Debra Hawes, MD

Associate Professor of Clinical Pathology

Director of Pathology Core Lab

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Overview

Dr. Hawes began her education by pursuing a certificate in vocational nursing from Santa Ana College followed by a BA degree in French from Cal State Fullerton. She then attended medical school, and upon graduation she was first introduced to the Keck School of Medicine as a resident in the pathology department at LAC+USC Medical Center. While in medical school, Dr. Hawes demonstrated a profound aptitude for her studies when she was awarded to the Dean’s List of Outstanding Achievement in the Basic Sciences. Currently, Dr. Hawes is an assistant professor of clinical pathology and an instructor of the Pathology Multidisciplinary Laboratories at USC. She has reviewed manuscripts for the several medical journals, including the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine. In addition to her vast academic and clinical responsibilities, Dr. Hawes has a number of research interests, such as cancer prevention, new technology development and biologic markers of disease progression. Dr. Hawes has co-authored nearly 30 peer-reviewed journal articles and a number of book chapters and abstracts.

Publications

  • Early Retinal UCHL1 Dysregulation Coupled With Synaptic Loss Reflects Alzheimer’s Disease Severity. Adv Sci (Weinh). 2026 Aug 29; e00020.. View in PubMed
  • Targeting chordoma via an isocitrate dehydrogenase-1-dependent susceptibility to redox metabolism. Acta Neuropathol. 2026 Jul 23; 152(1).. View in PubMed
  • Neocortical tau burden determines the degree of cognitive impairment in individuals with Braak stage V neurofibrillary degeneration. Acta Neuropathol. 2026 May 25; 151(1).. View in PubMed
  • Sex-specific retina-brain signatures link ERα/ERβ imbalance with gliosis in Alzheimer’s disease. bioRxiv. 2026 May 05.. View in PubMed
  • Comparing Gallyas and AT8 staining for quantification of tau pathology in subregions of the human hippocampus. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol. 2026 May 01; 85(5):433-445.. View in PubMed
  • FOXR2-activated CNS neuroblastoma: Characterized by variable structural disruption of the FOXR2 regulatory region, recurrent copy number alterations, and elevated FOXR2 expression. Neurooncol Pediatr. 2026 Apr; 2(2):wuag014.. View in PubMed
  • Evidence for cPLA2 activation in Alzheimer’s disease synaptic pathology. Acta Neuropathol Commun. 2026 02 12; 14(1).. View in PubMed
  • An Unsuspected Intraneural Perineurioma in a Pediatric Patient: A Case Report. Cureus. 2026 Feb; 18(2):e103301.. View in PubMed
  • ZFTA-RELA ependymomas make itaconate to epigenetically drive fusion expression. Nature. 2026 04; 652(8111):1004-1015.. View in PubMed
  • Identification of Chlamydia pneumoniae and NLRP3 inflammasome activation in Alzheimer’s disease retina. Nat Commun. 2026 Jan 22; 17(1):771.. View in PubMed