Matthew Levine, MD, PhD attended Brown University, followed by a combined MD/PhD at Yale. He completed his PhD in immunobiology in the laboratory of Charles Janeway Jr., with work focusing on the discovery of positive selection events in the peripheral development of B cells. He then went on to complete general surgery residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital and a fellowship in abdominal organ transplantation at the University of California, San Francisco. He joined the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania in 2009 in the Division of Transplantation. He is clinically active in liver and kidney transplantation in adults and children, pancreas transplantation, and laparoscopic kidney donation.

Dr. Levine’s basic science research is focused on the role that regulatory T cells (Treg) have in tolerance to organ transplants. This work focuses on modulating Treg responses by manipulating histone biology and gene regulation with small molecules and genetic targeting of histone deacetylases (HDACs) and histone acetyltransferases (HATs). He has begun work on defining the role that HDACs and heat shock proteins (hsps) play in tolerance of renal ischemia-reperfusion, work that is now funded by the NIH. His translational research projects involve investigating the function of human regulatory T cells in transplant recipients with differing amounts of immunosuppression and is overseeing recruitment of patients to study the role that immunosuppression plays in immune responses to adeno-associated virus (AAV) that has relevance to gene therapy techniques. He is active in clinical research as well, with projects pertaining to liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma and efficacy and utility of renal transplantation in certain clinical scenarios. He is a committee member of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons and the Association for Academic Surgery.

Fellowship, Abdominal Organ Transplantation
University of California Medical Center
San Francisco, California

• American College of Surgeons (Associate Fellow, 2005-present)
• American Society of Transplant Surgeons (Member, 2007-present)
• International Liver Transplantation Society (Member, 2009-present)
• Association for Academic Surgery (AAS) (Member, 2010-present)
• American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) (Member, 2010-present)

• Member, CME Committee (standing), American Society of Transplant Surgeons, (April 2010-present)

• Regulatory T cells and transplantation
• Chromatin regulation of regulatory T cell function by histone acetylation/deacetylation
• Hepatocellular carcinoma in liver transplantation
  Recovery of renal dysfunction after liver transplantation

1. Levine MH, Haberman AM, Sant’Angelo DB, Hannum LG, Shlomchik MJ, Janeway CA. Peripheral selection of BCR repertoire in heavy chain transgenic mice. Scandinavian Journal of Immunology 50:C11, July 1999.
2. Levine MH, Haberman AM, Sant’Angelo DB, Hannum LG, Cancro MP, Janeway CA, Shlomchik MJ. A B-cell receptor-specific selection step governs immature to mature B cell differentiation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, USA 97:2743-2748, Mar. 14, 2000.
3. He X, Janeway CA Jr, Levine M, Robinson E, Preston-Hurlburt P, Viret C, Bottomly K. Dual receptor T cells extend the immune repertoire for foreign antigens. Nature Immunology 3:127-134, Feb. 2002.
4. Porrett PM, Kamoun M, Parsons R, Bloom R, Goral S, Reese P, Grossman R, Baluarte J, Bleicher M, Doyle A, Markmann JF, Levine M, Barker C, Olthoff K, Naji A, Shaked A, Abt P. Kidney transplantation at the University of Pennsylvania 1998-2008. Clin Transpl. 2009 143-52. PMID 20527069.
5. Cassuto J, Reese P, Sonnad S, Bloom R, Levine M, Naji A, Abt P. Survival benefit of kidney transplantation among non-renal transplant recipients. Accepted for publication by Am J Transplant, 2010.
6. Hsu J, Reese P, Naji A, Levine M, Abt P. Increased early graft failure in right-sided living donor nephrectomy. Accepted for publication in Transplantation, 2010.
7. Levine MH, Parekh J, Feng S, Freise C. Kidney Transplant Performed After Liver Transplant: A Single Center Experience. Accepted for publication in Clin Transpl, 2010.

1. Levine MH. Peripheral B cell selection on the basis of BCR: Identification and characterization. PhD Thesis, Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Immunobiology, 2001.
2. Wang GJ, Levine MH. Endovascular Therapy for Renal Transplant Salvage. Endovascular Today 25-7, Jul. 2010.

1. Cassuto J, Bloom R, Levine M, Sonnad S, Olthoff K, Shaked A, Naji A, Abt P. “Wait List Death and Survival Benefit of Kidney Transplantation Among Extra-Renal Transplant Recipients.” American Society of Transplant Surgeons, 10th Annual State of the Art Winter Symposium Ft. Lauderdale, FL Jan 2010.
2. Cassuto J, Bloom R, Reese P, Levine M, Sonnad S, Olthoff K, Shaked A, Abt P. “Implications of HCV Status on Kidney Graft Survival in the Settings of a Previous or Simultaneous Liver Transplant: The Role of Induction Therapy.” American Society of Transplant Surgeons, 10th Annual State of the Art Winter Symposium Ft. Lauderdale, FL Jan 2010.
3. Hsu J, Reese P, Levine M, Naji A, Abt P. “Increased Graft Failure in Right-Sided Donor Nephrectomies.” American Society of Transplant Surgeons, 10th Annual State of the Art Winter Symposium Ft. Lauderdale, FL Jan 2010.
4. Waters J, Cassuto J, Naji A, Levine M, Reese P, Bloom R, Abt P. “ABO Incompatible Kidney Transplantation: Graft Survival Trends.” American Society of Transplant Surgeons, 10th Annual State of the Art Winter Symposium Ft. Lauderdale, FL Jan 2010.
5. Levine MH, Ottmann S, O’Donnell P, Nangeroni J, Metin M, Furth E, Sonnad S, Abt P, Reddy R, Olthoff K, Shaked A. “Analysis of Unrecognized Tumor Burden in Patients Transplanted for Hepatocellular Carcinoma – Implications for Offering Resection to Cirrhotic Patients.” American Transplant Congress San Diego, CA May 2010.
6. Ottmann S, O’Donnell P, Nangeroni J, Metin M, Furth E, Sonnad S, Abt P, Reddy R, Olthoff K, Shaked A, Levine MH,. “Lymphovascular Invasion and Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Lessons Learned From Explant Liver Specimens.” American Transplant Congress San Diego, CA May 2010.
7. Redfield RR, Parsons R, Sonnad S, Levine M, Abt P. “A2 ABO Incompatible Kidney Transplantation: Short and Long-term Graft Survival.” American Transplant Congress San Diego, CA May 2010.
8. Levine MH, Wang Y, Hancock WW. “Class Specific Histone Deacetylase Inhibition Improves Tolerance of Renal Ischemia Reperfusion Injury.” 6th Academic Surgical Congress Huntington Beach, CA Feb 2011.
9. Levine MH, Wood A, Baluarte, HJ, Naji A, Reese P, Abt P. “Recipient Age at Transplant: Impact on Graft Survival of Highest Quality Deceased-Donor Renal Allografts.” Oral Presentation, American Society of Transplant Surgeons, 11th Annual State of the Art Winter Symposium, Hollywood, FL Jan 2011.