Anna Martling

Anna Martling is a Professor of Surgery at Karolinska Institutet (KI) and Chief Physician and Colorectal Surgeon in Tema Cancer, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.

She defended her PhD thesis on rectal cancer in 2003, became a board certified surgeon in 2004 and an Associate Professor of surgery in 2009. She served as the Head of the Department of Surgery (2006-2008) and as the Deputy Head of the Center of Gastrointestinal Disease (2010-2013). In 2014, Martling became Full Professor at KI and has served as Dean between 2019-2023. Currently, she is the Scientific Director Life Science at Karolinska Institutet.

Since 2020, Prof Martling chairs the initiation and implementation of precision medicine in healthcare in the Stockholm region. Leading the research group since 2008, she focuses on colorectal surgery with clinical, translational, and epidemiological studies on colorectal cancer. Her leadership has advanced TME surgery, introduced HIPEC and cytoreductive surgery at Karolinska University Hospital, and initiated organ-preserving treatments for rectal cancer in Stockholm and nationwide.

As Principal Investigator (PI), she led multicenter studies like Stockholm III and ALASCCA, receiving numerous awards. In 2013, she received the Swedish Surgical Society’s Great Research Prize and was named «Cancer Researcher of the Year» by The Swedish Cancer Society in 2021.

Prof Martling has held key roles in ESCP, Swedish Cancer Society, Swedish Research Council, KI’s Strategic Cancer Program, Board of Research at KI, Faculty Board at KI, KI-Region Stockholm’s Management Group, and Board of CIMED. Currently, she serves on the Board of Research!Sverige, Board of Directors in Bactiguard, Board of Radiumhemmetsforskningsfonder, Board of Director in Sophiahemmet and Board of Directors in Smartcella.