#OperationEqualAccess - Prof Anna Martling interview
For our #OperationEqualAccess campaign, Dr Jeremy Meyer recently interviewed Professor Anna Martling about women in academic research in colorectal surgery.
Anna Martling is Professor of Surgery at Karolinska Institutet and chief physician and colorectal surgeon in Tema Cancer, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm. She defended her thesis on rectal cancer in 2003, became board-certified surgeon in 2004 and associate professor of surgery in 2009. In 2014, she became full professor at Karolinska Institutet and since 2019, she has held the position of Dean at Karolinska Institutet North. Martling has held several positions in professional societies, including the European Society of ColoProctology (ESCP), the Swedish Cancer Society, the Swedish Research Council, Karolinska Institutet's Strategic Cancer Program, the Board of Research at Karolinska Institutet and others. Anna Martling is currently member of the Faculty Board at Karolinska Institutet, KI-Region Stockholm's Management Group, Board of CIMED, Board of Research!Sverige and the Board of Radiumhemmets forskningsfonder.
Since 2008, Prof Martling has been leading the research group and is responsible for the research field of colorectal surgery with special focus on clinical, translational and epidemiological studies on colorectal cancer. Special interests of her research group are: predictive and prognostic biomarkers, aspirin, radiotherapy, timing of surgery and development of new surgical techniques. Her research has received numerous awards; in 2013, Martling received the Swedish Surgical Society´s Great Research Prize. She is a world leading expert in her field and a frequent lecturer in Sweden and abroad. She is chairman of the Swedish Colorectal Cancer Study Group, which is a national research network for colorectal cancer in Sweden, and between 2015-2018, she was the Chairman of the Program Committee of ESCP and responsible for the scientific program for the annual meeting. Since 2020, Anna Martling has been coordinating chairman of the Task force for implementing Precision Medicine into healthcare in Region Stockholm. In 2021, she received the prize “Cancer Researcher of the Year” from The Swedish Cancer Society.
Anna Martling's research is funded by the Swedish Research Council, the Swedish Cancer Society, Radiumhemmet's research funds, the Swedish Medical Association, Karolinska Institutet and the Region Stockholm. In 2014, she received the Swedish Research Council's largest grant to date for clinical treatment research of SEK 25 million.
Watch the full video interview below: