Title: Vice Chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Company: Tufts Medicine
Location: Southlake, Texas, United States
Medhat Askar, MD, PhD, Vice Chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Tufts Medicine, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Healthcare Professionals for dedication, achievements, and leadership in Transplantation, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine.
Dr. Askar has established a distinguished career spanning more than three decades, marked by a steadfast commitment to both clinical excellence and educational leadership in transplant immunology. In January 2026, he assumed the role of vice chair of the Department of pathology and laboratory medicine and medical director of the HLA and Transplantation Laboratory at Tufts Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts. He is also appointed as a professor in the Department of Anatomic and Clinical Pathology at Tufts University School of Medicine. In these capacities, Dr. Askar is focusing on supporting rapidly growing transplant programs and professional development plans designed to create an environment that attracts and retains top talent.
Dr. Askar also serves as an advisor for clinical services at the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, since 2021, where he has contributed to advancing donor matching and transplantation outcomes. Since 2015, he has been serving at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, where he is currently the director of the Transplantation & Genomics Core and Cell & Gene Therapy Laboratory, having also overseen the COVID-19 testing program between 2020 to 2022. In these positions, he collaborated with industry leaders to develop novel tests to fulfill unmet diagnostic needs such as chimerism testing using next generation sequencing (NGS) technology while collaborating with heart, lung, kidney, liver, pancreas and stem cell transplant programs.
Dr. Askar also developed immunological testing protocols for innovative practices such as the first face transplant in the U.S. while in Cleveland Clinic and the first Uterus Transplant at Baylor that is currently, the world largest uterus transplant program with the largest number of live births conceived in transplanted uteri. Moreover, since 2016, he has been affiliated with Texas A&M College of Medicine as a clinical professor of medical education.
Among his previous roles, Dr. Askar served at Qatar University in Doha as associate vice president and clinical advisor to the health sciences sector from 2023 to 2026. In this role, he oversaw clinical training, education, placements, research, trials and the appointment of physician consultants within the university system, and he oversaw the continuous professional development department for all health science colleges, collaborating closely with the deans of the different science colleges. He also previously served as division head of clinical immunology at Hamad Medical Corporation in Doha from 2019 to 2026, and he continues to serve as adjunct professor of clinical pathology and laboratory medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine – Qatar and as a distinguished adjunct professor at Barzan University College in Doha, Qatar.
Earlier in his career, Dr. Askar served as a professor of surgery at the Lerner College of Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, in 2015, after initially serving as an associate professor from 2011 to 2015 and as an assistant professor between 2007 and 2011, during which he also served as medical director of transplant immunology at the Cleveland Clinic (Allogen Laboratories) and as a transplant immunology consultant to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and the University of Chicago. starting in 2006 and concluding his tenure in 2015. Dr. Askar began his U.S.-based career as the assistant director of the transplant immunology laboratory at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, California, from 2005 to 2006.
Dr. Askar’s academic foundation is robust. He received a Doctor of Medicine from Ain Shams University in and a Doctor of Philosophy in microbiology and immunology with a focus on transplant immunology from Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt. He later acquired a Master of Science in health professions education from the MGH Institute of Health Professions in Boston. Additionally, Dr. Askar completed a postdoctoral fellowship in immunogenetics and transplant immunology at the school of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and a medical education fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic Academy in Cleveland.
Dr. Askar is board-certified by the American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics (ASHI) and the American Board of Medical Laboratory Immunology through the American Society for Microbiology. In addition to his formal education, his commitment to lifelong learning is reflected through numerous credentials, including a high-complexity clinical laboratory director certification by the American Board of Bioanalysis with a specialization in diagnostic immunology and a distinguished educator certificate from the Cleveland Clinic Academy. He also completed several programs at the Harvard Macy Institute at Harvard University, including a program for educators in health professions, and the health care education 2.0 course from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.
Dr. Askar’s influence extends across numerous professional organizations. Furthermore, he chairs the World Health Organization committee for The Transplantation Society, where he remains dedicated to promoting ethical and equitable access to transplantation worldwide, and is active member of the advisory expert panel for the World Health Organization Organ Donation and Transplantation Initiative. He is recognized as a fellow of The Royal College of Pathologists. He previously held multiple leadership roles within ASHI, including president, division head of the ASHI Laboratory Accreditation Review Board, and director of the training review and credentialing committee, and he also previously served as president of the American College of the Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics (ABHI). As ASHI president, Dr. Askar notably transformed the society’s scope by extending hundreds of complimentary memberships to professionals from low- to medium-income countries and restructuring finances to save several hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. He is also active as an inspection team leader for the College of American Pathologists, ASHI and FACT.
Beyond his primary appointments, Dr. Askar maintains active involvement with civic-minded organizations worldwide. He serves as an international advisor for the Royal College of Pathologists in London and chairs the Histocompatibility Committee of the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT). Dr. Askar also previously served as a member of the UNOS Executive Committee and histocompatibility representative to the UNOS Board, and held a position with the Transplantation Society Education Academy.
Throughout his career, Dr. Askar has demonstrated significant expertise in transplantation, immunology, molecular testing, laboratory medicine, cell and gene therapy, global health, health systems quality and accreditation, heath professions education and higher education administration. He is widely recognized for his leadership and innovation. Dr. Askar’s scholarly contributions include lecturing worldwide and publishing extensively in these domains. He has balanced his professional life between clinical engagements and educational administration, preparing him for senior leadership roles at major academic institutions.
Among his honors, Dr. Askar was the recipient of the CEO Engagement Award from the Cleveland Clinic. He attributes his success not only to rigorous academic preparation but also to a passion for making a positive impact rather than seeking recognition. This philosophy continues to guide his work today. Dr. Askar’s enduring legacy is defined by visionary leadership across clinical practice, education administration and global advocacy, making him an influential figure whose work continues to shape standards worldwide.
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