Michael Joseph Borowitz, M.D., Ph.D.

Headshot of Michael Joseph Borowitz
  • Director, Division of Hematologic Pathology
  • Professor of Pathology
Male

Expertise

Anatomic and Clinical Pathology, Pathology

Research Interests

Immunologic aspects of leukemia and lymphoma; Hematologic neoplasms ...read more

Locations

The Johns Hopkins Hospital (Main Entrance)

1800 Orleans St.
Sheikh Zayed Tower
Baltimore, MD 21287
Phone: 410-955-9790
The Johns Hopkins Hospital (Main Entrance) - Google Maps

Background

Dr. Michael Borowitz is a professor of pathology and oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His areas of clinical expertise include the diagnosis of hematologic malignancies. Dr. Borowitz serves as the Executive Deputy Director in the Department of Pathology and also directs the Division of Hematologic Pathology.  He also serves as Deputy Director of Education in the Department of Pathology and is co-director of the Genes to Society curriculum at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

Dr. Borowitz is one of the leaders in applying immunologic techniques to diagnose and classify leukemia and lymphoma. He has published numerous articles documenting the importance of these ancillary studies in accurate diagnosis, and has been particularly active in applying sophisticated approaches using the technique of flow cytometry. He has also been a leader in standardizing the practice of flow cytometry as it applies to leukemia and lymphoma, and has worked on developing improved proficiency testing programs and guidelines as well as good laboratory practice.

He received his undergraduate degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He earned his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his M.D. from Duke University. He completed his residency at the Duke University Medical Center. Dr. Borowitz joined the Johns Hopkins faculty in 1993.

Prior to joining Johns Hopkins, Dr. Borowitz was an associate professor of pathology at the Duke University School of Medicine.

Dr. Borowitz is a managing board member of the Institute for Excellence in Education at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and a member of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. His work was recognized with a Professors' Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2013. He is a member of the Society for Hematopathology and the International Society for Analytic Cytology.

...read more

Titles

  • Director, Division of Hematologic Pathology
  • Co-Director, Genes to Society
  • Deputy Director, Education, Department of Pathology
  • Executive Deputy Director, Department of Pathology
  • Professor of Pathology
  • Professor of Oncology

Departments / Divisions

Centers & Institutes

Education

Degrees

  • MD; Duke University School of Medicine (1977)

Residencies

  • Anatomic and Clinical Pathology; Duke University Hospital (1981)

Board Certifications

  • American Board of Pathology (Anatomic & Clinical Pathology) (1981)

Research & Publications

Research Summary

Dr. Borowitz's research focuses on defining the complexity of hematologic neoplasms. He is particularly interested in the immunologic aspects of leukemia and lymphoma, and in the relation of phenotypic variability to clinical and biological heterogeneity in these diseases. He employs routine morphologic techniques and immunocytochemistry in his investigations, but he is particularly interested in flow cytometry. A major focus of his efforts has been in childhood acute lymphocytic leukemia, in conjunction with investigators in the Children's Oncology Group. He is specifically interested in studies of minimal residual disease (MRD) as detected by flow cytometry and its effect on prognosis. He is also interested in developing new clinical applications of flow cytometry, particularly as it applies to blood and bone marrow.

Core Facility:

  • Neoplastic Hematopathology & Flow Cytometry

Selected Publications

View all on PubMed

Borowitz MJ, Wood BL, Devidas M, Loh ML, Raetz EA, Salzer WL, Nachman JB, Carroll AJ, Heerema NA, Gastier-Foster JM, Willman CL, Dai Y, Winick NJ, Hunger SP, Carroll WL, Larsen E. Prognostic significance of minimal residual disease in high risk B-ALL: a report from Children's Oncology Group study AALL0232. Blood. 2015 Aug 20;126(8):964-71. doi: 10.1182/blood-2015-03-633685. Epub 2015 Jun 29. PubMed PMID: 26124497; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4543229

Chen IM, Harvey RC, Mullighan CG, Gastier-Foster J, Wharton W, Kang H, Borowitz MJ, Camitta BM, Carroll AJ, Devidas M, Pullen DJ, Payne-Turner D, Tasian SK, Reshmi S, Cottrell CE, Reaman GH, Bowman WP, Carroll WL, Loh ML, Winick NJ, Hunger SP, Willman CL. Outcome modeling with CRLF2, IKZF1, JAK, and minimal residual disease in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a Children's Oncology Group study. Blood. 2012 Apr 12;119(15):3512-22. doi: 10.1182/blood-2011-11-394221. Epub 2012 Feb 24. PubMed PMID: 22368272; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3325039.

Reshmi SC, Harvey RC, Roberts KG, Stonerock E, Smith A, Jenkins H, Chen IM, Valentine M, Liu Y, Li Y, Shao Y, Easton J, Payne-Turner D, Gu Z, Tran TH, Nguyen JV, Devidas M, Dai Y, Heerema NA, Carroll AJ 3rd, Raetz EA, Borowitz MJ, Wood BL, Angiolillo AL, Burke MJ, Salzer WL, Zweidler-McKay PA, Rabin KR, Carroll WL, Zhang J, Loh ML, Mullighan CG, Willman CL, Gastier-Foster JM, Hunger SP. Targetable kinase gene fusions in high risk B-ALL: a study from the Children's Oncology Group. Blood. 2017 Apr 13. pii: blood-2016-12-758979. doi: 10.1182/blood-2016-12-758979. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 28408464

Borowitz MJ, Devidas M, Hunger SP, Bowman WP, Carroll AJ, Carroll WL, Linda S, Martin PL, Pullen DJ, Viswanatha D, Willman CL, Winick N, Camitta BM; Children's Oncology Group. Clinical significance of minimal residual disease in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia and its relationship to other prognostic factors: a Children's Oncology Group study. Blood. 2008 Jun 15;111(12):5477-85. doi: 10.1182/blood-2008-01-132837. Epub 2008 Apr 3. PubMed PMID: 18388178; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2424148

Borowitz MJ, Craig FE, Digiuseppe JA, Illingworth AJ, Rosse W, Sutherland DR, Wittwer CT, Richards SJ; Clinical Cytometry Society. Guidelines for the diagnosis and monitoring of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria and related disorders by flow cytometry. Cytometry B Clin Cytom. 2010 Jul;78(4):211-30. doi: 10.1002/cyto.b.20525. PubMed PMID: 20533382

Academic Affiliations & Courses

Graduate Program Affiliation

Genes to Society

Courses and Syllabi

  • Course Co-director, Hematology/Oncology

Activities & Honors

Honors

  • The Professors' Award for Excellence in Teaching , Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 2013

Memberships

  • International Clinical Cytometry Society
  • Society for Hematopathology
  • Children's Oncology Group

Professional Activities

  • Managing Board Member, Institute for Excellence in Education
  • Executive Board, Clinical Cytometry Division, 1995 - 1996
  • Member, Educations Policy and Curriculum Committee
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