Matthew A. Firpo

Matthew A. Firpo, PhD

Languages spoken: English

Academic Information

Departments Primary - Surgery

Divisions: General Surgery

Matthew Firpo, PhD, is a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Utah where he directs the Surgery Research Laboratories. He is also a member of the Pancreas Cancer Research Program and the Experimental Therapeutics Program at Huntsman Cancer Institute.

Firpo's cancer research interests focus on improving intervention and detection strategies for pancreatic cancer. In collaboration with multiple cancer investigators, much of Firpo's efforts involve projects designed to investigate the underlying biology of pancreas cancer. The ultimate goal of these projects is to provide supporting justification for subsequent clinical uses.

Firpo earned his PhD in molecular biology from Brown University in 1994. He completed postdoctoral training in the Departments of Human Genetics and Biochemistry at the University of Utah before joining the Department of Surgery in February 2000.

Education History

Undergraduate University of Montana
 BA
Graduate Training University of Montana
 MS
Doctoral Training Brown University
 PhD
Postdoctoral Fellowship University of Utah
 Postdoctoral Fellow

Selected Publications

Journal Article

  1. Xu AA, Shapero KS, Geibig JA, Ma HK, Jones AR, Hanna M, Pitts DR, Hillas E, Firpo MA, Peattie RA (2021). Histologic evaluation of therapeutic responses in ischemic myocardium elicited by dual growth factor delivery from composite glycosaminoglycan hydrogels. Acta Histochem, 123(3), 151699.
  2. Granger JH, Granger MC, Firpo MA, Mulvihill SJ, Porter M (2013). Toward development of a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-based cancer diagnostic immunoassay panel. The Analyst, 138(2), 410-6.
  3. Poruk KE, Firpo MA, Adler DG, Mulvihill S (2013). Screening for pancreatic cancer: why, how, and who?. Annals of surgery, 257(1), 17-26.
  4. Swords DS, Mulvihill SJ, Brooke BS, Stoddard GJ, Firpo MA, Scaife C (2020). County-level Variation in Use of Surgery and Cancer-specific Survival for Stage I-II Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma. Annals of surgery, 272(6), 1102-1109.
  5. Miller CJ, Gounder SS, Kannan S, Goutam K, Muthusamy VR, Firpo MA, Symons JD, Paine R 3rd, Hoidal JR, Rajasekaran N (2012). Disruption of Nrf2/ARE signaling impairs antioxidant mechanisms and promotes cell degradation pathways in aged skeletal muscle. Biochimica et biophysica acta, 1822(6), 1038-50.
  6. Pike DB, Cai S, Pomraning KR, Firpo MA, Fisher RJ, Shu XZ, Prestwich GD, Peattie R (2006). Heparin-regulated release of growth factors in vitro and angiogenic response in vivo to implanted hyaluronan hydrogels containing VEGF and bFGF. Biomaterials, 27(30), 5242-51.
  7. Riley CM, Fuegy PW, Firpo MA, Shu XZ, Prestwich GD, Peattie R (2006). Stimulation of in vivo angiogenesis using dual growth factor-loaded crosslinked glycosaminoglycan hydrogels. Biomaterials, 27(35), 5935-43.
  8. Hosack LW, Firpo MA, Scott JA, Prestwich GD, Peattie R (2008). Microvascular maturity elicited in tissue treated with cytokine-loaded hyaluronan-based hydrogels. Biomaterials, 29(15), 2336-47.
  9. Elia R, Fuegy PW, VanDelden A, Firpo MA, Prestwich GD, Peattie R (2010). Stimulation of in vivo angiogenesis by in situ crosslinked, dual growth factor-loaded, glycosaminoglycan hydrogels. Biomaterials, 31(17), 4630-8.
