Dr Lishman said she found out about the honour a month ago but kept the news quiet over Christmas.
“It was very difficult not telling my family, but they’re thrilled now,” she said.
Dr Lishman grew up in Cambridgeshire and went to school at Neale Wade Community College in March before studying medicine at Girton College, Cambridge.
She originally wanted to become an obstetrician, but her career path changed during her medical training.
“I loved delivering babies, but during my surgical training I developed an interest in pathology,” she said.
“I enjoy the detective work and attention to detail involved in making a diagnosis.”
Dr Lishman was appointed CBE in 2018 for services to pathology.
She has recently completed a three-year term as president of the Association of Clinical Pathologists and is currently chairwoman of the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD), becoming the first pathologist to hold the role in the organisation’s history.
NCEPOD, external reviews surgical and anaesthetic procedures with an aim of improving clinical practice.