Alexander Mackinnon Jr., M.D., Ph.D. (Photo credit: Medical College of Wisconsin)Alexander “Craig” Mackinnon Jr., M.D., Ph.D., is the inaugural director of the Division of Genomics Diagnostics and Bioinformatics in the Department of Pathology, School of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Mackinnon will lead ongoing efforts to establish the Precision Diagnostic Laboratory at UAB.
A board-certified anatomical and molecular genetic pathologist, Mackinnon joins UAB after serving as associate professor in the Department of Pathology at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Mackinnon directed the Clinical and Translational Research Laboratory (CTRL) at MCW, where he provided interpretation related to the pathology of tumor samples. The lab developed multiple Next Generation Sequencing-based panels targeting variants in both DNA and RNA. He has experience designing and validating targeted, custom DNA and RNA sequencing assays. Mackinnon’s lab interpreted a range of tests, from sequencing data to digital quantitative imaging for immunohistochemical analysis.
“Dr. Mackinnon is a crucial addition to our burgeoning genomics diagnostics program, having run the CTRL at his previous institution, where he pioneered the validation of custom assays,” said George Netto, M.D., Robert and Ruth Anderson Endowed Chair, UAB Pathology. “Dr. Mackinnon will lead the Division of Genomics Diagnostics and Bioinformatics at an exciting time when we are expanding both our team of experts and the tests and services we offer relating to genomics diagnostics.”
Mackinnon is a member of the College of American Pathologists and the American Society of Clinical Pathology, where he served on the Molecular Pathology Section, Pathologist Recertification Individualized Self-Assessment Examination Committee.
His research interests include the molecular pathology of solid tumors and quantitative immunohistochemistry. He started July 1, 2019.