Strategies for a Successful Anatomic Pathology Subspecialty Workgroup: The 26-Year Collaboration of “The Elves”

From 1990 to present, 14 liver pathologists and 2 clinical hepatologists from 9 countries have met annually to hold thematic 2.5-day meetings centered on case-based discussion. The goal of these meetings has been to identify gaps in knowledge in our field and fuel scholarly effort to address these gaps. The founding principles were worldwide representation, good representation of women, compatibility of participants, commitment to stable membership and regular attendance, mutual education and friendship, and free exchange of ideas. A summary report of the 2.5-day meeting constituted an enduring document that captured the free flow of ideas discussed. These ideas were open to all participants for the pursuit of scholarship back at their home institutions. However, any idea borne out of an Elves meeting merits open invitation for other Elves to participate in, using established standards for meaningful coauthorship. Over 26 consecutive meetings (1990-2015), themes covered the breadth of liver pathology. With retirement of 2 individuals, resignation of 3, and death of 1, six new members were nominated and voted into membership. Over these same 26 years, active members published 2025 articles indexed in PubMEd Central under the topic “liver;” 3% of these articles represented collaborations between members. This international group represents a successful model in a subspecialty of anatomic pathology for open exchange of ideas, mutual education, and generation of topics worthy of scholarly investigation. We conclude that a self-selected group of subspecialty pathologists can meet successfully over 26 years, maintain a high state of engagement through each annual meeting, self-renew as a result of retirement or resignation, and provide a creative stimulus for highly productive academic careers.