  10. Martinovic A, Chen J, Sivas K, Owens S, Firpo MA, Park A (2021). Effect of Tympanostomy Tube Placement on Intraoperative Auditory Brainstem Response. Journal of the American Academy of Audiology, 32(2), 70-75.
  11. Wang AS, Lodi A, Rivera LB, Izquierdo-Garcia JL, Firpo MA, Mulvihill SJ, Tempero MA, Bergers G, Ronen S (2014). HR-MAS MRS of the pancreas reveals reduced lipid and elevated lactate and taurine associated with early pancreatic cancer. NMR in biomedicine, 27(11), 1361-70.
  12. Poruk KE, Firpo MA, Huerter LM, Scaife CL, Emerson LL, Boucher KM, Jones KA, Mulvihill S (2010). Serum platelet factor 4 is an independent predictor of survival and venous thromboembolism in patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention, 19(10), 2605-10.
  13. Almishaal A, Mathur PD, Franklin L, Shi K, Haller T, Martinovic A, Hirschmugl K, Earl BR, Zhang C, Yang J, Deans MR, Firpo MA, Park A (2020). Role of cochlear synaptopathy in cytomegalovirus infected mice and in children. International journal of pediatric otorhinolaryngology, 138, 110275.
  14. Seguin A, Jia X, Earl AM, Li L, Wallace J, Qiu A, Bradley T, Shrestha R, Troadec MB, Hockin M, Titen S, Warner DE, Dowdle PT, Wohlfahrt ME, Hillas E, Firpo MA, Phillips JD, Kaplan J, Paw BH, Barasch J, Ward D (2020). The mitochondrial metal transporters mitoferrin1 and mitoferrin2 are required for liver regeneration and cell proliferation in mice. The Journal of biological chemistry, 295(32), 11002-11020.
  15. Elia R, Newhide DR, Pedevillano PD, Reiss GR, Firpo MA, Hsu EW, Kaplan DL, Prestwich GD, Peattie R (2013). Silk-hyaluronan-based composite hydrogels: a novel, securable vehicle for drug delivery. Journal of biomaterials applications, 27(6), 749-62.
  16. Torgenson MJ, Shea JE, Firpo MA, Dai Q, Mulvihill SJ, Scaife C (2008). Natural history of pancreatic cancer recurrence following "curative" resection in athymic mice. The Journal of surgical research, 149(1), 57-61.
  17. Wang Y, Patel R, Ren C, Taggart MG, Firpo MA, Schleiss MR, Park A (2013). A comparison of different murine models for cytomegalovirus-induced sensorineural hearing loss. The Laryngoscope, 123(11), 2801-6.
  18. Haller TJ, Price MS, Lindsay SR, Hillas E, Seipp M, Firpo MA, Park A (2020). Effects of ganciclovir treatment in a murine model of cytomegalovirus-induced hearing loss. The Laryngoscope, 130(4), 1064-1069.
  19. Pecha PP, Almishaal AA, Mathur PD, Hillas E, Johnson T, Price MS, Haller T, Yang J, Rajasekaran NS, Firpo MA, Park A (2020). Role of Free Radical Formation in Murine Cytomegalovirus-Induced Hearing Loss. Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery, 162(5), 709-717.
  20. Sayahi T, Nielson C, Yu Y, Neuberger K, Seipp M, Firpo MA, Kelly K, Park A (2021). Airborne Aerosolized Mouse Cytomegalovirus From Common Otolaryngology Procedures: Implications for COVID-19 Infection. Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery, 164(3), 547-555.
  21. Deer EL, González-Hernández J, Coursen JD, Shea JE, Ngatia J, Scaife CL, Firpo MA, Mulvihill S (2010). Phenotype and genotype of pancreatic cancer cell lines. Pancreas, 39(4), 425-35.
  22. Poruk KE, Firpo MA, Scaife CL, Adler DG, Emerson LL, Boucher KM, Mulvihill S (2013). Serum osteopontin and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Pancreas, 42(2), 193-7.
