Alexandra M. Levine, M.D., chief medical officer, has been elected a Master of the American College of Physicians and will receive the honor in April. The group is the nation’s largest organization of medical specialists.

Mastership is the highest level of membership and involves a highly competitive nomination process. Levine was one of only 48 physicians chosen this year from across the nation.

Alexandra Levine (Photo ©2007 Phillip Channing)

“I cannot think of a more deserving recipient of this honor than Dr. Levine,” said Michael A. Friedman, M.D., president and chief executive officer. “Her tireless commitment to patients and her outstanding contributions to medicine are inspiring to us all.”

She has made her mark as an internationally recognized expert in lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and AIDS-related malignancies, and has served as principal investigator on 15 major research grants funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), receiving continuous funding from the NIH as a principal investigator since 1982. She has published more than 275 scientific articles and 72 chapters for various textbooks and has edited two books.

In 1995, President Bill Clinton appointed her to the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/ AIDS. She also chaired the council’s research committee. In addition, she worked with Jonas Salk, M.D., for eight years on the development and testing of an AIDS vaccine.

She served as a member of the board of councilors of the National Cancer Institute and as a member of the Oncologic Drug Advisory Board of the Food and Drug Administration. She also served as HIV/AIDS consultant to the health departments of Chile, Russia, India and China.

Levine has made a strong impact on City of Hope since joining the institution from the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California in 2006. As chief clinician, she oversees all clinical and hospital care programs, both advocating for the needs of patients and providing leadership for the care teams who treat them.