Matthew E. Nielsen

Meet Matthew Nielsen

Area of Interest

Matthew Nielsen, MD received his medical degree from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and completed his residency at the Brady Urological Institute of The Johns Hopkins Hospital. After residency, Dr. Nielsen served on the faculty at Johns Hopkins prior to joining the UNC Urology faculty in 2009. In addition to his position as Rhodes Distinguished Professor and Chair of the UNC Department of Urology, Dr. Nielsen also serves as an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Departments of Epidemiology and Health Policy & Management at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.

Dr. Nielsen’s clinical practice is focused in urologic oncology—in particular, the treatment of bladder and prostate cancer. He is a member of the integrated Multidisciplinary Genitourinary Oncology Group at the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, serving as Director of the Division of Urologic Oncology from 2013-2018. Dr. Nielsen is committed to providing compassionate, individualized, patient-centered care, and has been selected by his peers to be named among the Best Doctors in America in Urology since 2013. He received the UNC Health Care Physician Friend of Nursing Award in 2017 and the H. Fleming Fuller Award in 2022. His research in medical decision making, cancer care quality and treatment outcomes has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and The American Cancer Society, and nationally recognized by the Rising Stars in Urology Research Award.

Alongside his clinical, research and teaching activities, Dr. Nielsen is actively engaged in quality improvement and patient safety efforts. He previously served as Associate Director of the UNC Institute for Healthcare Quality Improvement and currently is Director of Quality for UNC Faculty Physicians. He has been a national leader in this sphere with the American Urological Association since 2012, currently coordinating activities across the QI/Patient Safety, Data and Practice Guidelines Committees as AUA Science and Quality Council Chair. Nielsen served the American College of Physicians’ High Value Care Task Force and Performance Measurement Committee, and was appointed to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Technical Expert Panel for the CMS Quality Measure Development Plan and Quality Measure Index. He currently serves on the National Quality Forum Diagnostic Excellence Committee and was selected as a Fellow in Diagnostic Excellence with the National Academy of Medicine.

Find publications on PubMed

Awards and Honors

• H. Fleming Fuller Award, UNC Health, 2022
• Chair, American Urological Association Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Committee, 2019
• Young Urologist of the Year, American Urological Association, 2018
• Castle Connolly Top Doctors, 2017-2019
• UNC Health Care System Medical Friend of Nursing Award, 2017
• Urology Care Foundation / Astellas Rising Stars in Urology Research Award, 2016
• Best Doctors in America, 2013-2018
• American Urological Association Leadership Program, 2012-2013
• National Institutes of Health Loan Repayment Program Award, 2010-2012
• Member, Scientific Advisory Board, Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network, 2009
• 3rd Prize, AUA/Gyrus ACMI Clinical Research Essay Contest, American Urological Association National Meeting, 2008
• Merit Award, American Society for Clinical Oncology, 2007
• 2nd Prize, Pfizer Resident Clinical Research Essay Competition, Mid-Atlantic Section of the American Urological Association, 2006
• Alpha Omega Alpha, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 2002
• American Foundation for Urologic Diseases Student Research Scholar, 2001
• Harold Lamport Medical Student Research Prize, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 2001
• Phi Beta Kappa, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 1998