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

The Joint Commission's Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluation (OPPE) Process: Costly, Ineffective, and Potentially Harmful to Safety Culture. 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:S1546-1440(23)00648-8.

Gadolinium-based contrast media does not improve the staging of neuroblastoma image-defined risk factors at diagnosis. Morin, CE; Hasweh, R; Anton, C; Dillman, JR; Orscheln, E; Smith, EA; Kotagal, M; Weiss, BD; Ouyang, J; Zhang, B; et al. Pediatric Blood and Cancer. 2024; 71:e30724.

Acute Acalculous Cholecystitis. Chroneos, PC; Towbin, RB; Schaefer, CM; Towbin, AJ. Applied Radiology: the journal of practical medical imaging and management. 2023; 52:36-38.

Are the Pilots Onboard? Equipping Radiologists for Clinical Implementation of AI. Shafique, U; Chaudhry, US; Towbin, AJ. Journal of Digital Imaging. 2023; 36:2329-2334.

Assessing the role of positron emission tomography and bone scintigraphy in imaging of pleuropulmonary blastoma (PPB): A report from the International PPB/DICER1 Registry. Hagedorn, KN; Nelson, AT; Towbin, AJ; Frederickson, N; Mallinger, P; Lucas, JT; Dehner, LP; Messinger, YH; Shulkin, BL; Mize, WA; et al. Pediatric Blood and Cancer. 2023; 70:e30628.

Embryonal Rhabdomyosarcoma of the Bladder. Zhu, R; Towbin, RB; Schaefer, CM; Towbin, AJ. Applied Radiology: the journal of practical medical imaging and management. 2023; 52:40-42.

Clinical trials: A plea to cooperative groups, consortia, pharmaceutical companies, and lead investigators for reasonable imaging protocols. Trout, AT; Norris, RE; de Blank, PM K; Backus, LR; Towbin, AJ; Nash, JM. Pediatric Blood and Cancer. 2023; 70:e30362.

Prospective study of quantitative liver MRI in cystic fibrosis: feasibility and comparison to PUSH cohort ultrasound. Towbin, AJ; Ye, W; Huang, S; Karmazyn, BW; Molleston, JP; Masand, P; Leung, DH; Chang, S; Narkewicz, MR; Alazraki, AL; et al. Pediatric Radiology: roentgenology, nuclear medicine, ultrasonics, CT, MRI. 2023; 53:2210-2220.

Cancer Therapy-related Hepatic Injury in Children: Imaging Review from the Pediatric LI-RADS Working Group. Morin, CE; Kolbe, AB; Alazraki, A; Chavhan, GB; Gill, A; Infante, J; Khanna, G; Nguyen, HN; O’neill, AF; Rees, MA; et al. Radiographics : a review publication of the Radiological Society of North America, Inc. 2023; 43:e230007.

Awareness of a recent special publication on pediatric oncologic imaging: a collaborative effort by the COG Diagnostic Imaging Committee and SPR Oncology Committee. Thacker, PG; Alazraki, AL; Beth McCarville, M; Tang, ER; Towbin, AJ. Pediatric Radiology: roentgenology, nuclear medicine, ultrasonics, CT, MRI. 2023; 53:2154-2156.

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4.6
Overall Patient Rating