Linda Martin, MD, joined the University of Virginia, School of Medicine faculty and the UVA Cancer Center as an associate professor of surgery in 2016. Dr. Martin received her medical degree from the University of California, San Diego. Her surgical internship and residency training began at the University of Minnesota, and midway through she transferred to complete her training at the University of California, San Francisco. She then specialized in general thoracic surgery, with thoracic track fellowship training at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX. Dr. Martin also obtained a post-doctorate master’s degree in public health from the University of Texas, Houston.

As chief of thoracic surgery, Dr. Martin focuses on thoracic malignancies, but she also has extensive experience with benign lung and esophageal diseases. She is a strong advocate for lung cancer screenings and collaborates with physicians and healthcare providers from all disciplines to determine the best treatment strategy. She also helps encourage patients to quit smoking.

Dr. Martin has an interest in robotic surgery, which she was trained to perform through the Carolyn E. Reed Traveling Fellowship. Clinical trials research is another strong interest of hers. She strives to offer trials to any patients who may qualify, and she is heavily involved in design and implementation of clinical research through her work and leadership within several committees of the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology, an NCI sponsored group. She also has collaborated with anesthesiologists and nursing staff to develop enhanced recovery after thoracic surgery pathways to improve outcomes and shorten hospital stay for patients undergoing chest surgery.