Chief of Transplant Surgery | Mark B. Adams Distinguished Chair | PE Lab Faculty Collaborator
Building a Career and a Community in Transplant
Dr. Matthew Cooper is a nationally respected transplant surgeon, educator, and leader who currently serves as the Chief of the Division of Transplantation and Director of the Solid Organ Transplant Service Line at both Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital and Children’s Wisconsin. He also holds the title of Mark B. Adams Distinguished Professor of Surgery and Tenured Professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin. With decades of experience, Dr. Cooper has shaped the field not only through his clinical work but also by building programs, mentoring the next generation, and expanding access to life-saving transplant care.
A Long-Standing Connection to the PE Lab
Dr. Cooper’s relationship with Dr. Amy Waterman and the Patient Engagement Lab goes back to his early years as an Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins, where they first collaborated through the National Kidney Foundation. While initially less familiar with patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and their role in shaping care and policy, Dr. Cooper quickly came to value their importance. Their early collaboration on the design of a transplant medication, now standard of care, set the tone for a relationship built on mutual respect, curiosity, and shared purpose. “We’ve been friends and colleagues ever since,” he says.
Aligning Passion with Purpose
Now, at a point in his career where many would begin to slow down, Dr. Cooper is more energized than ever. “I want to leave transplant better than I found it,” he says. His focus is crystal clear: increasing access, promoting equity, reducing disincentives for living donation, and ensuring that the patient voice is at the center of every decision. This mission aligns seamlessly with the PE Lab’s work, particularly around education, information sharing, and community engagement. “We should find a way to end the organ shortage not just for those waiting, but for those who haven’t even been informed yet,” he emphasizes.
Mentorship, Experience, and Moving the Field Forward
At the PE Lab, Dr. Cooper brings what he calls a “lived experience” to the table. While surrounded by energetic, early-career investigators, he finds inspiration in their ideas and passion. “I’m starting to feel a bit like the ‘old guy’ now,” he jokes, “but I’m proud to be part of a team that’s working hard to push this field forward.” He actively mentors students, fellows, and young researchers, lending both insight and encouragement as the Lab evolves into a larger Center for Patient Engagement and Transplant Equity.
Always Asking the Right Questions
What Dr. Cooper admires most about the PE Lab is its culture of intellectual bravery. “This group isn’t afraid to ask why we’re doing something a certain way, and whether there’s a better way,” he explains. He’s long encouraged his own learners to challenge the status quo and resist settling for the answer, “that’s just how we’ve always done it.” For him, the PE Lab is filled with exactly that kind of forward-thinking talent.
A Family Built on Medicine, and Love
Dr. Cooper’s proudest achievement? His family. His wife, Alicia, whom he calls “the best human being I’ve ever met,” has held their world together through years of long hours and demanding schedules. Their children have followed in his footsteps, his eldest daughter is a PICU nurse practitioner at CHOP, his middle daughter is a third-year medical student at MCW, and his son is finishing college and preparing for the MCAT. “Somehow my crazy schedule didn’t turn them off to medicine, and that’s a win,” he says. Family vacations and time together are his most treasured moments.
A Vision for What the PE Lab Can Become
For Dr. Cooper, the PE Lab’s most critical mission is expanding access to transplant and never losing sight of that priority. He envisions the Lab becoming a national leader in patient-centered education, research, and engagement, transforming not only how patients experience transplant but also how providers and systems deliver care. “We have to keep centering the patient, always,” he says.
His Advice to Future Collaborators?
“Just reach out.”
Dr. Cooper emphasizes the inclusive nature of the PE Lab, where new voices are welcomed and new ideas encouraged. “Bring your own passion, bring your own questions,” he says. “Research that’s personal has the best chance to succeed and often leads to a lifelong pursuit of inquiry.”
With his depth of experience, dedication to equity, and unwavering belief in the power of people, Dr. Matthew Cooper is helping the PE Lab define the future of transplant care one patient, one idea, and one breakthrough at a time.