Clinical and Research Background
Robert Mrak, M.D., Ph.D., is a board-certified pathologist at UW Medical Center and Harborview Medical Center.
Dr. Mrak has broad clinical experience in neuropathology, over more than 40 years of practice. This includes postmortem brain pathology, surgical pathology of brain tumors and other lesions, and interpretation of nerve and muscle biopsies. His area of special expertise is the neuropathology of neurodegenerative diseases and the role of glial inflammatory processes in these diseases. He is the Founding Editor of the Journal of Neuroinflammation, and served as Editor-in-Chief for the first 15 years of this journal. He has retired from full-time clinical practice, but continues to participate in gross and microscopic postmortem neuropathological evaluations, and also serves as a consultant in other areas of the UW Neuropathology Division.
Dr. Mrak earned his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees at the University of California at Davis, and received residency and fellowship training at Vanderbilt University. He is board-certified in both Neuropathology and Anatomic Pathology. He is a senior member of several national professional organizations including the Society for Neuroscience, the American Association of Neuropathologists, and the Association of Pathology Chairs.
Board Certifications
Neuropathology, 1986, American Board of Pathology
Anatomic Pathology, 1979, American Board of Pathology
Research Interests
Neuroinflammation; especially the role of glia and glial cytokines in Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases.
Academic and Medical Appointments
Academic Appointments
Clinical Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle. WA, 2020-Present
Professor and Chairman of Pathology, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, OH, 2007-2019
Professor of Pathology, and of Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 1993-2007
Associate Professor of Pathology, and of Anatomy, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, 1987-1993
Assistant Professor of Pathology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 1984-1987
Assistant Professor of Pathology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 1980-1984
Instructor, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA 1974-1975
Medical Appointments
Active Medical Staff with Core Pathology Privileges, University of Washington Montlake Campus, Seattle, WA, 2020-Present
Associate Medical Staff with Core Pathology Privileges, Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, WA, 2020-Present
Associate Medical Staff with Core Pathology Privileges, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Seattle, WA, 2020-Present
Active Medical Staff with Core Pathology Privileges, University of Washington Northwest Campus, Seattle, WA, 2020-Present
Chief of Service, Pathology, University of Toledo Medical Center, Toledo, OH 2007-2019
Consultant in Neuropathology, Lucas County Coroner’s Office, Toledo, OH, 2007-2019
Courtesy appointment in Pathology, The Toledo Hospital, Toledo, OH 2012-2019
Chief of Neuropathology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, 1999-2007
Chief of Autopsy, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, 2003-2007
Consultant in Neuropathology, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Little Rock, AR, 1984-2007
Consultant in Neuropathology, Arkansas State Crime Laboratory, Little Rock, AR, 1992-2007
Staff Pathologist, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Medical Center, Little Rock, AR 1984-2007
Staff Pathologist, John. McClellan Veterans’ Hospital, Little Rock, AR, 1984-2001
Director of Electron Microscopy, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Medical Center, and John L. McClellan Veterans’ Hospital, Little Rock, AR 1984-1998
Acting Director of Neuropathology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, 1983-1984
Staff Pathologist, Nashville Veterans’ Hospital, Nashville, TN, 1980-1983
Education and Training
Fellow of the American Cancer Society, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, 1983-1984
Fellow in Pathology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, 1980-1983
Postdoctoral Fellow in Molecular Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 1978-1980
Resident in Anatomic Pathology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, 1976-1978
MD/PhD Program, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, 1970-1976
BS Mathematics, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, 1967-1970
Publications
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