Falone Amoa, M.D., M.S., PGY5, and Damien Roland, M.D., M.S., PGY3, were recently named 2025 Future of Pathology Award recipients by the National Medical Association. The Future of Pathology Award was established in 2020 with the goal to recognize and reward minority students and trainees who have a special interest in the field of pathology.

Amoa earned her medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine. An American Board of Pathology Physician-Scientist Pathway Program (ABP PSRP) participant, Amoa has completed the core curriculuim of her anatomic and clinical pathology residency. She is a Ph.D. candidate in the cancer biology theme, working in the laboratory of Upender Manne. Amoa is preparing to relocate to Ghana to carry our her ABP PSRP research/dissertation year conducting cancer research as an INSIGHT fellow, funded by the NIH Fogarty International Center LAUNCH program. In 2026, Amoa will pursue a gastrointestinal/liver pathology fellowship at Johns Hopkins University. She is passionate about eradicating global cancer, particularly in Africa.

Roland earned his medical degree from the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. His pathology interests focus primarily on dermatopathology, and he has presented research in both oral and poster presentation formats at various meetings including the American Society of Dermatopathology, International Society of Dermatopathology, College of American Pathologists, American Society for Clinical Pathology, Tri-State Pathology Conference, National Medical Association and National Library of Medicine. Roland recently explored his other interest in forensic pathology at the 2024 National Association of Medical Examiners Conference. He completed an outside rotation at North Charleston's Coroner's Office in South Carolina as part of the National Institute of Justice American Society for Clinical Pathology Forensic Pathology Award grant. Outside of work, Roland participates in the Lifting as We Climb non-profit organization, which seeks to inest in underserved high school students in Birmingham and Shelby County schools. His favorite role is being a father to his son, Jace, who has already taken a liking to the microscope.