Joseph W. Carlson, M.D., Ph.D.

(877) 524-4673
Joseph W. Carlson, M.D., Ph.D.
Appointments
Professor and Chief, Division of Anatomic Pathology, Department of Pathology
Clinical Expertise
Anatomic Pathology

Joseph W. Carlson, M.D., Ph.D., is chief of the Division of Anatomic Pathology at City of Hope® Cancer Center Duarte and a professor of clinical pathology. With more than 15 years’ experience as a board-certified pathologist, Dr. Carlson is committed to helping cancer receive the most effective treatment possible by ensuring their diagnoses are accurate and complete, with results delivered in a timely manner.

After earning his medical degree from the Harvard-Massachusetts Institute of Technology Health Science and Technology M.D. program, Dr. Carlson completed an internship and residency in anatomic pathology, followed by a fellowship in women’s and perinatal pathology, at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Dr. Carlson also holds a Ph.D. in biophysics and computational biology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. His career in medicine was inspired by his desire to translate the research discoveries he saw in the lab into therapies and technologies that benefit patients.

Prior to joining City of Hope, Dr. Carlson was associate director of surgical pathology at Los Angeles General Hospital and professor of clinical pathology at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. He also spent 13 years at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, in several academic and research roles.

In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Carlson is an active physician-scholar. He has written and co-authored more than 80 peer-reviewed publications and several books, including the recent publication as lead author of Atlases of Tumor and Non-Tumor Pathology, Series 5, “Tumors of the Ovary and Fallopian Tube”. He has received awards for his teaching excellence and has been involved in multiple grant-funded research projects focusing on developing more advanced diagnostic tools for cancer patients.

Education & Experience

Board Certifications and Licensure
  • Anatomic Pathology, American Board of Pathology
  • 2008, Swedish medical license, Active
  • 2008 Swedish specialist license in anatomic pathology, Active
Degrees
  • 1999-2003, M.D., Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology M.D. Program, Cambridge, MA 
  • 1999, Doctor of Philosophy, Biophysics and Computational Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL
Fellowship
  • 2006-2007, Women’s and Perinatal Pathology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA
Residency
  • 2003-2006, Anatomic Pathology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA
Internship
  • 2003-2006, Anatomic Pathology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA
Professional Experience
  • 2024-present, Professor and Chief, Division of Anatomic Pathology, Department of Pathology, City of Hope, Duarte, CA
  • 2021-2024, Professor of Clinical Pathology, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Keck School of Medicine at USC, Los Angeles, CA
  • 2019-2021, Research Group Leader, Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
  • 2013-2021, Associate Professor, Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
  • 2008-2012, Assistant Professor, Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden

Awards

  • 2019, Excellence in pedagogics Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
  • 2013, Excellence in supervision, M.D., Thesis Farzaneh Hamzei Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden

Publications

  • Wessman S, Nister M, Kokaraki G, Pal N, Tettamanti G, Petta TB, Carlson JW. A comprehensive population-based study of malignant ovarian tumors, including histologic and immunohistochemical review, in children and adolescents 0-19 years old in Sweden between 1970 and 2014. Gynecol Oncol. 2024 Feb 9;184:206-213. doi: 10.1016/j.ygyno.2024.01.035. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 38340646.
  • Nguyen E, Cui Z, Kokaraki G, Carlson J, Liu Y. Transferable and interpretable treatment effectiveness prediction for ovarian cancer via multimodal deep learning. AMIA Annu Symp Proc. 2023;2023:550-558. eCollection 2023. PubMed PMID: 38222355; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10785847.
  • Wessman S, Fuentes BB, Severin-Karlsson J, Westbom-Fremer S, Nist.r M, Kokaraki G, Petta TB, Haglund F, Carlson JW. FOXL2 mutation status in sex cord-stromal tumors cannot be predicted by morphology. Int J Gynecol Pathol. 2024 Jan 1;43(1):78-89. doi: 10.1097/PGP.0000000000000953. Epub 2023 Apr 10. PubMed PMID: 37255476.
  • Jamieson A, Vermij L, Kramer CJH, Jobsen JJ, Jürgemlienk-Schulz I, Lutgens L, Mens JW, Haverkort MAD, Slot A, Nout RA, Oosting J, Carlson J, Howitt BE, Ip PPC, Lax SF, McCluggage WG, Singh N, McAlpine JN, Creutzberg CL, Horeweg N, Gilks CB, Bosse T. Clinical behavior and molecular landscape of stage I p53-abnormal low-grade endometrioid endometrial carcinomas. Clin Cancer Res. 2023 Dec 1;29(23):4949-4957. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-23-1397. PubMed PMID: 37773079; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10690141.
  • Siegenthaler F, Epstein E, Büchi CA, Gmür A, Saner FACM, Rau TT, Carlson JW, Mueller MD, Imboden S. Prognostic value of lymphovascular space invasion according to the molecular subgroups in endometrial cancer. Int J Gynecol Cancer. 2023 Nov 6;33(11):1702-1707. doi: 10.1136/ijgc-2023-004606. PubMed PMID: 37666529; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10646877.
  • Monzo HJ, Kalander K, Hyyti.inen MM, Elbasani E, Wall J, Moyano-Galceran L, Tanjore Ramanathan J, Jukonen J, Laakkonen P, Ristim.ki A, Carlson JW, Lehti K, Salehi S, Puolakkainen P, Haglund C, Sepp.nen H, Lepp. S, Ojala PM. Efficacy and safety of glycosphingolipid SSEA-4 targeting CAR-T cells in an ovarian carcinoma model. Mol Cancer Ther. 2023 Nov 1;22(11):1319-1331. doi: 10.1158/1535- 7163.MCT-23-0008. PubMed PMID: 37486980.
  • Å.kerlund E, Gudoityte G, Moussaud-Lamodi.re E, Lind O, Bwanika HC, Lehti K, Salehi S, Carlson J, Wallin E, Fernebro J, Östling P, Kallioniemi O, Joneborg U, Seashore-Ludlow B. The drug efficacy testing in 3D cultures platform identifies effective drugs for ovarian cancer patients. NPJ Precis Oncol. 2023 Oct 31;7(1):111. doi: 10.1038/s41698-023-00463-z. PubMed PMID: 37907613; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10618545.
  • Bogaerts JMA, van Bommel MHD, Hermens RPMG, Steenbeek MP, de Hullu JA, van der Laak JAWM, Simons M. Consensus based recommendations for the diagnosis of serous tubal intraepithelial carcinoma: Page 8 of 14 an international Delphi study. Histopathology. 2023 Jul;83(1):67-79. doi: 10.1111/his.14902. Epub 2023 Mar 20. PubMed PMID: 36939551.
  • Gonzalez-Molina J, Hahn P, Falc.o RM, Gultekin O, Kokaraki G, Zanfagnin V, Braz Petta T, Lehti K, Carlson JW. MMP14 expression and collagen remodelling support uterine leiomyosarcoma aggressiveness. Mol Oncol. 2023 Apr 20;. doi: 10.1002/1878-0261.13440. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 37078535.
  • Jungen SH, Noti L, Christe L, Galvan JA, Zlobec I, Müller MD, Imboden S, Siegenthaler F, Carlson JW, Pellinen T, Heredia-Soto V, Ruz-Caracuel I, Hardisson D, Redondo A, Mendiola M, Rau TT. Spatial distribution of CD3- and CD8-positive lymphocytes as pretest for POLE wild-type in molecular subgroups of endometrial carcinoma. Front Med (Lausanne). 2023;10:1110529. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2023.1110529. eCollection 2023. PubMed PMID: 37035329; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10076655.
See full list of publications