Dr. Christos Katsetos

Christos D. Katsetos, MD, PhD, FRCPATH

1958-2017

It is with great sadness that we write to communicate the loss of our friend Dr. Christos D. Katsetos. Christos was born March 20, 1958 in Athens (Greece). After obtaining his MD from St. Georges University School of Medicine, he came to the US in 1983 and trained in pathology and neuropathology in Pittsburgh, Rhode Island and Virginia. In 1990 he initiated his academic career at Hahnemann University as an Assistant Professor and Director of Neuropathology at Hahnemann Hospital. Throughout the years he was promoted to Research Professor, Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, and Professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, at Drexel University College of Medicine (DUCOM). He was the neuropathologist of the Departments of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Hahnemann University Hospital and St Christopher’s Hospital for Children (SCHC).
 Christos was an outstanding clinician, always looking for the clinical-pathological or radiological-pathological correlation in the diagnosis of autopsies and biopsies. His great didactic abilities were very much appreciated by students, residents and fellows, who enjoyed and admired his brain cutting sessions.
 As a researcher, Christos has greatly contributed to different areas of medicine. He has been a crucial guide in the research of the Section of Pediatric Neurology at SCHC in the areas of Neonatal Neurology and Mitochondrial Disorders. His main contribution to science has been in the study of brain tumors. Numerous papers, and his Doctoral Thesis presented in 2002 in Bergen (Norway), have investigated the role of the centromere proteins Beta-tubulin and Gamma-tubulin in the oncogenesis of brain gliomas, especially glioblastoma multiforme. Recently, with intramural support from DUCOM (CURE Grant), and in collaboration with the group of Dr. Mauricio Reginato, he demonstrated the important role of the cytoskeletal protein Spastin in regulating the growth of glioblastoma cells: the suppression of such protein limits its neoplastic expansion. This novel finding suggests the possibility of developing new therapeutic approaches for this poor prognosis brain malignancy. Christos published more than 100 papers in high impact scientific journals and received many international honors and recognitions for his work.
 On a personal level, Christos was an outstanding human being, colleague and friend, always available to help. His life has been an example of energy, optimism and vitality. Despite the barriers of his chronic muscle disease, when faced with demanding circumstances, his “motto” was “We have to do what we have to do.”
 A Memorial service will will be held on Friday April 7, 2017 at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children.  160 East Erie Ave. Philadelphia, Pa 19134. The service will start at 6 pm in The DiGeorge Auditorium.  In lieu of flowers memorial contributions in his name may be made to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. http://fcancer.org