Dr. Matt Elson

Growing up, Dr. Matt Elson had an insider’s view of what exemplary surgical care looked and felt like.

“My mom is a physician assistant in cardiac surgery, and it was through her that I was first exposed to surgery and medicine in general,” he said. “She has been a great inspiration and example to me and is one of the reasons why I chose to become a doctor and a surgeon.”

An Arlington native, Dr. Elson graduated from Martin High School and then attended the University of Oklahoma, where he majored in zoology, graduated summa cum laude, and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

When he applied to medical school, the career experience of his mother, Jackie Elson, at Texas Health Heart & Vascular Hospital continued to resonate, steering him toward the surgical field.

“I had an interest in surgery coming in, and my experiences here at UT Southwestern confirmed this,” Dr. Elson said. “I enjoyed the patients I was working with, being able to make direct benefits for their health, and working with the surgical team. Early hours and long days seemed like much less because I truly enjoyed what I was doing. The surgical faculty were inspiring and some of the most well-rounded physicians I knew.”

That inspiration rubbed off, leading to Dr. Elson being honored with the 2018 Hudson-Penn Award for Excellence in Surgery, which recognizes a senior medical student who has demonstrated excellence in the specialty of surgery. The Hudson-Penn Award, established in 1979, is named for Dr. Lee Hudson, Chief of Surgery at Parkland Memorial Hospital when UT Southwestern was founded, and for Robert Penn, Dr. Hudson’s brother-in-law. The award recognizes academic achievement, outstanding clinical skills, and a caring attitude toward patients.

“I am extremely honored. It was very humbling, knowing all the excellent physicians that are in my class,” Dr. Elson said. “I look up to so many of the faculty here, and they have been wonderful mentors and role models, so this recognition really means a lot.”

“During the surgery clerkship, he was a hardworking self-starter who often assumed additional responsibility in the care of patients and demonstrated technical skills at the level of an intern in surgery,” said Dr. Rohit Sharma, Assistant Professor of Surgery. “Matt’s personal attributes and academic achievements not only make him an outstanding individual and student, but also highly deserving of this distinction.”

While at UTSW, Dr. Elson completed clinical research with Dr. Kemp Kernstine, Professor and Chief of the Division of Thoracic Surgery. Those efforts led to several regional and national poster presentations comparing robotic surgery to techniques in video-assisted thoracic surgery and thoracotomy.

“Matt is focused, insightful, organized, and able to think independently. He is extraordinarily mature and responsible,” said Dr. Kernstine. “Matt is a team player and works extremely well with others. He is also a superb communicator and thoughtful in his analysis.”

Dr. Kernstine said that Dr. Elson adapted well to both rigors and opportunities. “Matt learned how to create and manage databases, then learned biostatistics to analyze the results from the data,” he said. “Matt has aspirations to be a cardiothoracic surgeon. I hope that he pursues his passion for clinical research and continues in an academic career in cardiothoracic surgery.”

Dr. Elson also served as a tutor for the Anatomy lab while in Medical School. He thrived academically, being selected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society as a third-year medical student. Dr. Elson, who matched at UT Southwestern for his surgery residency, hopes to later pursue a fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery and go into academic medicine.

Away from his medical education, Dr. Elson tries to carve out some free time to enjoy triathlons and hiking. His wife of four years, Julianne, is a first-grade teacher.

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Dr. Kernstine holds the Robert Tucker Hayes Foundation Distinguished Chair in Cardiothoracic Surgery.