About Us

Management Team


Sami Abbasi picture

Sami S. Abbasi
Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Abbasi has over 20 years of experience in healthcare services, including diagnostic imaging and surgery centers. Most recently, Mr. Abbasi was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of National Surgical Care, Inc., Dallas, Texas, a venture-backed surgery center company that owned and operated 22 surgery centers in 11 states in partnership with over 400 physicians, generating $140 million of revenue. The company was acquired by Nashville-based AmSurg Corp. in 2011.

Prior to National Surgical Care, Mr. Abbasi served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Radiologix, Inc., a leading national provider of diagnostic imaging services. Mr. Abbasi co-founded Radiologix in 1996 and was instrumental in building the company from a creative idea to one of the nation's leading providers of diagnostic imaging services, with 70 outpatient imaging centers in seven states, 2,200 employees, over 300 affiliated radiologists and $250 million in revenue. He led Radiologix through its IPO in November 1997 and its sale to RadNet, Inc. in 2006.

Mr. Abbasi previously served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Adminiquest, Inc., a web-enabled, full-service outsourcing solutions provider to the insurance and benefits industry. Mr. Abbasi also was a Vice President in the Health Care Group of Robertson Stephens, Inc., with responsibility for investment banking business development and the execution of a broad range of corporate finance and M&A transactions. In addition, he has held various positions at Citigroup Inc., including Vice President and Senior Industry Analyst in the Health Care Group.

Mr. Abbasi also serves as Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee for Behringer Harvard Multifamily REIT I, Inc; as well as Director for American CareSource Holdings, Inc. (AMEX: XSI). Mr. Abbasi earned an MBA from the University of Rochester and a BA in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

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Bob Mignatti picture

Robert A. Mignatti
Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Mignatti has over 30 years of experience in the pathology, laboratory and diagnostics fields. Most recently, Mr. Mignatti was President and COO of Exagen Diagnostics, Inc, Albuquerque, New Mexico an emerging molecular diagnostics company developing a new class of prognostic genomic assays.

Previously, Mr. Mignatti was Executive Vice President and COO at Esoterix, Inc., Austin, Texas, a leading provider of molecular, oncology, endocrinology, coagulation and identity testing services. During his eight-year tenure there, the company grew to an organization with over 800 employees and $120 million of revenue. Mr. Mignatti had full P&L responsibility, managed 10 separate laboratory facilities, and was responsible for strategic planning, acquisitions and any subsequent integration of acquisitions, sales and marketing and business development. After the $150 million sale of Esoterix to Laboratory Corporation of America (NYSE: LH) in May 2005, Mr. Mignatti also assisted in the post-transaction integration.

Prior to Esoterix, Mr. Mignatti was President and owner of Allergy Testing Laboratory, Inc., which he co-founded in 1988 and ultimately sold to Esoterix in 1997. His experience also includes management positions as Senior Vice President in charge of worldwide marketing and North American Sales for Kallestad Diagnostics from 1978 through its sale to Sanofi Diagnostic Pasteur in 1987. Mr. Mignatti holds a BBA from LaSalle College.

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Ed Dooling picture

Edward D. Dooling, Jr.
Chief Growth Officer
Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing

Mr. Dooling, a co-founder of APP, has 20 years experience of successfully growing and leading pathology and diagnostic service companies. As the Chief Growth Officer, Mr. Dooling is responsible for all growth initiatives for the company and our partner labs. Prior to APP, Mr. Dooling was President and CEO of Resonance Health, a publicly-traded Australian company focused on imaging technology. Previously, Mr. Dooling also served as COO of Asterand, Inc., a provider of bio-material to pharmaceutical and biotech companies. Prior to Asterand, Mr. Dooling was Vice President and General Manager of the Anatomic Pathology Division of AmeriPath, Inc. where he managed 25 sales representatives and several regional sales managers and business development personnel. Under his leadership, the AP division became the top performing division within AmeriPath.