  23. Firpo MA, Gay DZ, Granger SR, Scaife CL, DiSario JA, Boucher KM, Mulvihill S (2009). Improved diagnosis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma using haptoglobin and serum amyloid A in a panel screen. World journal of surgery, 33(4), 716-22.
  24. Swords DS, Mulvihill SJ, Brooke BS, Firpo MA, Scaife C (2020). Size and Importance of Socioeconomic Status-Based Disparities in Use of Surgery in Nonadvanced Stage Gastrointestinal Cancers. Annals of surgical oncology, 27(2), 333-341.
  25. Rollins MD, Sudarshan S, Firpo MA, Etherington BH, Hart BJ, Jackson HH, Jackson JD, Emerson LL, Yang DT, Mulvihill SJ, Glasgow R (2006). Anti-inflammatory effects of PPAR-gamma agonists directly correlate with PPAR-gamma expression during acute pancreatitis. Journal of gastrointestinal surgery, 10(8), 1120-30.
  26. Scaife CL, Shea JE, Dai Q, Firpo MA, Prestwich GD, Mulvihill S (2008). Synthetic extracellular matrix enhances tumor growth and metastasis in an orthotopic mouse model of pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Journal of gastrointestinal surgery, 12(6), 1074-80.
  27. Scaife CL, Shea JE, Dai Q, Firpo MA, Prestwich GD, Mulvihill S (2008). Synthetic extracellular matrix enhances tumor growth and metastasis in an orthotopic mouse model of pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Journal of gastrointestinal surgery, 12(6), 1074-80.
  28. von Figura G, Fukuda A, Roy N, Liku ME, Morris Iv JP, Kim GE, Russ HA, Firpo MA, Mulvihill SJ, Dawson DW, Ferrer J, Mueller WF, Busch A, Hertel KJ, Hebrok (2014). The chromatin regulator Brg1 suppresses formation of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Nature cell biology, 16(3), 255-67.
  29. Peattie RA, Pike DB, Yu B, Cai S, Shu XZ, Prestwich GD, Firpo MA, Fisher R (2008). Effect of gelatin on heparin regulation of cytokine release from hyaluronan-based hydrogels. Drug delivery, 15(6), 389-97.
  30. Peattie RA, Pike DB, Yu B, Cai S, Shu XZ, Prestwich GD, Firpo MA, Fisher R (2008). Effect of gelatin on heparin regulation of cytokine release from hyaluronan-based hydrogels. Drug delivery, 15(6), 389-97.
  31. Rajasekaran NS, Varadharaj S, Khanderao GD, Davidson CJ, Kannan S, Firpo MA, Zweier JL, Benjamin IJ (2011). Sustained activation of nuclear erythroid 2-related factor 2/antioxidant response element signaling promotes reductive stress in the human mutant protein aggregation cardiomyopathy in mice. Antioxidants & redox signaling, 14(6), 957-71.
  32. Rajasekaran NS, Varadharaj S, Khanderao GD, Davidson CJ, Kannan S, Firpo MA, Zweier JL, Benjamin I (2011). Sustained activation of nuclear erythroid 2-related factor 2/antioxidant response element signaling promotes reductive stress in the human mutant protein aggregation cardiomyopathy in mice. Antioxidants & redox signaling, 14(6), 957-71.
  33. Lee M, Martin H, Firpo MA, Demerath E (2011). Inverse association between adiposity and telomere length: The Fels Longitudinal Study. American journal of human biology, 23(1), 100-6.
  34. Jose RR, Elia R, Firpo MA, Kaplan DL, Peattie R (2012). Seamless, axially aligned, fiber tubes, meshes, microbundles and gradient biomaterial constructs. Journal of materials science. Materials in medicine, 23(11), 2679-95.
  35. Poruk KE, Gay DZ, Brown K, Mulvihill JD, Boucher KM, Scaife CL, Firpo MA, Mulvihill S (2013). The clinical utility of CA 19-9 in pancreatic adenocarcinoma: diagnostic and prognostic updates. Current molecular medicine, 13(3), 340-51.
