Had an opportunity to meet and hear Alex speak a few months ago on the progress he was making at CHOP with digital pathology and bioinformatics. He is clearly a thought leader in this area and forward thinking beyond his other professional and academic achievements.  Alex has accepted the chair position at Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles.  Look forward to more accomplishments in your new role Alex!

(Abbreviated press release below)

Alexander R. Judkins, M.D., has been named the new Department Head of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, according to an announcement last week by Richard D. Cordova, FACHE, president and CEO of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.  Dr. Judkins begins his duties on July 1, 2010.
   
Since 2007, Dr. Judkins has served as the chief of the Division of Neuropathology, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).  He also is director of the Pathology Core Laboratory at CHOP and assistant professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

Dr. Judkins will replace Timothy Triche, M.D., Ph.D., who is stepping down after 21 years to create a new Center for Personalized Medicine at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.

"We are pleased we were able to convince Dr. Judkins to join our team," said Mr. Cordova.  "He will serve as the liaison between the Pathology Department here at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and the appropriate laboratories and the Department of Pathology with our partners at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California."
   
Dr. Judkins will be responsible for the overall performance and quality of the pathology and laboratory services program at Childrens Hospital.  His administrative and clinical oversight duties will include integration of pediatric pathology programs, academics, research, patient care, fiscal planning and monitoring.

In addition, he will oversee teaching and education as it relates to the Department of Pathology at Childrens Hospital and will serve as the Vice Chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at USC Keck School of Medicine.

Dr. Judkins is recognized for his diagnostic expertise and research in pediatric brain tumors, particularly embryonal CNS neoplasm including atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors (AT/RT).  He is a contributor to the 2007 World Health Organization Classification of Tumors.  Pathology & Genetics: Tumors of the Nervous System and a reviewer for Children's Oncology Group.
   
Dr. Judkins is also recognized for his work in non-neoplastic pediatric neuropathology, where his focus has been on developmental malformations and the neuropathology of seizure disorders.  He is a co-author of the recently published Non-neoplastic Disease of the Central Nervous System, First Non-Neoplastic Disease Fascicle Series, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology.

Dr. Judkins has developed unique expertise in digital pathology and is working to build tools to integrate bioinformatics and pathology image data analysis.  He also has made significant contributions to both the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute and the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.  He developed the Pathology Core Laboratory to offer services and support to researchers at the CHOP, as well as the broader University of Pennsylvania research community.

Dr. Judkins received a bachelor's degree (1991) from State University of New York Geneseo, graduating Summa Cum laude.  He received his medical degree (1996) from the University of Rochester School of Medicine in New York.

Dr. Judkins trained at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he completed residency training in anatomic pathology (1996-97), and served as chief resident (1998-99).  He completed fellowships in neuropathology (1999-2001, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania) and forensic pathology (2001-02, Office of the Medical Examiner in Philadelphia and MCP Hahneman University).

Dr. Judkins is board certified in anatomic pathology, neuropathology and forensic pathology.  He joined the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and the staff of CHOP as a neuropathologist in 2002.
   
He currently serves in editorial positions at a variety of journals and publications, including Brain Pathology, the Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology and Acta Neuropathologica.

   
http://www.CHLA.org