Philip O. Alderson

Philip O. Alderson is James Picker Professor Emeritus of Radiology. Prior to his retirement he held various positions at the Columbia University Medical Center including Chairman of the Department of Radiology (1988-2008) and Director of Radiology. He was Chair of the Columbia Eastside Board of Directors (1990- 95) and President of the New York Presbyterian Medical Board (2005-06). He also was associated with Columbia’s main campus Department of Biomedical Engineering (1996-2008).

Before joining Columbia University, Alderson was a faculty member from 1975 to 1980 at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, starting as a part-time instructor and completing his career there as an associate professor of radiology and environmental health sciences.

He served as a major in the U.S. Air Force, conducting research for the Defense Nuclear Agency at the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute. Prior to that, Alderson was an instructor in radiology at Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology in St. Louis.

Alderson is a graduate of Washington University and Washington University School of Medicine.

Alderson's past work focused on applications of radioactive tracers to cardiac and pulmonary disorders. Current interests include uses of artificial intelligence in healthcare including applications of clinical genomics for precision medicine. He is former President of the Society of Chairmen of Academic Radiology Departments, the Association of University Radiologists, the Association of Residency Program Directors in Radiology, the Academy of Radiology Research, the Fleischner Society, the American Roentgen Ray Society and the American Board of Radiology. He is a former Vice-President of the American College of Radiology and the Society of Nuclear Medicine, and served on the Advisory Council of the NIH—National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. He also served on the NIH Council of Councils and as Chair of the Advisory Committee on Medical Uses of Isotopes of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (2015 - 2018).

Alderson served as Dean of the School of Medicine (2008-16) and Vice-President for Medical Affairs at Saint Louis University in St Louis, MO. He was on sabbatical at the NIH (January- June, 2017) in a research computing division of the National Library of Medicine and subsequently returned to Saint Louis University (SLU)as Dean Emeritus. Since his return he has taught a first year medical student elective course in “Understanding Genomics and Artificial Intelligence for Precision Medicine “and serves on the medical school Admissions Committee . He also serves on the Executive Committee of Casa de Salud St Louis, a not for profit provider of healthcare and mental health services for immigrants to the St Louis region. He serves currently (2020 - ) as Chair of the Casa de Salud Board of Directors.

Last updated May 10, 2021