Alexander Russell Judkins, MD

Professor of Pathology (Clinical Scholar)

CHLA Department Head of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

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Overview

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 reviewer of pediatric brain tumors for Children’s Oncology Group. He also is recognized for his work in nonneoplastic pediatric neuropathology, where his focus has been on developmental malformations and the neuropathology of seizure disorders. Dr. Judkins has developed unique expertise in digital pathology and is working to build tools to integrate bioinformatics and pathology image data analysis.
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 & Experimental Neurology and Acta Neuropathologica.

Prior to joining our hospital, Dr. Judkins served as the chief of the Division of Neuropathology, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He also served as the director of their Pathology Core Laboratory and assistant professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. 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 CHOP, as well as the broader University of Pennsylvania research community.

Publications

  • Targeting chordoma via an isocitrate dehydrogenase-1-dependent susceptibility to redox metabolism. Acta Neuropathol. 2026 Jul 23; 152(1).. View in PubMed
  • ZFTA-RELA ependymomas make itaconate to epigenetically drive fusion expression. Nature. 2026 04; 652(8111):1004-1015.. View in PubMed
  • Phase 3 randomized trial of high-dose methotrexate for young children with high-risk embryonal brain tumors: A report from the Children’s Oncology Group. Neuro Oncol. 2025 Oct 01; 27(10):2726-2737.. View in PubMed
  • Isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 primes group-3 medulloblastomas for cuproptosis. Cancer Cell. 2025 Jun 09; 43(6):1159-1174.e8.. View in PubMed
  • Correction: Clinical Efficacy of ONC201 in H3K27M-Mutant Diffuse Midline Gliomas Is Driven by Disruption of Integrated Metabolic and Epigenetic Pathways. Cancer Discov. 2025 Mar 03; 15(3):657.. View in PubMed
  • nnU-Net-based Segmentation of Tumor Subcompartments in Pediatric Medulloblastoma Using Multiparametric MRI: A Multi-institutional Study. Radiol Artif Intell. 2024 09; 6(5):e230115.. View in PubMed
  • A method for measuring mitochondrial DNA copy number in pediatric populations. Front Pediatr. 2024; 12:1401737.. View in PubMed
  • Clinical Efficacy of ONC201 in H3K27M-Mutant Diffuse Midline Gliomas Is Driven by Disruption of Integrated Metabolic and Epigenetic Pathways. Cancer Discov. 2023 11 01; 13(11):2370-2393.. View in PubMed
  • Addendum: Sustained response of three pediatric BRAFV600E mutated high-grade gliomas to combined BRAF and MEK inhibitor therapy. Oncotarget. 2023 May 19; 14:502.. View in PubMed
  • Targeting SWI/SNF ATPases in H3.3K27M diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2023 05 02; 120(18):e2221175120.. View in PubMed