Susan C. Lester, MD, PhD is Chief, Breast Pathology Services, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute; Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School, Boston. She is the author of Manual of Surgical Pathology, Diagnostic Pathology: Intraoperative Consultation, 2nd Edition and Diagnostic Pathology: Breast.

Dr. Lester received her medical degree from Harvard Medical School and completed a residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital; she obtained a PhD from the University of Wisconsin. She is board certified in Anatomic Pathology.

At Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dr. Lester is the editor of the departmental manual, which is published as the internationally known Manual of Surgical Pathology.  She had the honor of writing the breast chapter with Dr. Ramzi Cotran for the 6th edition of Robbins Pathologic Basis of Disease and recently updated the chapter for the 9th edition. She also co-authored Diagnostic Pathology: Breast with Dr. David Hicks.

As a member of the College of American Pathologists Cancer Committee and head of the breast review panel, Dr. Lester oversaw the revision of the invasive carcinoma protocol and the development of the new protocol for DCIS. She participated in the AJCC 7th edition staging manual, the ASCO/CAP guidelines for ER and PR reporting, and the 4th edition of the WHO breast cancer book.

In addition to Dr. Lester’s clinical work, her interest in breast cancer also spans from women in the 1800s through her advisory role to the Warren Anatomical Museum at HMS to women in developing countries as a co-investigator for projects in Africa and Haiti.