Alan S. Wayne, MD, an internationally renowned pediatric hematologist-oncologist, has joined Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and the University of Southern California (USC).

After serving 14 years as clinical director of the Pediatric Oncology Branch of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the internationally renowned pediatric hematologist-oncologist, Alan S. Wayne, MD, is joining Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and the University of Southern California.

Wayne has been named director of the Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and will serve as the division head of Hematology-Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplantation in the Department of Pediatrics at the hospital. He will also hold positions as professor of Pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and associate director for Pediatric Oncology at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. He will begin his duties on July 1, 2013.

“This is a major recruitment for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and represents a significant step forward in distinguishing ourselves as the undisputed clinical leader in the treatment of pediatric cancer and blood diseases and the research hub that identifies the cures for these debilitating conditions,” says Richard D. Cordova, FACHE, president and CEO, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. “Dr. Wayne’s work at the National Cancer Institute has earned him an international reputation as one of the top clinicians and researchers in his field, and it’s an honor to have him join our prestigious Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases, one of the largest such centers in the United States.”

“Alan Wayne is among the foremost hematology and oncology physician researchers in the country,” says Brent Polk, chair of the Department of Pediatrics and vice president of Academic Affairs at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and chair of Pediatrics and vice dean for Child Health at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. “His work has already become the vanguard of clinicians studying childhood leukemias and lymphomas and developing innovative therapies.”

At Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Wayne will assume the Stuart E. Siegel Endowed Chair and his directorship duties will include responsibility for the delivery of patient care services to all inpatients and outpatients of the hospital’s cancer and blood diseases center and the hematology-oncology and bone marrow transplantation division. In addition, he will oversee direction for research, lead fundraising efforts and promote the hospital’s missions and values in the community. He also will supervise the quality and accreditation of oncology and hematology teaching programs for interns, residents and fellows.

“Dr. Wayne will increase the scientific integration and collaborative work between the Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases and the broader community at Children’s Hospital, The Saban Research Institute and the University of Southern California,” says Carmen A. Puliafito, MD, MBA, dean of the Keck School of Medicine of USC and a member of the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Board of Trustees. “We welcome him to Children’s Hospital and to the USC faculty.”

Each day, the Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases treats the most complex and rare conditions. Because of the Center’s expertise, it is a major referral center for families from all over Southern California, the United States and the world. The Center provides care for more than 1,100 new patients each year and handles approximately 25,000 outpatient visits annually. Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is ranked fifth in the nation for cancer care on the U.S. News & World Report Best Children’s Hospitals list.

“Treating cancer and blood diseases and finding cures is a core mission of the hospital and Dr. Wayne’s leadership and guidance will enable the Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases to achieve new heights,” says Stuart E. Siegel, MD, the current director of the hospital’s Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases. “This is a major coup for the hospital.”

In his new role with Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and USC, Wayne looks forward to working with these institutions and the Los Angeles community to build upon the excellence of the current programs to support the clinical care, research and education missions, to further advance the fields of pediatric hematology, oncology and bone marrow transplantation and to improve the outlook for children with cancer and blood disorders.

“It is a great honor and privilege to join the hospitaland the university and to follow the impressive legacy of Dr. Siegel, who in his decades of service has led the development of the Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases into an internationally-recognized institution,” Wayne says.

Wayne received a bachelor’s of science in Medicine and his MDfrom the Honors Program in Medical Education at Northwestern University in Evanston and Chicago. He served his internship, residency and chief residency at Boston Children’s Hospital, and he completed his fellowship in pediatric hematology-oncology at the Children’s Hospital and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.Board-Certified in Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, Wayne has held academic appointments atHarvard University School of Medicine, the University of South Florida College of Medicine, the University of Miami School of Medicine, the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and most recently at the NIH where he serves as the clinical director and senior clinician of the of the Pediatric Oncology Branchand Deputy Clinical Director for Medical Affairsin the NCI’s Center for Cancer Research.

At the NIH, Wayne also heads the Pediatric Oncology Branch’s Hematologic Diseases Section where he directs a leading-edge research program to develop new treatments for hematologic malignancies (blood cancers). He has developed and leads multiple clinical trials, and these pioneering efforts have resulted in complete remissions being achieved for children with chemotherapy-resistant leukemia. Through this work he has become a recognized leader in the area of targeted and immune-based therapies for acute lymphoblastic leukemia,the most frequent cancer type in pediatrics. He also has played a lead role in the NCI-sponsored international efforts in the area of relapse after blood and bone marrow stem cell transplantation.

Wayne has authored more than 20 scholarly books and monographs and more than 70 peer-reviewed scientific papers in the fields of pediatric hematology,oncology, stem cell transplantation, and transfusion medicine, and in the past five years he has contributed to 40 exhibitions and presentations at national and international conferences.

Throughout his career, Wayne has served in leadership roles on institutional and national committees and as a member of numerous professional societies and organizationsincluding the Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Consortium, Children’s Oncology Group and The American Society of Hematology. His current editorial responsibilities include the position of associate editor, Frontiers in Pediatric Oncology.Among his numerous awards and honors, he has received the NIH Director’s Award for Mentoring and has been listed among“The Best Doctors In America” every year since 1995.

Wayne has a long-standing commitment to training future leaders in medicine and science. He has directly mentored numerous students and fellows and he served as the founding Co-Director of the NCI/Johns Hopkins University Joint Fellowship Training Program in Pediatric Hematology/Oncologythat under his direction matured into one of the largest and most competitive training programs in this subspecialty.He also has traveled the globe to lecture at numerous conferences and academic institutions.

About Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles has been named the best children’s hospital in California and among the top five in the nation for clinical excellence with its selection to the prestigious U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll. Children’s Hospital is home to The Saban Research Institute, one of the largest and most productive pediatric research facilities in the United States. Children’s Hospital is also one of America’s premier teaching hospitals through its affiliation since 1932 with the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.

For more information, visit CHLA.org.