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Matthew Cooper, MD, Named Chief of Solid Organ Transplant and Director of the Joint Solid Organ Transplantation Program

MCW is pleased to announce the appointment of Matthew Cooper, MD, as Chief of the Division of Transplantation in the Department of Surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), Director of the Joint Solid Organ Transplantation Program at Froedtert Health and Children’s Wisconsin and the Mark B. Adams Chair in Transplant Surgery, effective no later than March 1, 2023.

Dr. Cooper currently serves as Director of Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation and Medical Director of Transplant Quality at the Medstar Georgetown Transplant Institute. He also is a Professor of Surgery at Georgetown University School of Medicine (Washington, DC).

Dr. Cooper was identified as the top candidate for this role after a comprehensive international search. We would like to extend our thanks to Kellie Brown, MD, and Kia Saeian, MD, MSc, who served as co-chairs of the search committee – as well as to the full committee membership – for their unwavering dedication of time, insights and thoughtfulness in undertaking this key recruitment effort.

Dr. Cooper received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from the University of Scranton in 1990 and his medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine in 1994. He completed a residency in general surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals from 1994-2000. From 2000-2002, Dr. Cooper served as a fellow in transplant surgery at the Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore, MD).

Dr. Cooper’s research focuses on immunosuppression minimization and amelioration of delayed graft function in kidney allografts following ischemic reperfusion injury. He has been significantly involved in clinical trial management and facilitation, including serving as the primary investigator on dozens of clinical trials. He has received over $7.5 million in NIH and pharma funding supporting his work.

Dr. Cooper has been greatly involved in undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral education, including serving as a mentor for more than 40 undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, staff scientists and research assistants. He has participated in more than 180 invited lectures, presentations and scientific exhibits – both nationally and internationally. He also possesses an extremely strong publication record spanning more than 235 peer-reviewed manuscripts, 300 abstracts and 12 book chapters in such prominent journals such as the American Journal of Transplantation, Transplantation, New England Journal of Medicine and Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

Dr. Cooper is an active member of several national societies including the American Society of Transplant Surgeons, National Kidney Foundation, Donate Life America, and The Transplantation Society. He is the immediate past president of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), the organization contracted by the federal government charged with policy development and oversight for donation and solid organ transplantation in the U.S.