Dr. Grace C.H. Yang

Dr. Grace C. H. Yang, 79, passed away on Sunday, December 11, 2022, at NYU Tisch Hospital - the academic home where she was previously a Pathology Resident and Professor.  Grace was born October 13, 1943 in Yangzhou, China to the late 徐忠猷, an accomplished engineer, and 李浣雲, a doting mother.  The eldest, and a role model to her five siblings, her intelligence and determination propelled her through a competitive academic environment.  She attended the prestigious Taipei First Girls’ High School (1960) and National Taiwan University (1964), where she met her husband, Shu Shu. In 1964, Grace attended the University of Wisconsin at Madison for graduate school, while Shu Shu went to the University of Chicago for his Ph.D.  This initiated their life and family in America, eventually paving the path to sponsor her younger siblings to America as well. Grace and Shu Shu settled in New Jersey where George and Jean were born and raised.

Grace worked at Rutgers Medical School Pathology Department as an Electron Microscopy Technician for 16 years before deciding to pursue her second career in medicine at the age of 40. Despite her unconventional path, Grace has left an enduring legacy in the field of cytopathology. One of her proudest achievements occurred early in her career at Cornell Medical Center. Grace developed a staining method to visualize fine needle aspiration smears, termed “Modified Ultrafast Pap Stain.” This alternative procedure lysed obscuring blood cells on the slide to reveal a clearer visual of the cellular components under a microscope. This significantly shortened the 20 minute procedure to 90 seconds, transforming the patients’ care experience of waiting for biopsy results. Her work has been recognized by her contemporaries the world over. 

Grace continued to become a prolific producer of cytopathology knowledge, authoring three books, and 165 publications/presentations advancing the field of cytopathology. In her illustrious career, she has also been an enthusiastic teacher and mentor to hundreds of residents and fellows and visiting cytopathologists, sharing her knowledge and philosophy that “Cells Don't Lie.”  Grace’s legacy will live on through her scholarship and the individuals she influenced with contagious enthusiasm. She was unquestionably devoted to her family, as wife to Shu Shu and mother to George and Jean; she was fiercely proud as a grandmother to her six grandchildren - Alex, Andy, Gavin, Cameron, Emma, and Dylan. Her brimming life and work will continue to be a fountain of determination and an enduring role model for all of us.

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