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Matthew D. Neal, MD, FACS

  • Professor of Surgery and Watson Fund in Surgery Chair
  • Vice Chair of Surgery, Academic Training
  • Director of Emergency General Surgery
  • Co-Director, Pittsburgh Trauma and Transfusion Medicine Research Center
  • Professor of Clinical and Translational Science and Critical Care Medicine (secondary appointments)

Dr. Neal is the Roberta G. Simmons Associate Professor of Surgery and an attending surgeon in the Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh.  He holds secondary appointments in the Departments of Critical Care Medicine, the Vascular Medicine Institute (VMI), and the Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) at the University of Pittsburgh.  Dr. Neal runs a translational research program focused on hemostasis and thrombosis following injury, and his basic science laboratory is funded by multiple awards from the NIH as well as the Department of Defense.  He is PI or Co-I on a number of ongoing clinical trials in trauma and surgical pre-habilitation, and he serves as the Co-Director of the Pittsburgh Trauma and Transfusion Medicine Research Center.  He presently serves as a co-lead for the coordinating center for the NIH ACTIV-4 program addressing clinical trials in anti-thrombotics in COVD-19, he co-chairs the ACTIV-4a clinical platform.

Education & Training

  • BS, Georgetown University
  • MD, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
  • General Surgery Residency, UPMC
  • Pediatric Surgery Research Fellowship, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC
  • Surgical Critical Care Fellowship, UPMC

Representative Publications

Dr. Neal's publications can be reviewed through NCBI.

Research Interests

  • Trauma-induced coagulopathy and hemostasis following trauma and hemorrhagic shock 
  • Measurement of coagulopathy in trauma and sepsis 
  • Clinical outcomes in trauma/hemorrhagic shock 
  • Clinical outcomes in massive transfusion 
  • Immunomodulation and transfusion of red blood cells
  • Acute care surgery outcomes research and surgical rescue
  • Outcomes research focusing on emergency general surgery, elective abdominal wall reconstruction, and surgical rescue

Research Grants

SynthoPlate Nanotechnology For Intravenous Hemostasis and Wound Healing in Prolonged Field Care 
Department of Defense JPC-6 Combat Casualty Care Research Program, DM160354,10/01/17-09/31/20, PI: Gupta, Co-PI: Neal 
The major goals of this project are to develop and refine a novel synthetic platelet substitute (SynthoPlate) for resuscitation of hemorrhage and promotion of wound healing.

Mechanistic Elucidation and Targeted Therapy of Platelet Dysfunction after Trauma
NIH/NIGMS, 08/01/16-07/31/21, PI: Neal
The major goals of this project are to elucidate the mechanisms of platelet dysfunction following trauma and identified targeted therapies to attenuate organ injury and coagulopathy related to microvascular thrombosis.

Platelet-derived HMGB1 Regulates Thrombosis and Organ Injury Following Trauma and Hemorrhagic Shock 
Vascular Medicine Institute, University of Pittsburgh, 07/01/2015 – 06/30/2017, PI: Neal
The major goals of this project are to define the role of HMGB1 secreted from platelets on organ injury following trauma/hemorrhage and to explore the role of chloroquine as a therapeutic target.

Utilization of Thromboelastography to Monitor Rivaroxaban Activity in Trauma and Emergency Surgery 
Janssen Pharmaceuticals, 39039039THR1001, 2/16/2016-2/16/2018, PI: Neal
The major goals of this project are to assess whether thromboelastography is useful for monitoring the effects of a novel oral anticoagulant in trauma patients.

Analysis and Characterization of Trauma-Induced Coagulopathy 
NIH/NHLBI,UM1HL120877,  9/30/13 – 6/30/18, PIs: Esmon, & Wisniewski
The major goals of this project are to elucidate the mechanisms that drive coagulopathy following sterile injury. The site co-I role is to investigate the response of platelets to sterile inflammatory ligands as a sub-project of the aims.

Endotypes of Thrombocytopenia in the Critically Ill 
NIH/NHLBI, 1 R21 HL133891-01, 8/1/2016 – 7/31/2018, PIs: Clermont & Parker
The major goals of this project are to define the various endotypes of thrombocytopenia in the intensive care unit and assess whether thromboelastography and other platelet analytics can predict the clinical course of these patients.

Establishment of a Rabbit Model of Ionizing Radiation-induced Thrombocytopenia, Coagulopathies, and Measures of Associated Vascular and Organ Injury 
HHS/OS/ASPR/BARDA, #HHS0100201500008I, 8/2/2016 – 12/31/2017, PI: Bartholomew
The major goals of this project are to establish a rabbit model of radiation induced liver injury resulting in coagulopathy and thrombocytopenia for the study of mechanisms associated with radiation induced injury.