Craig Mackinnon, M.D., Ph.D., MSHA, Robert B. Adams Endowed Professor, Division Director, Genomic Diagnostics and Bioinformatics, has been named director of the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) Laboratory by UAB Hospitals, effective immediately.
In his new role, Mackinnon will oversee the highest standards of patient safety, diagnostic accuracy and regulatory excellence across the health system’s clinical laboratories.
“I am deeply honored to serve as director of the CLIA Laboratory,” said Mackinnon. “Our labs are foundational to patient care, and I am committed to maintaining and advancing exceptional standards.”
Mackinnon will play a critical role in ensuring that all clinical testing meets rigorous federal standards established under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments, which govern lab quality, personnel qualifications, validation of testing methods and performance monitoring. In conjunction, UAB Hospitals remains accredited through the College of American Pathologists (CAP), widely recognized as the gold standard for laboratory excellence.
As director, Mackinnon will provide oversight, making certain that UAB Hospitals’ laboratories not only meet regulatory requirements but continue to set national benchmarks for quality, innovation and clinical impact.
Mackinnon joined UAB in 2019 as division director of the Division of Genomic Diagnostics and Bioinformatics. In 2023, he was named Robert B. Adams Endowed Professor in Pathology. In 2025, Mackinnon was named Executive Vice Chair of UAB Pathology.
Mackinnon assumes the position from Gene Siegal, M.D., Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Division of Anatomic Pathology. Siegal, who retired in 2024 after 34 years of service to the Department of Pathology, has been an attending pathologist at UAB and its affiliate hospitals for his entire career and has held UAB’s CLIA license as its director of hospital labs.
“I’d like to thank Dr. Siegal for his impact on CLIA and acknowledge the remarkable job of hospital laboratories across UAB,” Mackinnon said. “Patients, clinicians and families rely on lab results to make critical decisions. Our mission is to ensure every result is accurate, timely and produced under the highest standards of quality and integrity.”