KECK SCHOOL ALUMS IN
THE SPOTLIGHT
Alexandra M. Levine, M.D. - Class of
1971
Dr. Alexandra M. Levine, Distinguished Professor
of Medicine, is chief of hematology at the Keck School
of Medicine, medical director of USC/Norris, and the
holder of the Bloom Family Chair
in Lymphoma Research. Dr. Levine is an illustrious
member of the class of 1971 and is married to Dr.
Victor Levine, class of 1970. She completed her internship,
residency, and a fellowship at LAC+USC Medical Center.
An internationally known expert on hematological
cancers and the clinical diagnosis and treatment of
HIV-associated lymphomas, Levine has spent 28 years
as an exemplary physician, researcher and teacher
at the Keck School. She has published over 300 articles
and book chapters on her specialties.
Among the numerous honors and awards bestowed upon
her are a Presidential Medallion in 1994, the highest
award given by USC. In 1995, she was appointed by
President Clinton to the Presidential Advisory Council
on HIV/AIDS and served as Chair of the Research Committee.
In 2000, she was named a Distinguished Professor,
the highest academic recognition given by USC. She
received the Hadassah Women of Distinction award in
2001 and the USC
Alumni Association Alumni Merit Award in 2003.
Other distinctions include serving as HIV/AIDS Consultant
to the Health Departments of Chile, Russia, India,
and China.
Despite her many accolades, some of her greatest
rewards come from something else - teaching future
doctors. Graduating classes at the Keck School have
selected her for five Outstanding Clinical Professor
Awards and she has been selected as graduation speaker
on four occasions. Dr. Levine has been quoted as saying,
"If you’re a good physician, and you serve
your patient well, it’s a feeling of great accomplishment
because you’ve done something special for that
person and that family. But if you teach someone to
do the same thing, your ability to impact the world
becomes bigger." She is an extremely popular
mentor to women medical students and often speaks
to school children about careers in medicine.
Dr. Levine’s desire to become a physician took
hold around the age of 16 as a volunteer Candy Striper
at LA County Hospital. She once described how visiting
one patient in particular deeply affected her: an
elderly man who was so grateful for her time and good
ear that the memory stayed with her forever. She vowed
then that she would practice medicine humanely, putting
the “human aspect” at the center.
Appropriately, Dr. Levine's most recent honor is
the Physician Humanitarian of the Year Award from
California Hospital Medical Center.
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