Heffernan leads multidisciplinary teams focused on oncology drug discovery, translational research and early-phase clinical development, driving programs that accelerate the pre-clinical evaluation of novel drugs to inform innovative clinical trials. During his time at UT MD Anderson, Heffernan has advanced numerous internal or partnered therapeutics into clinical trials, reflecting the impact of his leadership in translational medicine. Heffernan earned his Ph.D. in cell and molecular pathology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and completed his postdoctoral training at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School. Prior to joining UT MD Anderson, Heffernan led target identification efforts at the Belfer Institute at Dana Farber Cancer Institute and was a senior vice president at C4 Therapeutics Inc., where he managed the drug discovery and translational biology efforts to advance a portfolio of internal and partnered programs.