Heslin Named Director of USA Mitchell Cancer Institute

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Posted on January 1, 2021

Carol McPhail

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Martin J. Heslin, MD, MSHA has been named director of the USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute.

Heslin is a renowned surgical oncologist and former associate director of the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He serves as executive vice chair of the Department of Surgery and is the chief of the medical staff at UAB Hospital. Heslin also is the James P. Hayes Jr. Endowed Professor in Gastrointestinal Oncology.

He begins his role at MCI on Feb. 15.

“Dr. Heslin’s skills and vision will build upon the great foundation of the Mitchell Cancer Institute as it continues to evolve as the preeminent academic cancer center in the region,” said John V. Marymont, MD, MBA, University of South Alabama vice president of medical affairs and dean of the USA College of Medicine.

Heslin has extensive training in hepatobiliary, pancreatic and colorectal surgery, and maintains a clinical interest in gastrointestinal cancers including liver, pancreas, stomach, colon and rectum malignancies. His research has focused on a variety of topics from surgical outcomes to physician management.

Heslin graduated from Cornell University in microbiology and earned his medical degree from SUNY Health Science Center at Syracuse. He completed a general surgery residency at New York University Medical Center. Following the completion of a surgical oncology fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, including two years as a research fellow, he joined the UAB faculty in 1996.

Heslin holds a master’s degree in health administration from UAB. He is author or co-author on more than 120 publications and 10 book chapters.

“I look forward to growing the legacy of the MCI through world class, patient-centered cancer care, important research discoveries and education of the next generation of cancer physicians,” Heslin said. “It is an honor to work with the Mitchell family and the University South Alabama to accomplish these goals.”

As the leading cancer research facility on the upper Gulf Coast, the Mitchell Cancer Institute serves as a center for advanced services in the treatment of cancer with radiation, surgical and medical oncology. The MCI offers patient care at three locations across Mobile and Baldwin counties.

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