Dr. Matthew Powell

Dr. Powell completed his undergraduate work at Washington State University followed by medical school at Michigan State University. He then completed his residency in OBGYN at Ohio State University in 1999, followed by a three-year fellowship in Gynecologic Oncology at Washington University in St. Louis. He joined the faculty in 2002 and rose through the ranks to Professor, becoming a valued member of the department who embodies the tripartite mission.


Dr. Powell is the highest volume surgeon in the department with a broad regional referral base because of his exceptional surgical skills in complex and radical gynecologic procedures. He is also recognized nationally and internationally as a leading clinical trials specialist at the forefront of developing new chemotherapy treatments for gynecologic malignancies. Based on his clinical trial expertise, Dr. Powell serves on the NCI’s Gynecologic Cancer Steering Committee and is Chair of the NRG Oncology Uterine Corpus Committee, the largest NCI-funded cooperative group for gynecologic cancer trials. Most recently, his leadership in clinical trials have produced two-immunotherapy trials, published back-to-back in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2023. These studies have changed the paradigm for treating advanced and recurrent endometrial cancer.


Dr. Powell is also an outstanding educator, mentor, and leader. Most of his educational activities occur in the operating room and as a result, he is one of the most important surgical educators in the department. Since joining the faculty in 2002, Dr. Powell has helped train over 35 gynecologic oncology fellows, including 14 who benefited from his leadership as the Gynecologic Oncology Fellowship Director from 2008-2017. Dr. Powell led the division as Chief of Gynecologic Oncology from 2015 – 2024. During that time he recruited four former resident/fellow trainees to join the division.