111 Colchester Ave
EP1-122
Burlington, VT 05405
United States
- Fellowship in Pediatric Pathology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
- Residency in Anatomic & Clinical Pathology, Scott & White Memorial Hospital/Texas A&M Health Science Center, Temple, TX
- D.O., Lincoln Memorial University-DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine (LMU-DCOM), Harrogate, TN
- B.A., University of Dayton, Dayton, OH
- Associate of Arts, Bard College at Simon’s Rock – The Early College, Great Barrington, MA
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Department of Pediatrics
Areas of expertise
Pediatric Pathology and Bone Pathology
BIO
Amelia Sybenga, D.O., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the Larner College of Medicine (LCOM) at the University of Vermont, with secondary appointments in the Departments of Pediatrics and Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences. She serves as the Director of Pediatric and Perinatal Pathology Services and is an Attending Pathologist at the University of Vermont Medical Center. Dr. Sybenga is board-certified by the American Board of Pathology in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology and Pediatric Pathology. She is the only pediatric pathologist practicing in Vermont and within the UVM Health Network. Her primary clinical and research specializations include pediatric, perinatal, and placental pathology; gestational trophoblastic disease; and bone and soft-tissue pathology. Dr. Sybenga is actively engaged in educating medical students as the Embryology Course Director for the Foundations of Clinical Science course and provides direct supervision and mentoring for pathology residents and fellows.
Regionally and nationally recognized for her expertise in pediatric and bone pathology, Dr. Sybenga has contributed significantly to advancing diagnostic standards, notably by developing the first comprehensive, criteria-based tool for diagnosing bone infections. She serves on the Publications Committee for the Society for Pediatric Pathology and as a member of the USCAP 2025 booth Task Force with the goal of increasing exposure and awareness of the pediatric pathology subspecialty. Her scholarly record includes 22 peer-reviewed publications in high-impact journals such as Hepatology and Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, as well as a textbook on placental pathology, where she focuses on first trimester pathology and gestational trophoblastic diseases. A dedicated educator, she has developed innovative educational tools, including an advanced international perinatal observership for physician pathologists, educational videos for congenital heart disease labs, and an interactive, case-based embryology course that allows students to grasp concepts of normal development through the lens of pathology. Dr. Sybenga’s service to pathology and patient care is further evidenced by her role as a pathology investigator for the Children’s Oncology Group, overseeing tissue diagnosis and tissue management for pediatric malignancies, improving access to clinical trials and molecular testing.
As a clinician-scholar, Amelia B. Sybenga, D.O., is deeply dedicated to research investigations that emphasize improving the quality of diagnostic evaluation and multidisciplinary communication. Since her faculty appointment in 2019, she has emerged as a regional leader in pediatric and perinatal pathology, spearheading significant health-system improvements across a range of clinical specialties. A primary focus of her quality-improvement work has been standardizing complex diagnostic processes. For instance, she developed a tissue processing algorithm and specific pre-analytic procedures for Hirschsprung disease biopsies, a move that successfully eliminated regional misdiagnoses while reducing costs and turnaround times. Furthermore, to facilitate early cancer treatment, Dr. Sybenga instituted, with colleagues in Surgical Pathology and Cytopathology, a procedure that reduced the turnaround time for pediatric solid tumor preliminary interpretations to no more than 24 hours. This system improvement was critical in preserving diagnostic tissue for necessary molecular and genomic testing and allowing clinical teams to expedite patient management for aggressive malignancies.
Beyond diagnostic algorithms, Dr. Sybenga has led major administrative and safety initiatives to improve patient care and family communication. She helped develop a comprehensive tracking system within Epic to manage the evaluation, tracking, and disposition of fetal and neonatal remains, clarifying the roles of diverse teams including Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Social Work, and Decedent Affairs. To enhance compassionate care, she implemented a pre-release autopsy order that allows clinicians to communicate with grieving families in advance of results being released to MyChart. Additionally, she increased the frequency of NICU/Perinatal pathology conferences to every other month, shifting the focus toward multidisciplinary consensus and the continuous refinement of specimen management procedures.
Dr. Sybenga’s expertise in bone and soft-tissue pathology has also led to several technical improvements in the laboratory. She successfully eliminated the use of acid decalcification in all bone tumors to prevent nucleic acid destruction, thereby safeguarding the integrity of specimens that may require molecular testing. To further optimize efficiency and reduce patient costs, she recommended introducing a tabletop bandsaw for bone sections, which improved decalcification quality, reduced the overall time from admission to discharge, and improved safety for laboratory staff. Through these diverse activities—ranging from high-level system algorithms to technical laboratory refinements, Dr. Sybenga continues to ensure that the University of Vermont Health Network maintains the highest standards of diagnostic accuracy and patient safety.
