The year 2024 starts with sad news for Hematopathology. The loss of José Vassallo, one of the greatest hematopathologists in Latin America, left a huge gap in all the many people who were close to him. José left us too early at the beginning of 2024, after fighting an aggressive disease with the bravery and hope that were characteristics of his personality.

José (Fig. 1) was born in 1957 in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. He earned his medical degree in 1980 from the University of São Paulo (USP) and completed a Pathology specialization in 1983 at the University of Campinas (Unicamp). After finishing residency, he started working as a Pathology Professor in Unicamp. He soon felt academically motivated by Hematopathology as a rising specialty. However, due to the inherent complexities of the field (that continue to this day), he left Brazil to learn ancillary immunological techniques that proved very important for the future classification of hematological neoplasms. He obtained a PhD in Germany under the supervision of Prof. Ekkehard Grundmann (1986). This was followed by fellowships with other great masters, such as Prof. Karl Lennert (Germany), Prof. Georges Delsol, and Prof. Jacques Diebold (France). During these years, he excelled not only in Pathology but also in languages, as José was fluent in Portuguese, English, German, French, Italian, and Spanish. His communication and collaborative skills were, since then, admired by his peers. Not surprisingly, after returning to Brazil, he was one of the first Brazilian pathologists to coordinate the implementation of immunohistochemical techniques for the diagnosis of human cancer.

Fig. 1
figure 1

A Dr. Vassallo, B Dr. Vassallo with Pathology residents at the University of Campinas, and C Dr. Vassallo (middle left) together with Drs. Elias Campo (left), Leticia Quintanilla-Martínez de Fend (middle right), and Falko Fend (right) during the Latin American Congress of Hematopathology, in 2023

Full size image

During his entire career, he supervised many students from different parts of the country and helped in the formation of many professionals that are the current and future Brazilian leaders in Pathology. He also maintained a close relationship with his colleagues in Europe, which enabled many relevant collaborations. He described, together with the group of Prof. Delsol in Toulouse, the anaplastic large T-cell lymphoma variant that mimics Hodgkin lymphoma and is nowadays a fairly recognized variant. More recently, he was one of the leading pathologists of the “International T-Cell Lymphoma Project”, a large endeavor to better characterize the biology of these diseases. Even after retiring from the university, he continued to work as a senior hematopathologist to participate in tumor boards and teach young pathologists. One of his greatest pleasures in life was to transmit his knowledge.

Despite his impressive professional achievements, José was far from being proud or arrogant. He pursued learning new topics until the end of his life and had no problems listening to a second opinion. His rigor when analyzing histological slides was counteracted by a light soul that always tried to see the good side of all aspects of life. He loved to tell and hear jokes and was able to improve the mood of almost anyone who was with him. He also had a fiery sense of justice and nationalism. He dreamed of a Brazil with happier citizens and less inequality.

I was his last PhD student and a close friend. The loss of José brings a lot of sadness, but also gratitude for the teachings, either in Pathology or in personal life. Quoting the writer Walter Lippmann, “The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind in others the conviction and will to carry on”. José’s legacy continues, as many Brazilian and some foreign pathologists carry some of his teachings. He will always be remembered for his affection, intelligence, finesse, and ability to make the best of each person.