  36. Fukuda A, Wang SC, Morris JP 4th, Folias AE, Liou A, Kim GE, Akira S, Boucher KM, Firpo MA, Mulvihill SJ, Hebrok (2011). Stat3 and MMP7 contribute to pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma initiation and progression. Cancer cell, 19(4), 441-55.
  37. Rajasekaran NS, Firpo MA, Milash BA, Weiss RB, Benjamin I (2008). Global expression profiling identifies a novel biosignature for protein aggregation R120GCryAB cardiomyopathy in mice. Physiological genomics, 35(2), 165-72.
  38. Rajasekaran NS, Firpo MA, Milash BA, Weiss RB, Benjamin I (2008). Global expression profiling identifies a novel biosignature for protein aggregation R120GCryAB cardiomyopathy in mice. Physiological genomics, 35(2), 165-72.
  39. Gounder SS, Kannan S, Devadoss D, Miller CJ, Whitehead KJ, Odelberg SJ, Firpo MA, Paine R 3rd, Hoidal JR, Abel ED, Rajasekaran N (2012). Impaired transcriptional activity of Nrf2 in age-related myocardial oxidative stress is reversible by moderate exercise training. PloS one, 7(9), e45697.
  40. Scaife CL, Shea J, Emerson L, Boucher K, Firpo MA, Beckerle MC, Mulvihill S (2010). Prognostic significance of PINCH signalling in human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. HPB, 12(5), 352-8.
  41. Keefe MD, Wang H, De La O JP, Khan A, Firpo MA, Murtaugh L (2012). beta-catenin is selectively required for the expansion and regeneration of mature pancreatic acinar cells in mice. Disease models & mechanisms, 5(4), 503-14.
  42. Rosati A, Basile A, D'Auria R, d'Avenia M, De Marco M, Falco A, Festa M, Guerriero L, Iorio V, Parente R, Pascale M, Marzullo L, Franco R, Arra C, Barbieri A, Rea D, Menichini G, Hahne M, Bijlsma M, Barcaroli D, Sala G, di Mola FF, di Sebastiano P, Todoric J, Antonucci L, Corvest V, Jawhari A, Firpo MA, Tuveson DA, Capunzo M, Karin M, De Laurenzi V, Turco M (2015). BAG3 promotes pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma growth by activating stromal macrophages. Nature communications, 6, 8695.
  43. Wilson MA, Orlandi RR, Firpo M (2011). Correlating matrix metalloproteinase-9 sinus secretion levels with tissue biopsy levels. International forum of allergy & rhinology, 1(2), 106-8.
  44. Park AH, Mann D, Error ME, Miller M, Firpo MA, Wang Y, Alder SC, Schleiss M (2013). Comparative analysis of detection methods for congenital cytomegalovirus infection in a Guinea pig model. JAMA otolaryngology-- head & neck surgery, 139(1), 82-6.
  45. Shi K, Purser JS, Germiller JA, Rampton JW, Firpo MA, Park A (2021). Gadolinium-based contrast agent for Magnetic Resonance Imaging as a predictor of postmeningitic hearing loss in children. International journal of pediatric otorhinolaryngology, 150, 110936.
  46. Suarez D, Kjar A, Scott B, Hillam K, Vargis E, Nielson C, Sommer E, Zhang E, Holley A, Traxler A, Hughes M, Wang Y, Firpo MA, Britt D, Park A (2024). Can Ganciclovir and Quercetin-P188 Ameliorate Cytomegalovirus Induced Hearing Loss?. The Laryngoscope, 134(3), 1457-1463.
  47. Hillam K, Suarez D, Nielson C, Traxler A, Sommer E, Winslow A, Holley A, Huang E, Hughes M, Firpo MA, Rower J, Park A (2024). Hearing Following Prolonged and Delayed Ganciclovir Treatment in a Murine Cytomegalovirus Model. The Laryngoscope, 134(1), 433-438.
