C. Mel Wilcox, MD - Pancreatology

A board-certified gastroenterologist, C. Mel Wilcox, MD, MSPH, specializes in a full spectrum of benign pancreatic diseases at Orlando Health Digestive Health Institute.  His care philosophy centers on being a good listener, empathizing and using his extensive expertise to address his patients’ needs. 

His clinical interests and notable procedures include:

• Benign pancreatic tumors and cysts
• Chronic pancreatitis
• Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)
• Pancreatic endotherapy
• Acute pancreatitis and complications

Dr. Wilcox will establish and lead Orlando Health’s pancreas program that will include referral-based clinical and advanced endoscopic care, clinical research and a fellowship program.

Dr. Wilcox’s Training

After receiving his bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia in Athens, Dr. Wilcox earned his medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. He completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. His fellowship in gastroenterology was performed at the University of California at San Francisco followed by a clinical research fellowship at San Francisco General Hospital. Dr. Wilcox received his master’s degree in public health (MSPH) from the University of Alabama.

About Dr. Wilcox

An internationally recognized academician, Dr. Wilcox served for 20 years as the division director of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the University of Alabama at a time when that program consistently was ranked among the nation’s top 50 by U.S. News and World Report.

He will chair the United States Pancreas Study Group, a conglomerate of top academic programs across the country that will be developed to conduct multicenter clinical trials and develop guidelines and pathways for care of patients with pancreatic diseases.

An active researcher, Dr. Wilcox was principal investigator for a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Pancreatic Cancer SPORE grant. He also was a co-PI and recipient of several grants from the NIH and its National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).

Dr. Wilcox has authored more than 75 textbook chapters, 400 publications that include the New England Journal of Medicine, 750 scientific abstracts and Digestive Diseases Self-Evaluation Program (DDSEP) and Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Self-Assessment Program (GESAP) reviews. He was an associate editor of the American Journal of Medicine and reviews for more than 100 peer-reviewed journals. He is one of the incoming editors-in-chief of the popular gastroenterology and hepatology textbook Sleisenger and Fordtran. He was formerly editor-in-chief of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology and founding editor of Techniques in Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.

Dr. Wilcox has served in leadership positions for several professional organizations, including secretary, councilor, board member and chair of consensus conferences to the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA), chair of the Postgraduate Education Committee of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE), president of the Southern Medical Association and president of the Southern Society for Clinical Investigation.