Dr. Baljit Singh, M.D., FACP, director of pathology at White Plains Hospital, has received the College of American Pathologists (CAP) 2025 Jean and Gene Herbek Humanitarian Award for his ongoing work to provide essential cancer screenings to community members most in need through CAP’s “See, Test & Treat” initiative.
The award, introduced in 2011, is named in honor of the late Gene N. Herbek, M.D., FCAP, a past president of the CAP, and his wife. The award honors a pathologist leader who has made innovative and unique contributions to advance the “See, Test & Treat” (STT) program, which provides free breast and cervical cancer screenings with same-day results to underserved and underinsured communities.
“We are very proud to continue to provide this vital program to our community,” Singh said. “I am humbled to receive this award, but more important is the work that White Plains Hospital and the College of American Pathologists do in this regard. See, Test & Treat is truly a pathologist-run program, which is unusual. It gives pathologists a rare chance to connect directly with patients, which is something that benefits both sides.”
Under Singh’s guidance, the hospital’s STT program has grown in scope, scale and significance. In 2023, he secured a three-year CAP grant to formalize STT as a fully volunteer-powered initiative based at the hospital’s Family Health Center. Singh is personally involved in recruiting, training and inspiring its diverse team of physicians, nurses, laboratory professionals, administrators and bilingual community members – all to ensure that each patient is welcomed with culturally sensitive care and supported throughout the screening process. Patients receive same-day results, which expedites diagnosis, supports timely treatment and reduces anxiety.
“Dr. Singh’s internationally recognized work as a pathology leader and his focus on a humanitarian approach to care makes him an ideal choice for this award. He and our hospital share a commitment to providing all members of our community access to exceptional, quality care and our dedication to growing this program to help those who need it most,” said Dr. Michael Palumbo, executive vice president and medical director of White Plains Hospital.
Singh has also been instrumental in expanding and modernizing White Plains Hospital’s Department of Laboratory Medicine. The lab – the fifth-largest hospital-based laboratory in New York state – processes more than four million tests annually and supports facilities throughout Westchester County.
In addition, Singh’s humanitarianism extends far beyond STT. Between 2012 and 2017, he served on the board of the LGBT Community Center in New York City. He also established a scholarship in his mother’s name – the Pardaman Kaur Public Speaking Contest – at his former high school, Model School Rohtak in Haryana, India, to encourage “soft skills” such as communication, collaboration and adaptability in students.
Currently, he participates in the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology (Alliance), a federally funded National Cancer Institute program that advances cancer research through clinical trials.
Singh has practiced medicine for more than 38 years. Born in India, he earned his medical degree from Rohtak Medical College in Haryana and completed a residency in pathology at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. He pursued additional anatomic pathology residencies at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital and Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons.
