Qihui “Jim” Zhai, MD, FCAP, is a board-certified surgical pathologist specializing in head, neck, genitourinary, and endocrine pathology. He is a professor and the Albert G. and Harriet G. Smith Chair within the Department of Pathology and Translational Pathobiology at Louisiana State University (LSU) Health Shreveport. Additionally, Dr. Zhai is the pathologist-in-chief with Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport’s pathology service.
He earned his medical degree at the Medical School Shandong University in Shandong, China, and pursued his graduate studies at Peking Union Medical College and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences in Beijing, China. Dr. Zhai completed postdoctoral research fellowships in neurology at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, assistant professor (research track) at the Medical College of Ohio in Toledo, Ohio, and associate professor (research track) at Henry Ford Health in Detroit Michigan before starting his residency training at the Mayo Clinic Rochester in Rochester, Minnesota. He completed his oncologic pathology fellowship at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.
Prior to joining LSU Health Shreveport, Dr. Zhai served at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science in Jacksonville, Florida, as a professor of laboratory medicine and pathology, director of research, and founder and medical director of the fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and Molecular Laboratory at Mayo Clinic Florida.
Dr. Zhai has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles, manuscripts, and abstracts and authored and edited nine major textbooks spanning his subspecialties, including best practices and quality assurance. Additionally, Dr. Zhai has served on the Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine editorial board since 2005. He has extensive proficiency in extramurally funded hypothesis-driven basic science and translational research, morphological studies, clinical correlations, the application of artificial intelligence and liquid biopsy techniques, all underscored by clinical implementation. He also led in translating the advances of new technologies into clinical practice to ensure the most effective and accurate diagnostic and therapeutic services.
Dr. Zhai’s pathology practice experience encompasses academia, large group settings, and private practice. As a passionate advocate for pathology, pathologists, an integrated care model, and optimal patient care, Dr. Zhai remains a dedicated educator and mentor, guiding junior faculty members in their career trajectories.
Dr. Zhai is an active member of numerous organized medicine and pathology societies including the Houston Society of Clinical Pathologists, the Florida Society of Pathologists, the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology, the American Society for Clinical Pathology, the American Board of Pathology, Association for Molecular Pathology, Association of Pathology Chairs, the Chinese American Pathologists Association, and the College of American Pathologists (CAP).
He has been a fellow of the CAP since 2004 and actively served on several of its committees and councils as a member, vice chair, or chair. He was elected to the Board of Governors in 2019.