Nipun Merchant

Dr. Nipun B. Merchant, M.D. holds the Alan S. Livingstone Endowed Chair in Surgical Oncology and is a tenured Professor of Surgery, Vice Chair of Surgical Oncology Services and Chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology in the Department of Surgery at University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. At the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, he is the Chief Surgical Officer, the founding Director of the Sylvester Pancreas Cancer Research Institute, and served as the Associate Director of Translational Research.
Dr. Merchant has more than 25 years of leadership experience in basic, translational and clinical research and is an internationally recognized hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgical oncologist. He has served on the Pancreas Task Force of the GI Steering Committee of the NCI, the Commission on Cancer, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma Panel and the Board of Governors of the American College of Surgeons and Chaired of the Health Policy and Advisory Group of that organization.
Simultaneously, Dr. Merchant runs a translational research program investigating the role of the tumor-stromal-immune microenvironment in overcoming therapeutic resistance in pancreatic cancer, which has been continuously funded by the NIH for the last 18 years. His laboratory has also translated this work directly into novel therapeutic clinical trials in patients. He is also the PI of a T32 training grant in Surgical Oncology and is the author of over 225 peer reviewed publications, 10 chapters and he has edited two books.

Dr. Midhun Malla, MD, MS, is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Heersink School of Medicine and serves as Section Chief of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology at the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Malla completed his fellowship training at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City, where he also earned a Master’s degree in Clinical and Translational Sciences. His work is focused on advancing the role of ctDNA in precision oncology, helping to drive innovations in cancer detection and treatment. His clinical and research focus centers on hepatobiliary and colorectal cancers, with a particular emphasis on biomarker-driven clinical trials. He leads multiple prospective investigator-initiated clinical trials aimed at personalizing treatment approaches and improving outcomes for patients with Gastroiintestinal malignancies.