Thomas M. Ulbright, MD

2026 USCAP Board’s Distinguished Pathologist

Dr. Thomas Ulbright received his undergraduate and medical degrees at Washington University (St. Louis). During his 2nd year of medical school, he benefited from inspiring instruction in pathology from Drs. Juan Rosai, Louis (Pepper) Dehner, John Kissane, Charles Kuhn, and John Meyer, which solidified his career choice. After graduation, he remained at Washington University, where he trained for 4 years in anatomic pathology under the tutelage of Drs. Walter Bauer, Anna Katzenstein, Daniel Santa-Cruz, Michael Kyriakos, and Frederic Askin. He then spent a year in fellowship training with Dr. Frederick Kraus at St. John’s Mercy Medical Center. Upon completion of his fellowship, he was recruited to join the faculty at the Indiana University School of Medicine by Dr. Lawrence Roth, who welcomed him as a colleague and made him feel at home.

He remained at Indiana for the duration of his career. Dr. Ulbright had the good fortune to begin his career at an institution where Dr. Lawrence Einhorn had recently developed the revolutionary chemotherapy protocol and Dr. John Donohue the innovative retroperitoneal surgical techniques that forever changed the prognosis of patients with testicular germ cell tumors. Consequently, there was a tremendous influx of patients with testicular neoplasms to Indiana University. Review of many cases of testicular neoplasms and post-chemotherapy specimens afforded him the opportunity to publish his experience in this area. In 1995, Dr. Robert H. Young offered him the senior authorship for the 3rd series AFIP fascicle covering testicular neoplasms. He took on the same responsibility for two subsequent editions in the 4th and 5th series. He was the editor of the testicular neoplasia section of the 4th series WHO blue book concerning genitourinary tumors. It was in this publication that the term “germ cell neoplasia in situ” was advocated for the seminoma-like cells in the seminiferous tubules that progress to invasive tumors, and also the one that first subdivided the germ cell tumors into two distinct groups depending upon their derivation from or independence of germ cell neoplasia in situ. During his career he has published many book chapters and over 330 journal articles.

At Indiana University, he served as Director of Anatomic Pathology from 1992 – 2011. He has given numerous invited lectures and in 2004 co-directed the USCAP Long Course with Dr. RH Young on the pathology of the gonads. In 2014 he was awarded the Koss Medal of the International Society of Urological Pathologists for excellence in urologic pathology research and the Fred W Stewart Award of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center for excellence in cancer research. In 2020 he received the President’s Award of the Arthur Purdy Stout Society of Surgical Pathologists. He considers himself the fortunate beneficiary of exposure to outstanding teachers and dedicated clinicians. He continues to learn from his colleagues, notably Dr. Bill Cummings, who helped in so many ways, and Dr. Andres M. Acosta, who shares a passion for testicular neoplasia.

His wife, Corinne, has supported him throughout this journey, and he is most proud of his 3 wonderful children who have become thoughtful adults and caring parents. Above all, he considers the practice of pathology and live-long learning to be fun, and he is constantly amazed that he was able to earn a living while doing something he loves.