronald Ghossein, Matti L. Gild, Anthony R. Glover, Julien Hadoux, Livia Lamartina, Daniel J. Lubin, Kelly Magliocca, Fedaa Najdawi, et al.
View Publication →
2024Thyroid
Association of the Genomic Profile of Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma with Tumor Characteristics and Clinical Outcomes in an International Multicenter Study
Thyroid, 2024 · DOI: 10.1089/thy.2023.0279
Bin Xu, Kartik Viswanathan, Mahsa S. Ahadi, Sara Ahmadi, Bayan Alzumaili, Mohamed-Amine Bani, Eric Baudin, David Blake Behrman, Marzia Capelletti, Nicole G. Chau, …, Fedaa Najdawi, …, Anthony J. Gill, Ronald Ghossein, Giovanni Tallini, Ian Ganly
View Publication →
2023AIIBD
Artificial Intelligence Enables Quantitative Assessment of Ulcerative Colitis Histology
Modern Pathology, 2023, Vol. 36 · DOI: 10.1016/j.modpat.2023.100124  [First Author]
Fedaa Najdawi*, Kathleen Sucipto*, Pratik Mistry, Stephanie Hennek, Christina Jayson, Mary Lin, Darren Fahy, Shawn Kinsey, Ilan Wapinski, Andrew H. Beck, Murray B. Resnick, Archit Khosla†, Michael G. Drage†  (*co-first, †co-senior)
View on PubMed →
2023AIIBDEditorial
Revolutionizing Inflammatory Bowel Disease Histology Assessment Through Artificial Intelligence
College of American Pathologists (CAP) Featured Article, 2023  [First Author]
Fedaa Najdawi, Eric Walk
Read at CAP.org →
2022Thyroid
Grading of Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma: An Interobserver Reproducibility Study
Endocrine Pathology, 2022 · DOI: 10.1007/s12022-022-09718-0
Jessica F. Williams, Melissa Zhao, Fedaa Najdawi, Sara Ahmadi, Jason L. Hornick, Kristine S. Wong, Justine A. Barletta
View Publication →
2021Thyroid
The International Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma Grading System (IMTCGS): A Validated Grading System for Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma
Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2021 · DOI: 10.1200/JCO.21.01329
Bin Xu, Talia L. Fuchs, Sara Ahmadi, Mohammed Alghamdi, Bayan Alzumaili, Mohamed-Amine Bani, Eric Baudin, Angela Chou, Antonio De Leo, James A. Fagin, Ian Ganly, Anthony Glover, Dana Hartl, Christina Kanaan, Pierre Khneisser, Fedaa Najdawi, et al.
View in JCO →
2021Thyroid
Evaluation of Grade in a Genotyped Sporadic Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma Cohort
Histopathology, 2021 · DOI: 10.1111/his.14370  [First Author]
Fedaa Najdawi, Sara Ahmadi, Marzia Capelletti, Fei Dong, Nicole G. Chau, Justine A. Barletta
View Publication →
2020GI
A Retroflexed View into the Metabolic Syndrome
Gastroenterology, 2020 · DOI: 10.1053/j.gastro.2020.03.082
Kelly E. Hathorn, Fedaa Najdawi, Matthew J. Hamilton
View in Gastroenterology →
2018Surgical Pathology
Pancreatic Hamartoma: A Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing
ANZ Journal of Surgery, 2018 · DOI: 10.1111/ans.14332
Christopher B. Nahm, Fedaa Najdawi, Jessica Reagh, Antony Kaufman, Anubhav Mittal, Anthony J. Gill, Jaswinder S. Samra
View Publication →
2017Gynecologic Pathology
Lessons Learnt from Implementation of a Lynch Syndrome Screening Program for Patients with Gynecological Malignancy
Pathology, 2017 · DOI: 10.1016/j.pathol.2017.05.004  [First Author]
Fedaa Najdawi, Ashley Crook, Jayne Maidens, Christopher McEvoy, Andrew Fellowes, Justine Pickett, Musei Ho, David Nevell, Kirsten McIlroy, Amy Sheen, Loretta Sioson, Mahsa Ahadi, John Turchini, Adele Clarkson, … Anthony J. Gill
View Publication →
2017Surgical Pathology
Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumors of the Female Genital Tract Are Under-recognized: A Low Threshold for ALK Immunohistochemistry Is Required
The American Journal of Surgical Pathology, 2017 · DOI: 10.1097/PAS.0000000000000909
Justine L. Pickett, Angela Chou, Juliana A. Andrici, Adele Clarkson, Loretta Sioson, Amy Sheen, Jessica Reagh, Fedaa Najdawi, et al.
View Publication →
Full Publication Record
View all publications on Google Scholar
492+ citations · h-index and full bibliography available
Open Google Scholar →
Expertise

Areas of Clinical & Research Excellence

Digital Pathology Infrastructure

Architecting end-to-end digital pathology workflows — WSI scanning, AI integration layers, and clinical review platforms. Partnered with Pramana Inc. for autonomous whole-slide imaging at VUMC.

Machine Learning in Histopathology

Deep expertise in CNNs, random forest classifiers, and vision transformers applied to tissue analysis. Achieved κ=0.91 weighted agreement on IBD disease scoring — near gold-standard pathologist consensus.

Clinical Trial Endpoints & IBD

Developed AI-powered histologic endpoints for pharma clinical trials (AIM-HI UC). Authored Precision Medicine recommendations for the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.

GI & Liver Pathology

Fellowship-trained at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Diagnostic expertise in IBD, celiac disease, hepatic pathology, GI neoplasia, and Barrett’s esophagus.

