Professor
Chief Medical and Quality Officer
Areas of Interest
diseases of the stomach, small bowel, liver, pancreas, colorectal surgery
Biography
Martin J. Heslin, M.D., MSHA, first joined the faculty of UAB Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology in 1996, following the completion of his Surgical Oncology Fellowship at Sloan-Kettering Hospital. He now serves as the Chief Medical and Quality Officer for UAB and is a professor in the Division of Surgical Oncology.
He has extensive training in hepatobiliary, pancreatic, and colorectal surgery. He has established a thriving gastrointestinal oncology practice that focuses primarily on neoplasms of the pancreas, stomach, colon, and rectum. In 2001, Dr. Heslin was instrumental in establishing the UAB Interdisciplinary Gastrointestinal Oncology Center.
Dr. Heslin has served as a key instructor and role model for medical students and house staff in the operating room and the clinic.
He is a reviewer of four professional journals and an author or co-author of numerous publications and book chapters. He works with the Robert E. Reed Foundation to support research in GI cancers.
Select Publications
Vikramdeo KS, Anand S, Khan MA, Khushman M, Heslin MJ, Singh S, Singh AP, Dasgupta S. Detection of mitochondrial DNA mutations in circulating mitochondria-originated extracellular vesicles for potential diagnostic applications in pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Sci Rep. 2022 Nov 2;12(1):18455.
Khan H, Heslin MJ, Crook ED, Mehari K, Johnston FM, Fonseca AL. Fragmentation of Care in Pancreatic Cancer: Effects on Receipt of Care and Survival. J Gastrointest Surg. 2022 Dec;26(12):2522-2533.
Irfan A, Gleason F, Reddy S, Heslin MJ, Rose JB. Resection Versus Observation for Small (≤2 cm) Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors. Am Surg. 2022 Sep 22:31348221129501. 135. Fonseca AL, Heslin MJ. SSO 2022-International Conference on Surgical Cancer Care and Advanced Care Therapies Highlights. J Gastrointest Cancer. 2022 Aug 19.
Carroll KL, Frugé AD, Heslin MJ, Lipke EA, Greene MW. Diet as a Risk Factor for Early-Onset Colorectal Adenoma and Carcinoma: A Systematic Review. Front Nutr. 2022 Jun 9;9:896330.
Hassani I, Anbiah B, Kuhlers P, Habbit NL, Ahmed B, Heslin MJ, Mobley JA, Greene MW, Lipke EA. Engineered colorectal cancer tissue recapitulates key attributes of a patient-derived xenograft tumor line. Biofabrication. 2022 Jul 5;14(4):10.1088/1758-5090/ac73b6.
Bajpai P, Banerjee NS, Moore DW, Kim HG, Afaq F, Contreras CM, Heslin MJ, Reddy VB, Peter S, Varambally S, Al Diffalha S, Manne U. Developing 3D Organoid Raft Cultures from Patient-Derived Xenografts as Rapid Models to Screen Efficacy of Experimental Therapeutics. Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Nov 19;23(22):14392.
Khan H, Cherla D, Mehari K, Tripathi M, Butler TW, Crook ED, Heslin MJ, Johnston FM, Fonseca AL. Palliative Therapies in Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer: Does Medicaid Expansion Make a Difference? Ann Surg Oncol. 2023 Jan;30(1):179-188.
Khan H, Crook ED, Heslin MJ, Johnston FM, Fonseca AL. ASO Author Reflections: Disparities in Receipt of Palliative Therapies for Pancreatic Cancer: Did Medicaid Expansion Help? Ann Surg Oncol. 2023 Jan;30(1):189-190.
Fonseca AL, Heslin MJ. Pancreatic operative experience for residents: How much is enough? Am J Surg. 2023 Jul;226(1):28-29.
Honors and Awards
Clinical Oncology Career Development Award - 2003
UAB Medical Student Teaching Award: Best Surgical Attending - 2003
UAB Medical Student Teaching Award: Best Overall Clinical Instructor - 2003
UAB President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching: UAB School of Medicine - 2003
UAB Surgery Resident Teaching Award: Best Surgical Attending - 2003
UAB Surgery Resident Teaching Award: Best Surgical Attending - 2006
UAB Medical Student Teaching Award: Best Surgical Attending - 2007
UAB Surgery Resident Teaching Award: Best Surgical Attending - 2007
UAB Surgery Resident Teaching Award: Best Surgical Attending - 2008
UAB Medical Student Teaching Award: Best Surgical Attending Nomination - 2009
UAB Medical Student Teaching Award: Best Surgical Attending Nomination - 2010
UAB Surgery Resident Teaching Award: Best Surgical Attending - 2014
Brewer-Heslin Endowed Award for Professionalism in Medicine - 2015
UAB Surgery Resident Teaching Award: Best Surgical Attending - 2016
Distinguished Citizen of the Year Award - Leadership Vestavia Hills - 2019
Dean’s Excellence Awards Nominee - 2019
UAB Surgery Resident Teaching Award: Best Surgical Attending - 2021
Education
Medical School
SUNY Health Science Center at Syracuse, NY College of Medicine
Graduate School
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Executive Master of Science in Health Administration
Residency
NYU Medical Center, New York, NY
Fellowships
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Research Fellow & Clinical Fellow in Surgical Oncology
Contact
Phone
205-934-3064
Email
mheslin@uabmc.edu