About Alexander Lin, MD

Alexander Y. Lin, MD, MBA, is a prominent plastic surgeon whose clinical expertise focuses on craniofacial, maxillofacial, and pediatric plastic surgery. He is director of surgical innovations for UCSF’s Division of Plastic Surgery, co-director of the UCSF Craniofacial Center, and co-director of the UCSF Center for Advanced 3D+ Technologies, where he supervises its Oakland site. Dr. Lin is passionate about bettering the lives of children and their families by restoring facial function, speech, and appearance across a number of different diagnoses, including cleft lip/palate, craniosynostosis, jaw deformities, and orbital reconstruction, along with other complicated pediatric surgeries.

His research interests include the use of 3D printing, advanced visualization, and artificial intelligence for more precise surgery and earlier detection of speech and developmental concerns, as well as scaffold-based biologic reconstruction in complex cases.

Dr. Lin completed both his undergraduate and master’s degrees at Stanford University, received his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University, and completed an MBA in innovation from Washington University in St. Louis. He did residencies in general surgery and plastic and reconstructive surgery at UCSF, completed a research fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital, and completed a fellowship in craniofacial surgery at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. He has been the chief of plastic surgery at St. Louis University School of Medicine. He has held numerous leadership positions in national organizations related to plastic surgery, focused on improving clinical care and obtaining surgical innovation.

Education

Medical School
– Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (2002)

Internship 
– University of California San Francisco, General Surgery and Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery (2003)

Residency
– University of California San Francisco, General Surgery and Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery (2009)

Fellowship
– Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Harvard Medical School, Vascular Immunobiology (2007)
– Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh (CHP), University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), Craniofacial, Maxillofacial, and Pediatric Plastic Surgery (2010)

Certifications

– American Board of Plastic Surgery, Plastic Surgery
– PA State Medical License (2009-2010)
– MO State Medical License (2010-2023)
– CA State Medical License (2022-2026)

Memberships

– American Board of Plastic Surgery
– American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons
– American Society of Plastic Surgeons
– Plastic Surgery Foundation

Practice Locations

1465 S. Grand Blvd., Saint Louis, Missouri