Matthew Cooper, MD
- Chief of Transplantation, Medical College of Wisconsin
- Director of the Solid Organ Transplant Line, Medical College of Wisconsin and Children's Wisconsin
- Past President, United Network of Organ Sharing
Dr. Matthew Cooper is the Chief of Transplantation, Director of Solid Organ Transplantation, and a tenured Professor of Surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He is the Mark B. Adams Distinguished Professor of Surgery and a member of the National Kidney Registry’s Medical Board and its Surgical Director.
Dr. Cooper chose the specialty of transplant surgery because it is tremendously rewarding and life-changing for his patients. In fact, he says that he has the “best job in the world.” His goal is to meet the needs of patients at all stages of transplantation, including post-surgical care. He aims to provide a positive and welcoming overall experience and excellent long-term outcomes.
After receiving his medical degree from the Georgetown University School of Medicine in 1994, Dr. Cooper completed his general surgery training at the Medical College of Wisconsin followed by a fellowship in multi-organ abdominal transplantation in 2002 at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. He joined the transplant faculty at the Johns Hopkins Hospital upon completion of his training and was appointed Surgical Director of Kidney Transplantation and Clinical Research in 2003.
During his time at Hopkins, he worked with Dr. Robert Montgomery to set up the first paired exchange program in the U.S. and launched the domino chain approach that revolutionized kidney paired donation. Dr. Cooper joined the University of Maryland in 2005, directing the kidney transplant and clinical research program until 2012, after which he assumed the role of Director of Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation and Director for Quality at the MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute in Washington, DC. He assumed his current position in 2022.
Dr. Cooper has authored over 260 peer-reviewed manuscripts, 300 abstracts, and 12 book chapters. He is regularly invited to speak on a variety of transplant-related topics both nationally and internationally. His research interests focus on reducing or eliminating immunosuppression and minimizing deceased donor organ discards, and he is currently involved with multiple ongoing clinical trials in this area. Dr. Cooper has received numerous awards in recognition of his leadership, advocacy, and mentorship in the field of kidney transplantation.