Prior to AmeriPath, Mr. Dooling was Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Pathology Consultants of America, Inc., an anatomic pathology company with 10 laboratories, which was ultimately acquired by AmeriPath. Previously, Mr. Dooling spent 10 years with DIANON Systems, Inc. which he joined as a sales representative and quickly established himself as a top performer within the company receiving numerous awards and promotions. He ultimately became Vice President of Sales & Marketing, leading a 50+ member sales and marketing team that was widely-considered to be one of the most effective anatomic pathology sales organizations in the U.S.

Mr. Dooling spent four years in the U.S. Navy where he was recognized as top performing junior officer on board the U.S.S. Iowa. Mr. Dooling holds a BS in computer science from Villanova University.

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Thanasis Papaioanu picture

Thanasis Papaioanu
Chief Development Officer
Executive Vice President of Information & Technolology

Thanasis, a co-founder of APP, has 15 years of experience in finance and mergers & acquisitions, including several years of financial, transactional and operational experience with anatomic pathology laboratories. Prior to APP, Thanasis was a Managing Director at Harpeth Capital, LLC, a Nashville-based investment banking firm, focusing on healthcare services including labs, hospitals, dialysis clinics, and healthcare IT.

Previously, he served as CFO of Innovative Pathology Services, PLLC, a 14-pathologist anatomic pathology laboratory (now part of Spectrum/Carrilion). Prior to IPS, he was a Director at FTN Midwest, the investment banking subsidiary of First Horizon Bank (NYSE: FHN) and a Director at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, the investment banking subsidiary of SunTrust Banks (NYSE: STI), where he was a senior member of the Mergers & Acquisitions Group and the Technology Group.

Thanasis has been involved in over 40 completed M&A and financing transactions totaling to over $1 billion in transactional value, including being involved in the formation and capitalization of CBLPath, a large New York-based pathology laboratory (acquired by Sonic in 2011). Thanasis, a member of the American Pathology Foundation, holds a BS in electrical engineering from Florida Institute of Technology, an MS in electrical engineering and an MS in systems science & mathematics from Washington University in St. Louis, and an MBA from Emory University.

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Lee Dilworth picture

Lee Dilworth
Chief Legal & Administrative Officer
Executive Vice President

Mr. Dilworth has over 20 years of legal experience as a corporate and healthcare transactional attorney. Prior to joining APP, he was Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Attentus Healthcare Company, an operator of rural acute care hospitals, where he was responsible company-wide for legal, development, compliance, information security, and risk management matters. Previously, he was a Member, Managing Partner and Chair of the Corporate Practice at Harwell Howard Hyne Gabbert & Manner, P.C. (H3GM), a Nashville, Tennessee-based law firm specializing in advising private and public healthcare clients on various strategic transactions.

During his 18 year tenure at H3GM, Mr. Dilworth was involved in numerous public and private company M&A transactions, including approximately 75 hospital acquisitions and divestitures, multiple physician joint ventures, and representation of specialty physician groups throughout the southeastern U.S. Mr. Dilworth was a founder of Health & Productivity Corporation of America, a provider of integrated health and health-related productivity and disease management services.

Mr. Dilworth is listed in editions of The Best Lawyers in America and America’s Leading Business Lawyers. Mr. Dilworth holds a BA in business administration from Furman University, a JD from the University of Georgia School of Law, and a LL.M in taxation from New York University School of Law.

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John Starling picture

John I. Starling
Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Starling has over 20 years of accounting and taxation experience that spans two of the largest accounting firms in the world as well as public and large venture-backed companies with large, complex, multi-facility operations. Prior to joining APP, Mr. Starling served as Vice President Taxation/Finance at Emdeon Business Services, LLC and, immediately prior to that, at Attentus Healthcare Company. Previously, Mr. Starling was Vice President of Taxation for Province Healthcare Company, a publicly-traded hospital company with nearly $1 billion of revenue.

