Girish Dhall, M.D., has been named as division director for the Hematology-Oncology and Blood Marrow Transplantation program in the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Pediatrics and Children’s of Alabama. Dhall is currently an associate professor of pediatrics and director of the Neuro-oncology Program at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles and will join the department at the end of May 2019.
Dhall has been at CHLA and on faculty at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California since 2007, when he completed his fellowship in pediatric neuro-oncology. His clinical interests include caring for children and young adults with primary brain and spinal cord injuries. He is dedicated to improving the survival rate of young children with brain tumors without the use of high levels of radiation therapy.
“We look forward to Dr. Dhall building on the strong leadership that has preceded him in the division, and we know that under his direction, the Alabama Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders will continue to excel in patient care, research and teaching in the years to come,” said Mitch Cohen, M.D., chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the UAB School of Medicine and physician-in-chief of Children's. “I believe that Dr. Dhall’s leadership of the talented faculty and staff in the Alabama Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders, as well as the ongoing partnership with the Institute for Cancer Outcomes and Survivorship and the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer at UAB, will elevate the stature and reach of our pediatric cancer programs and provide great benefit for the children of Alabama, the region and beyond,” Cohen said.
Dhall completed his fellowship in pediatric hematology-oncology at New York University Medical Center, residency in pediatrics at New York Medical College, Valhalla, New York, and medical school at Grant Medical College, Mumbai, India. He is a member of multiple professional societies including Histiocyte Society, American Society of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, Fellow of American Academy of Pediatrics, Society for Neuro-oncology, American Society of Clinical Oncology, International Society of Pediatric Oncology and the Society for Pediatric Research.
He has successfully led many local and multi-institutional clinical trials and has been involved in many leadership roles on various national committees, including the chairmanship of the Young Investigator’s Committee in Children’s Oncology Group. He has mentored many students, residents, fellows, and junior faculty over the last 10 years who have now taken leadership roles at many prestigious institutions across the country.
“I would like to thank everyone for welcoming Deepti and I to be a part of your UAB family,” said Dhall. “I am excited and truly honored to be among such distinguished group of people. I really look forward to working with all of you and will strive to make Children’s of Alabama and UAB a top destination for children with complex hematologic and oncologic disorders.”