A photo of Alexander J. Towbin.

Alexander J. Towbin, MD


  • Radiologist, Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging
  • Associate Chief Medical Information Officer, (Imaging)
    Associate Chief, Department of Radiology (Clinical Operations and Informatics)
    Neil D. Johnson Chair of Radiology Informatics
  • Professor, UC Department of Radiology

About

Biography

Dr. Towbin is a radiologist, the Neil D. Johnson Chair of Radiology Informatics, and associate chief of Radiology, Clinical Operations and Radiology Informatics at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. He is a recognized leader in pediatric abdominal imaging, pediatric oncologic imaging, imaging informatics, and quality improvement. Dr. Towbin is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences on topics including pediatric liver tumors, pediatric cancer imaging, the use of MRI-based contrast agents, customer service, social media in medicine, enterprise imaging, structured reporting, and workflow efficiency. His research focuses on imaging of the liver, cancer imaging, clinical informatics, quality improvement, and machine learning. Dr. Towbin is well published and has authored more than 150 articles and 110 chapters in textbooks. He has won numerous awards for his research, service, teaching, and clinical acumen.

In addition to his roles at Cincinnati Children’s, Dr. Towbin leads multiple national and international initiatives. As a leader in pediatric oncologic imaging, he is a fellow of the International Cancer Imaging Society, the incoming Chair of the Diagnostic Imaging Committee of the Children’s Oncology Group, the chair of the pediatric LI-RADS committee working to standardize reporting of pediatric liver tumors, a member of the National Cancer Institute Clinical Imaging Steering Committee, and is the radiology primary investigator of the current international pediatric liver tumor research trial. As a leading advocate for children, Dr. Towbin serves on the Steering Committee of Image Gently and is a co-chair of its current education-based campaign. He also serves on multiple committees with the American College of Radiology to help improve the appropriateness of pediatric imaging. Finally, as an informaticist, Dr. Towbin serves on the Board of Directors of the Society of Imaging Informatics in Medicine, co-chairs the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society/Society of Imaging Informatics in Medicine Enterprise Imaging Committee, co-chairs the American College of Radiology Data Science Institute Non-Interpretive Panel, and serves on the American College of Radiology/Radiological Society of North America Common Data Element Steering Committee.

MD: Doctor of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, 2002.

Internship: Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center-University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, 2002-2003.

Residency: Diagnostic Radiology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, 2003-2007.

Fellowship: Pediatric Radiology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center-University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, 2008.

Certification: American Board of Radiology, 2007.

Interests

Abdominal imaging; cancer imaging; imaging informatics; quality improvement

Services and Specialties

Radiology, Kidney Tumor Clinic

Interests

Pediatric liver tumors; diffuse liver disease; enterprise imaging; machine learning

Research Areas

Radiology, Biomedical Informatics

Publications

Implementing a Photodocumentation Program. Lai, EK; Slavik, E; Ganim, B; Perry, LA; Treuting, C; Dee, T; Osborne, M; Presley, C; Towbin, AJ. 2024.

Endoscopic cystostomy and biliary sphincterotomy for choledochoceles: A pediatric case series. Saad, M; Abu-El-Haija, M; Lin, TK; Towbin, AJ; Trout, AT; Bernieh, A; Tiao, G; Vitale, DS. 2024.

Visibility and Size of the Pancreatic Duct and Common Bile Duct on Routine 2D MRI Sequences in Children Without Pancreaticobiliary Disease. Kocaoglu, M; Ata, NK A; Smith, EA; Towbin, AJ; Debnath, P; Trout, AT. American Journal of Roentgenology. 2024; 223:e2431347.

Special Challenges of Sensitive Images: A HIMSS-SIIM Enterprise Imaging Community Whitepaper. Towbin, AJ; Ding, DD; Eid, M; Kimball, H; Komissarchik, J; Memarian, J; Chadalavada, SC. Journal of Digital Imaging. 2024; 37:915-921.

Histogram Analysis of Apparent Diffusion Coefficient Maps Provides Genotypic and Pretreatment Phenotypic Information in Pediatric and Young Adult Rhabdomyosarcoma. Ghosh, A; Li, H; Towbin, AJ; Turpin, BK; Trout, AT. Academic Radiology. 2024; 31:2550-2561.

Response to: Comment on: COG Diagnostic Imaging Committee/SPR Oncology Committee White Papers. Towbin, AJ; Tang, ER; Alazraki, AL; Thacker, PG; McCarville, MB. Pediatric Blood and Cancer. 2024; 71:e30900.

HIMSS-SIIM Enterprise Imaging Community White Papers: Reflections and Future Directions. Roth, CJ; Petersilge, C; Clunie, D; Towbin, AJ; Cram, D; Primo, R; Li, X; Berkowitz, SJ; Barnosky, V; Krupinski, EA. Journal of Digital Imaging. 2024; 37:429-443.

Reply. Donnelly, LF; Podberesky, DJ; Towbin, AJ; Loh, L; Basta, KH; Platchek, TS; Vossmeyer, MT; Shook, JE. Journal of the American College of Radiology. 2024; 21:374-375.

Enhancing Patient Communication With Chat-GPT in Radiology: Evaluating the Efficacy and Readability of Answers to Common Imaging-Related Questions. Gordon, EB; Towbin, AJ; Wingrove, P; Shafique, U; Haas, B; Kitts, AB; Feldman, J; Furlan, A. Journal of the American College of Radiology. 2024; 21:353-359.

MRI AND BLOOD-BASED BIOMARKERS ASSOCIATED WITH SURGICAL MANAGEMENT IN CHILDREN AND ADULTS WITH SMALL BOWEL CROHN'S DISEASE. Dillman, J; Fletcher, JG; Bruining, D; Kugathasan, S; Stidham, R; Adler, J; Tkach, J; Alazraki, A; Knight-Scott, J; Lu, A; Anton, C; Imbus, R; Dudley, J; Denson, L. Gastroenterology. 2024; 166:s19-s20.

Patient Ratings and Comments

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4.6
Overall Patient Rating