Dr. Hearn is an Associate Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Michigan. He completed his medical training at Harvard Medical School and his residency in radiation oncology at Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Hearn investigates mechanisms by which prostate cancer may become resistant to current treatments.

Dr. Hearn also treats bladder cancer and has been impressed by the promising responses (sometimes dramatic and long-lasting) that some patients with bladder cancer have when treated with immunotherapy to harness the body’s immune system. He is interested in the intersection of immunotherapy and radiation therapy.

Additionally, Dr. Hearn is interested in novel techniques to improve the safety and efficacy of radiation therapy for lung cancer by modulating cytokines relevant to lung injury.

Androgen deprivation therapy has been the most effective and widely used systemic therapy for prostate cancer since Huggins and Hodges published their seminal work in 1941. Dr. Hearn is interested in the mechanisms by which prostate cancer cells become resistant to androgen deprivation therapy as well as their underlying molecular genetics.
His research is focused on:
(1) elucidating the role of germline variation in the steroidogenic pathway as a predictor of androgen deprivation therapy resistance.
2) exploiting this underlying biology for development of novel therapeutic strategies.
3) incorporating genomic information into risk-stratification and treatment algorithms.

Dr. Hearn's research focus also includes lung cancer, including stereotactic body radiotherapy and precision radiation medicine. The latter includes leveraging radiogenomics and serum markers together with advanced imaging and planning techniques to achieve genotype-directed, response-adapted therapy