Endocrine Pathology

Contributor to the International Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma Grading System. Multiple studies on genomic profiling of thyroid neoplasms with Harvard, Brigham and Women’s, and global centers.

AI Deployment & Regulatory Strategy

Deep understanding of AI validation, regulatory pathways for AI/ML-based SaMD, and CMS reimbursement landscape for digital pathology. National and international speaker on responsible AI.

Leadership

Professional Engagements & Recognition

Dr. Najdawi serves on national and international committees at the intersection of pathology, AI, and precision medicine — shaping the future of the field through governance, editorial leadership, and industry collaboration.

USCAP · May 2024–Present

Finance Committee

Appointed to the national Finance Committee overseeing budget strategy, fiscal governance, and long-term sustainability planning for the world’s largest pathology organization. Participates in financial review and prioritization of education and research investments.

Digital Pathology Association · Oct 2024–Present

Creative Content Committee

Provides strategic direction on creative and educational content strategy for DPA programs. Guides development of digital storytelling, case-based learning, and multi-platform educational outreach for members and industry partners globally.

Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation · Jun 2023–Aug 2024

Precision Medicine Workgroup

Contributed pathology and digital biomarker expertise to the Foundation’s “Challenges in IBD Research 2024: Precision Medicine” framework publication, defining translational endpoints for IBD precision diagnostics.

Archives of Pathology · Apr 2024–Present

Editorial Board — AI Section Editor

Serves as editorial board member and AI Section Editor for Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine — reviewing and shaping scientific discourse on AI applications in laboratory medicine and pathology.

DPA · Dec 2021–Dec 2023

Education Committee

Served as a key member advancing DPA’s mission to promote awareness, education, and adoption of digital pathology and AI. Led content development for educational symposia and webinars targeting pathologists, industry leaders, and regulatory partners.

Honors

Recognition & Awards

2024
ASCP 40 Under 40
American Society for Clinical Pathology
Ongoing
FCAP — Fellow
College of American Pathologists
Ongoing
FASCP — Fellow
American Society for Clinical Pathology
Active
Board Certification
American Board of Pathology
Active
3-Country Licensure
USA · Australia · Jordan
Active
3 Patents
Computational & Digital Pathology
Speaking

Invited Talks & Presentations

● Confirmed Upcoming
2027/28
CTRL + SHIFT + PATH: Your Guide to Going Digital
USCAP Annual Meeting · Course Instructor
Course
2026
Implementation and Utilization of Digital Pathology
CAP26 Scientific Plenary · College of American Pathologists
Plenary
2026
AI and Digital Pathology Hot Topics — Myth-Busting AI in Pathology: What’s Real and What’s Hype?
USCAP Annual Meeting · Invited Speaker/Panelist
Invited
● 2025
2025
AI Demystified for Pathologists: Practical Approaches & Case Studies
ASCP Annual Meeting · American Society for Clinical Pathology · National Invited Speaker
National
2025
AI-Enabled Quantification of the Mucosal Microenvironment in Gastrointestinal Biopsies
RCPA / DPAI Special Session · Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia · International Invited Faculty
International
2025
Session Moderator — Informatics Platform Session
USCAP Annual Meeting 2025 · United States & Canadian Academy of Pathology
Moderator
2025
From Pixels to Predictors: Digital Pathology and AI-Driven Biomarker Discovery in IBD
Vanderbilt Symposium on AI, Spatial & Systems Biology · Center for Computational Systems Biology (CCSB)
Invited
2025
Cutting Edge Research Talk: AI-Powered Pathology
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Invited
● 2024
2024
Making Sense of AI: A Beginner’s Guide for GI Pathologists
Frontiers in Gastrointestinal and Hepatobiliary Pathology · Harvard Medical School · National Invited Speaker
National
2024
AI-Enabled Quantification of the Mucosal Microenvironment in Gastrointestinal Biopsies
The Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (RCPA) · International Invited Speaker
International
2024
Standardizing Histology Endpoint Assessment for UC Drug Development
Foundation for the NIH (FNIH) & PathAI · Digestive Disease Week (DDW) · National Panel
Panel
2024
IBDExplore: Transforming Our Understanding & the Treatment of Ulcerative Colitis
PathAI Symposium: IBDExplore · Featured Speaker
Featured
● 2023
2023
AI-Powered Pathology: Precision Pathology at the Core of Precision Medicine
Precision Medicine World Congress (PMWC) · National Invited Speaker
National
● 2022
2022
Artificial Intelligence and Its Role in Endocrine Pathology
XXXIV International Congress of the International Academy of Pathology (IAP) · International Invited Speaker
International
2022
The Role and Opportunity of AI-Powered Digital Pathology in Ulcerative Colitis Research and Clinical Development
PathAI Sponsored Webinar · Global Audience
Webinar
Connect

Get in Touch

For speaking engagements, collaboration inquiries, research partnerships, or media requests, please reach out through any of the channels below.

Institution
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology
1211 Medical Center Drive, Nashville, TN 37232
Role
Medical Director, Informatics & Digital Pathology
Assistant Professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

VUMC is ranked among the nation’s leading academic medical centers. Dr. Najdawi leads the institution’s digital pathology transformation — building infrastructure for next-generation AI-powered diagnostics.

VUMC Faculty Profile →

ASCP 40 Under 40 — 2024 Honoree

Recognized by the American Society for Clinical Pathology as one of the 40 most outstanding laboratory medicine professionals under 40 in North America — for pioneering work in AI-driven precision pathology.

View Honoree Profile →

Media & Speaking Inquiries

Dr. Najdawi is available for keynote addresses, panel discussions, media interviews, and expert commentary on digital pathology, AI in medicine, IBD precision medicine, and the future of diagnostic technology. Reach out via email or LinkedIn.