Benjamin J Wilkins, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Faculty Director, Pathology research core, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Faculty Director, Immunohistochemistry laboratory, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Department: Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Contact information
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Main Hospital 5NW08
3401 Civic Center Blvd
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Main Hospital 5NW08
3401 Civic Center Blvd
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Office: 267-426-0174
Fax: 215-590-1736
Fax: 215-590-1736
Email:
wilkinsb@chop.edu
wilkinsb@chop.edu
Publications
Education:
B.S. (Biology)
John Carroll University, Cleveland, Ohio, 1998.
Ph.D. (Molecular and Developmental Biology)
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio, 2004.
M.D.
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio, 2006.
Permanent linkB.S. (Biology)
John Carroll University, Cleveland, Ohio, 1998.
Ph.D. (Molecular and Developmental Biology)
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio, 2004.
M.D.
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio, 2006.
Description of Clinical Expertise
I am a board-certified pediatric anatomic pathologist. My clinical interest and expertise is in the diagnosis of pediatric gastrointestinal and liver disease. Particular areas of interest include neonatal cholestasis, very early onset inflammatory bowel disease (VEO-IBD), and Hirschsprung disease. In addition to these areas, I sign out cases encompassing a wide spectrum of pediatric pathology, including perinatal pathology (fetal autopsy and placenta), pediatric autopsy, and surgical pathology of neoplastic, medical, and congenital diseases.Description of Research Expertise
My research focus is on collaborative studies that characterize phenotypes related to gastrointestinal and liver diseases in human subjects and animal models (mouse and zebrafish). Current studies include multiple projects related to eosinophilic esophagitis; clinicopathologic study of bile duct paucity in neonatal cholestasis; liver fibrosis in patients with long-standing single ventricle (Fontan) physiology; and histopathologic characterization of patients with very early onset inflammatory bowel disease (VEO-IBD). My prior laboratory research focused primarily on the role of CIRH1A in liver development using zebrafish as a model system, and mechanisms whereby the recessive CIRH1A R565W mutation found in patients with Progressive Cholestasis of Northwestern Quebec (formerly North American Indian Childhood Cirrhosis) lead to congenital biliary disease.Selected Publications
Lynch KL, Benitez AJ, Godwin B, Klein J, Savant D, Wilkins BJ, Menard-Katcher C, Gluckman C, Falk GW, Muir A.: THE SLENDER ESOPHAGUS: UNRECOGNIZED ESOPHAGEAL NARROWING IN EOSINOPHILIC ESOPHAGITIS. Clin Transl Gastroenterol Jan 2023.Martinelli M, Aguilar G, Lee DSM, Kromer A, Nguyen N, Wilkins BJ, Akimova T, Beier UH, Ghanem LR.: The poly(C)-binding protein Pcbp2 is essential for CD4(+) T cell activation and proliferation. iScience 26(1): 105860, Dec 2022.
Park SE, Kang S, Paek J, Georgescu A, Chang J, Yi AY, Wilkins BJ, Karakasheva TA, Hamilton KE, Huh DD.: Geometric engineering of organoid culture for enhanced organogenesis in a dish. Nat Methods 19(11): 1449-60, Nov 2022.
González IA, Linn RL, Wilkins BJ.: Solid-Tubulocystic Variant of Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma: Report of a Pediatric Case With Molecular Characterization. Pediatr Dev Pathol 25(6): 661-667, Nov-Dec 2022.
Serai SD, Tsitsiou Y, Wilkins BJ, Ghosh A, Cahill AM, Biko DM, Rychik J, Rand EB, Goldberg DJ.: MR elastography-based staging of liver fibrosis in Fontan procedure associated liver disease is confounded by effects of venous congestion. Clin Radiol 77(10): e776-e782, Oct 2022.
Muir AB, Ackerman SJ, Pan Z, Benitez A, Burger C, Spergel JM, Furuta GT, Rothman J, Wilkins BJ, Arnold MA, Dolinsky L, Grozdanovic M, Menard-Katcher C.: Esophageal remodeling in eosinophilic esophagitis: Relationships to luminal captured biomarkers of inflammation and periostin. J Allergy Clin Immunol 150(3): 649-656, Sept 2022.
Wilkins BJ, Kelsen JR, Conrad MA.: Reply to: A Pattern-based Approach and Multidisciplinary Discussion Are Fundamental for Diagnosis in Very Early Onset Inflammatory Bowel Disease (VEO-IBD). Adv Anat Pathol 29: 260-261, Jul 2022.
Wilkins BJ, Kelsen JR, Conrad MA: Reply to: A Pattern-Based Approach and Multidisciplinary Discussion Are Fundamental for Diagnosis in Very Early Onset Inflammatory Bowel Disease (VEO-IBD). Adv Anat Pathol 29(4): 260-261, Jul 2022 Notes: Letter to Editor, in press.
C Sande, G Brodeur, M Dent, M Duvall, B Greed, S Macfarland, B Wilkins: Morphologic and morphometric characterization of juvenile polyps with genetic correlation in juvenile polyposis. Society for Pediatric Pathology spring meeting (virtual) Mar 2022.
Hara T, Kasagi Y, Wang J, Sasaki M, Aaron B, Karami A, Shimonosono M, Shimonosono R, Maekawa H, Dolinsky L, Wilkins B, Klein J, Wei J, Nunes K, Lynch K, Spergel JM, Hamilton KE, Ruffner MA, Karakasheva TA, Whelan KA, Nakagawa H, Muir AB.: CD73(+) Epithelial Progenitor Cells That Contribute to Homeostasis and Renewal Are Depleted in Eosinophilic Esophagitis. Cell Mol Gastroenterol Hepatol Jan 2022.