Mr. Starling’s prior work experience includes over five years with the public accounting firms Arthur Andersen & Co., and KPMG Peat Marwick serving clients in healthcare and other industries. Mr. Starling holds a BS in accounting from Lipscomb University and a Masters of Accountancy from the University of Tennessee.

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Tricia Hughey picture

Tricia Hughey
Vice President of Regional Operations, West

Ms. Hughey has over 30 years of experience in the administration and operations of anatomic pathology laboratories. Ms.Hughey also serves as Chief Executive Officer of UniPath, a position she has held for over a decade. During her tenure at UniPath, she has led many initiatives in cytology, histology, immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry and molecular pathology. Previously, she has held management and laboratory positions with other anatomic pathology groups, including Pathology Partners (now Caris Diagnostics), as well as hospital clinical laboratories.

Ms. Hughey is an active speaker at several national pathology conferences, including The Executive War College (The Dark Report), Washington G2 Conferences, American Pathology Foundation, and CAP. Ms. Hughey has been a member of the Pathology Management Assembly of MGMA since 1985, and was a member on the committee providing recommendations for CLIA 88 guidelines. She was also one of the first non-physicians appointed by the CAP Board of Governors to one of their committees; and she continues to serve on the CAP Practice Management Committee. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the American Pathology Foundation (APF). Ms. Hughey holds a BA in business administration and economics from Regis College.

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Bill Tilton picture

Bill Tilton
Vice President of Regional Operations, East

Mr. Tilton has over 30 years of experience in the laboratory industry starting in 1980. He was most recently Vice President of Clinical Laboratory Operations for Nodality, Inc., a San Francisco-based biotech company. Previously, Mr. Tilton was Vice President and GM for NeoGenomics Laboratories, directing operations in Florida, California, and Tennessee, as well as corporate information technology.

His previous appointments include eight years of research and clinical work in pediatric hematology at Columbia University and Presbyterian Hospital in New York. Mr. Tilton also spent 14 years with DIANON Systems, Inc. serving in various management roles including QA, operations, and IT. He also served two years as GM of UroCor, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, a provider of anatomic pathology, molecular genetics, and cytogenetics services.

Additionally, Mr. Tilton served as Vice President and GM of Oncology for Esoterix, Inc., managing facilities across five states providing hematopathology, flow cytometry, molecular genetics, and cytogenetics services. Mr. Tilton holds a B.S. in biology from Long Island University with a minor and certification in secondary education science and a M.S. in biology from the University of Hartford.

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Deb Evans picture

Deb Evans, CT(ASCP)
Director of Quality & Performance, APP

During her 30+ year career in the laboratory industry, Ms. Evans has worked in a variety of areas including laboratory operations and management, scientific research, teaching/education, quality improvement and safety. She is currently Director of Quality & Performance at American Pathology Partners.

Prior to joining APP, Ms. Evans was a laboratory consultant focusing on a variety of operational areas, including laboratory workflow and quality improvement, facility planning, specimen cycle-time analysis, and supply utilization, among many other areas. Previously, for nearly two decades, Ms. Evans has held operating positions at several laboratory companies including Doctors Laboratory, Gainsville, Florida; Ameripath North Texas, Dallas, Texas; Quest Diagnostics, Irving, Texas; and ProPath, Dallas, Texas. These roles included laboratory management, policy development, best practices, six sigma/LEAN projects, quality assurance & regulatory compliance among other responsibilities.

Ms. Evans holds a B.S. in education from Bowling Green State University. She continued her education at the University of Miami to pursue certification as a Cytotechnologist CT(ASCP). Ms. Evans ultimately worked there for 10 years, during which period she was involved in numerous research projects/scientific papers in flow cytometry, cytology,and drug outcome monitoring. In addition, Ms. Evans also provided support and taught cytology students and pathology residents as an Educational Coordinator.

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