As the Director of Pediatric and Perinatal Pathology Services Dr. Sybenga is committed to continuing improvement in quality pathology diagnostics for children, young people, and families, focusing on initiatives such as medical student and resident education in placental and pediatric pathology, enhancing understanding and value of embryology in clinical practice, providing formal and informal educational opportunities for practicing pathologists, and demonstrating the role of the physician pathologist as an integral consulting member of clinical teams.
Publications
Bio
Amelia Sybenga, D.O., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the Larner College of Medicine (LCOM) at the University of Vermont, with secondary appointments in the Departments of Pediatrics and Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences. She serves as the Director of Pediatric and Perinatal Pathology Services and is an Attending Pathologist at the University of Vermont Medical Center. Dr. Sybenga is board-certified by the American Board of Pathology in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology and Pediatric Pathology. She is the only pediatric pathologist practicing in Vermont and within the UVM Health Network. Her primary clinical and research specializations include pediatric, perinatal, and placental pathology; gestational trophoblastic disease; and bone and soft-tissue pathology. Dr. Sybenga is actively engaged in educating medical students as the Embryology Course Director for the Foundations of Clinical Science course and provides direct supervision and mentoring for pathology residents and fellows.
Regionally and nationally recognized for her expertise in pediatric and bone pathology, Dr. Sybenga has contributed significantly to advancing diagnostic standards, notably by developing the first comprehensive, criteria-based tool for diagnosing bone infections. She serves on the Publications Committee for the Society for Pediatric Pathology and as a member of the USCAP 2025 booth Task Force with the goal of increasing exposure and awareness of the pediatric pathology subspecialty. Her scholarly record includes 22 peer-reviewed publications in high-impact journals such as Hepatology and Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, as well as a textbook on placental pathology, where she focuses on first trimester pathology and gestational trophoblastic diseases. A dedicated educator, she has developed innovative educational tools, including an advanced international perinatal observership for physician pathologists, educational videos for congenital heart disease labs, and an interactive, case-based embryology course that allows students to grasp concepts of normal development through the lens of pathology. Dr. Sybenga’s service to pathology and patient care is further evidenced by her role as a pathology investigator for the Children’s Oncology Group, overseeing tissue diagnosis and tissue management for pediatric malignancies, improving access to clinical trials and molecular testing.
As a clinician-scholar, Amelia B. Sybenga, D.O., is deeply dedicated to research investigations that emphasize improving the quality of diagnostic evaluation and multidisciplinary communication. Since her faculty appointment in 2019, she has emerged as a regional leader in pediatric and perinatal pathology, spearheading significant health-system improvements across a range of clinical specialties. A primary focus of her quality-improvement work has been standardizing complex diagnostic processes. For instance, she developed a tissue processing algorithm and specific pre-analytic procedures for Hirschsprung disease biopsies, a move that successfully eliminated regional misdiagnoses while reducing costs and turnaround times. Furthermore, to facilitate early cancer treatment, Dr. Sybenga instituted, with colleagues in Surgical Pathology and Cytopathology, a procedure that reduced the turnaround time for pediatric solid tumor preliminary interpretations to no more than 24 hours. This system improvement was critical in preserving diagnostic tissue for necessary molecular and genomic testing and allowing clinical teams to expedite patient management for aggressive malignancies.
Beyond diagnostic algorithms, Dr. Sybenga has led major administrative and safety initiatives to improve patient care and family communication. She helped develop a comprehensive tracking system within Epic to manage the evaluation, tracking, and disposition of fetal and neonatal remains, clarifying the roles of diverse teams including Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Social Work, and Decedent Affairs. To enhance compassionate care, she implemented a pre-release autopsy order that allows clinicians to communicate with grieving families in advance of results being released to MyChart. Additionally, she increased the frequency of NICU/Perinatal pathology conferences to every other month, shifting the focus toward multidisciplinary consensus and the continuous refinement of specimen management procedures.
Dr. Sybenga’s expertise in bone and soft-tissue pathology has also led to several technical improvements in the laboratory. She successfully eliminated the use of acid decalcification in all bone tumors to prevent nucleic acid destruction, thereby safeguarding the integrity of specimens that may require molecular testing. To further optimize efficiency and reduce patient costs, she recommended introducing a tabletop bandsaw for bone sections, which improved decalcification quality, reduced the overall time from admission to discharge, and improved safety for laboratory staff. Through these diverse activities—ranging from high-level system algorithms to technical laboratory refinements, Dr. Sybenga continues to ensure that the University of Vermont Health Network maintains the highest standards of diagnostic accuracy and patient safety.
As the Director of Pediatric and Perinatal Pathology Services Dr. Sybenga is committed to continuing improvement in quality pathology diagnostics for children, young people, and families, focusing on initiatives such as medical student and resident education in placental and pediatric pathology, enhancing understanding and value of embryology in clinical practice, providing formal and informal educational opportunities for practicing pathologists, and demonstrating the role of the physician pathologist as an integral consulting member of clinical teams.