MEET THE TEAM
Mohammad Kamal, MD
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
-
Dr. Mohammad Kamal completed his Pathology training at Harbor UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, California, serving as a chief resident. He completed subspecialty fellowship training in Gastrointestinal and Liver Pathology at UCLA. Dr. Kamal is board certified in Anatomic Pathology.
Dr. Kamal has extensive experience in managing large national pathology laboratories, having served as Medical Director of LabCorp’s Dianon Laboratory and as Chief Medical Officer for PLUS Diagnostics. He is an expert in laboratory quality and has an excellent track record of building quality systems and helping laboratories prepare for and obtain CLIA, CAP and New York State accreditations.
Dr. Kamal is an expert in Gastrointestinal Pathology. He is particularly interested in colon cancer, Barrett’s esophagus and inflammatory bowel disease and frequent lecturer at medical schools and medical conferences throughout the United States and internationally. He was a volunteer clinical Assistant Professor of Pathology at UCLA.
Dr. Kamal’s most recent interest is HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer. He was a guest on numerous podcasts and lectured on the clinical significance of oropharyngeal HPV PCR testing.
Michelle Herrera
VICE PRESIDENT
-
Michelle Herrera is the Vice President of OmniPathology and has been with the company since July, 2020.
Michelle brings over 20 years experience of quality assurance work and for the last 13 years, she was part of the LabCorp National Office of Quality as an Associate Director for the West Coast.
Michelle’s experience in Quality Assurance has been varied and she has developed her skills working in vastly different healthcare industries; Clinical Trials, Point of Care Testing, Computer Software Development and IT Support, CLIA Laboratory and FDA regulated testing, including highly sensitive HIV, Hepatitis and West Nile Viral testing. She led the laboratory to a ISO 15189 accreditation that successfully passed multiple cycles of audits and lead quality improvement initiatives that included Quality System of an FDA regulatory screening genetic testing, electronic document control database and electronic capture of non-conformances.
Ron Blum, PhD
VP SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
-
With over 25 years’ experience in clinical laboratories, diagnostics, and clinical trials, Dr. Blum has helped companies drive growth, expand into new markets and increase profitability and valuation. He has been instrumental in bringing to market hundreds of new and enhanced assays and has served in executive leadership roles at major clinical laboratories and diagnostic companies. Dr. Blum has lectured internationally on the latest developments in precision medicine, biotechnology, and laboratory science, and has published extensively. He serves as Editorial Advisor for Clinical Lab Products Magazine, as Board member for the Education & Research Corporation of the California Association for Medical Laboratory Technology, and as advisor to molecular diagnostics and medical device companies. He is Chief Executive Officer for Blum & Associates Consulting, LLC.
Dr. Blum enjoys traditional archery, serves as an archery instructor, and has appeared on the History Channel’s series “Big History.” He is also a professional screenwriter, producer, and executive producer, and a member of SAG-AFTRA and ASCAP.
Dr. Blum received his B.S. in Biology from UCLA, attended two years at UCLA School of Dentistry before switching careers and earning a M.S. in Physics from California State University Northridge, and a Ph.D. in Biophysics from UC Berkeley.
Jhanvi Kanotra, MD
STAFF PATHOLOGIST
-
Dr. Jhanvi Kanotra is a board-certified Anatomical and Clinical Pathologist with specialized expertise in general surgical and molecular pathology. Dr. Kanotra brings extensive academic and clinical experience from her previous roles at UCLA and the University of Iowa. She has a strong background in integrating advanced diagnostic tools including immunohistochemistry and molecular diagnostics into routine pathology practice. Passionate about teaching and quality improvement, she has mentored residents, led laboratory initiatives, and presented widely on complex diagnostic cases. Dr. Kanotra is particularly interested in developing a strong, clinically impactful molecular pathology program to enhance precision diagnostics and personalized patient care. She has contributed to multiple research presentations and peer-reviewed publications and has led several laboratory quality improvement initiatives. After finishing residency from the highly ranked Department of Pathology at the University of Iowa, she pursued a fellowship in Molecular pathology and genetics at university of Iowa followed by a fellowship in general surgical pathology at UCLA. Dr. Kanotra joined the OmniPathology team in 2025. She is particularly interested in developing a robust molecular pathology program to support advanced diagnostic care in Omnipathology.
Galen Cortina, MD, PhD
STAFF PATHOLOGIST
-
Dr. Galen Cortina joined the OmniPathology team in 2024. He began his pathology training at UCLA in 1993, after completing the MD PhD program at the Medical College of Wisconsin. In 1998 he joined the UCLA faculty as a gastrointestinal pathologist. His clinical duties were extensively devoted to the gastrointestinal tract, pancreas and liver diseases; he maintained general surgical pathology skills for intraoperative consultations. He became the GI Pathology service chief in 2004 and held the role until retiring from academics in 2013, as full professor. During his time at UCLA, Dr. Cortina was a team member responsible for medical student, resident and fellow education. As head of the GI pathology fellowship program, he trained numerous fellows who then went on to careers in academics, private practice, and industry. Dr. Cortina was highly active in the Rodger Haggitt GI Pathology Society and led a group of 15 GI pathologists to give a multi-day symposium in 2014 at Bangkok, Thailand. His research interests are exemplified in dozens of peer reviewed publications and book chapters. Since 2013 Dr. Cortina has been in private practice with duties in general surgical pathology and GI pathology, GI pathology consulting, and telepathology.
Maria Olvera, MD
STAFF PATHOLOGIST
-
Maria Olvera, MD is a Pasadena native who attended the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. Dr. Olvera completed medical school and pathology residency at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and LAC+USC Medical Center where she also completed both a Surgical Pathology fellowship, and subsequently served as chief fellow in Cytopathology. She is board-certified in Anatomic & Clinical Pathology and Cytopathology.
Dr. Olvera brings 17 years of experience in highly dynamic and diverse laboratory environments (Unilab and Quest Diagnostics), providing primary diagnoses and acting as a senior-level consultant in multiple subspecialties, while also engaging in a variety of leadership roles and medical directorships. Her research projects in bone metabolism and cell-cycle proteins started at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and continued at USC and Quest, culminating in several peer-reviewed publications and presentations at the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology (USCAP) and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO); including a co-authored book chapterpublished by The Joint Commission of accreditation to improve laboratory standards and ensure patient safety.
Dr. Olvera is experienced in all areas of general pathology with special interests and training in prostate, GI, and cervical biopsies. In addition, as a cytopathologist she has expertise in fine-needle aspiration cytology (Thyroid, Breast, and Salivary Gland) and Pap Smears (gynecologic and anal). She is a lifetime fellow of the American Society of Clinical Pathologists and College of American Pathologists.