  48. Nielson C, Kelly K, Attah R, Pei Z, Wang Y, Firpo MA, Park A (2023). Comparing Aerosol Generation in Human and Animal Tissues During Common Otolaryngology Procedures. Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery, 169(6), 1491-1498.
  49. Semaan A, Bernard V, Wong J, Makino Y, Swartzlander DB, Rajapakshe KI, Lee JJ, Officer A, Schmidt CM, Wu HH, Scaife CL, Affolter KE, Nachmanson D, Firpo MA, Yip-Schneider M, Lowy AM, Harismendy O, Sen S, Maitra A, Jakubek YA, Guerrero P (2023). Integrated Molecular Characterization of Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasms: An NCI Cancer Moonshot Precancer Atlas Pilot Project. Cancer research communications, 3(10), 2062-2073.
  50. Firpo MA, Boucher KM, Bleicher J, Khanderao GD, Rosati A, Poruk KE, Kamal S, Marzullo L, De Marco M, Falco A, Genovese A, Adler JM, De Laurenzi V, Adler DG, Affolter KE, Garrido-Laguna I, Scaife CL, Turco MC, Mulvihill S (2023). Multianalyte Serum Biomarker Panel for Early Detection of Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma. JCO clinical cancer informatics, 7, e2200160.
  51. Labuz DR, Lewis G, Fleming ID, Thompson CM, Zhai Y, Firpo MA, Leung D (2023). Targeted multi-omic analysis of human skin tissue identifies alterations of conventional and unconventional T cells associated with burn injury. eLife, 12,
  52. Veit JGS, Birru B, Wang Y, Singh R, Arrigali EM, Park R, Miller B, Firpo MA, Park AH, Serban M (2022). An Evaluation of the Drug Permeability Properties of Human Cadaveric In Situ Tympanic and Round Window Membranes. Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland), 15(9),
  53. Hernandez S, Parra ER, Uraoka N, Tang X, Shen Y, Qiao W, Jiang M, Zhang S, Mino B, Lu W, Pandurengan R, Haymaker C, Affolter K, Scaife CL, Yip-Schneider M, Schmidt CM, Firpo MA, Mulvihill SJ, Koay EJ, Wang H, Wistuba II, Maitra A, Solis LM, Sen (2022). Diminished Immune Surveillance during Histologic Progression of Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasms Offers a Therapeutic Opportunity for Cancer Interception. Clinical cancer research, 28(9), 1938-1947.
  54. Yu Y, Shi K, Nielson C, Graham EM, Price MS, Haller TJ, Carraro M, Firpo MA, Park AH, Harrison R (2022). Hearing loss caused by CMV infection is correlated with reduced endocochlear potentials caused by strial damage in murine models. Hearing research, 417, 108454.
  55. Kfoury P, Stout JC, McVicar SB, Sidesinger M, Jeon EK, Tonkovich K, Allen CM, Firpo MA, Park A (2025). Impact of COVID-19 on newborn hearing screening (NBHS) and early hearing detection and intervention (EHDI) services: A statewide analysis of differences and policy implications. International journal of pediatric otorhinolaryngology, 188, 112187.
  56. Kfoury P, Stout JC, Palacios VJ, Yang W, Molin NL, Firpo MA, Park A (2024). Perspectives on the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Research: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Pediatric Otolaryngologists. Cureus, 16(5), e60436.
  57. Huang EY, Park R, Park E, Firpo MA, Park A (2024). Comparing Satisfaction Among Providers Treating Both Pediatric and Adult Otolaryngology Patients. OTO open, 8(2), e141.

Review

  1. Otsuka KS, Nielson C, Firpo MA, Park AH, Beaudin A (2021). Early Life Inflammation and the Developing Hematopoietic and Immune Systems: The Cochlea as a Sensitive Indicator of Disruption. Cells, 10(12),