--Academic cytopathologist and breast pathologist with interest in innovative methods of teaching.--

Dr. Hamele-Bena is an award-winning and innovative educator, skilled diagnostician, experienced administrator, and graphic artist. She had the honor to train under mentors of world renown, including Paul Peter Rosen, MD and Leopold G. Koss, MD, throughout the early years of her career in breast pathology, surgical pathology, and cytopathology, and she continues to value being a lifelong mentee as well as a dedicated mentor to the classes of future medical professionals who are being educated at Columbia.

She served for a decade as the Director of the Division of Cytopathology at Columbia, during which time she brought increased process efficiency and academic rigor to the Division and built and developed an outstanding allied medical team.

Dr. Hamele-Bena is prolific in her academic publications, but is equally proud of illustrating and co-authoring a children's book that conveys a positive message to children about embracing diversity and being confident in one's self. She brings this mix of creativity and technical acumen to her teaching, embodied in her "whole-brain" learning approaches and being an early adopter of gamification to reinforce learning comprehension.

She has spoken at multiple external venues both within the US and internationally, and was honored to serve as the only pathologist to join a U.S. medical contingent that traveled to Poland for collaboration and teaching at a week-long multidisciplinary symposium, "Breast Cancer Awareness Program for Poland, at the invitation of the wife of the Polish Ambassador to the United States.

Email: dh129@cumc.columbia.edu