November 2025

ORTHOPAEDICS

FACULTY SPOTLIGHT: MATTHEW COLMAN, MD

Featuring: Matthew W. Colman, MD
​Northwestern Medicine welcomes spine surgeon Matthew W. Colman, MD, whose clinical and research expertise strengthens our commitment to advancing orthopaedic care. With a subspecialty in spine surgery—including spinal tumors—Dr. Colman brings a patient-first philosophy, minimally invasive techniques, and a deep focus on innovation and mentorship. 
What drew you to the Northwestern Medicine Department of Orthopaedics?
 
The Orthopaedic Department at Northwestern is one of the best in the world. Many of my original and most valued colleagues and mentors are now here, and it is a true joy to be able to join them at the apex of my career. This is a department and organization that is perfectly aligned with my values of high quality, personalized orthopedic care, cutting edge research and the training of tomorrow's orthopedic leaders. I truly couldn't be more excited to be a part of the Northwestern team.
 
What is your clinical focus within orthopaedic surgery?
 
My subspecialty focus is in spine surgery, where I evaluate and treat the full spectrum of neck and back problems, including spinal tumors. I use the latest technology, diagnostics, surgical approaches and other forms of personalized medicine to provide expert care which is as minimally invasive and patient-specific as possible. I treat my patients as though they were my own family and use a surgery-as-the-last-resort approach to offer the most conservative care possible. 
 
What do you see as your biggest opportunity in your new role?
 
I am humbled and honored to be part of a program with such rich traditions of providing best-in-class care with the patient first in mind. My biggest opportunity is to be additive in this mission. The Northwestern Center for Comprehensive Orthopaedic and Spine Care is unique in its combination of experts from both Orthopaedic and Neurosurgical Spine disciplines, and I look forward to helping grow our reputation as the go-to national and international center of spine and spine oncology care.
 
How do you see your role contributing to the growth and innovation of orthopaedic care at NM?
 
I am an innovator and early adopter of technology, but I also take a skeptic's eye with an emphasis on patient safety and true clinical benefit. There are many innovations and technologies which arise each year, but we must ensure we know the stakeholders, identify sources of bias and most importantly ensure the technology is truly solving a clinical need in a safe, effective and value-based way. This said, one of my orthopedic missions is to "leave it better than I found it." I aim to do that through pioneering and testing new surgical techniques, helping design the latest implants and materials, interfacing with basic scientists to bring lab technology to the bedside, and perhaps most importantly, mentoring and training the next generation of surgeons to lead. 
 
What are your research interests? What are you working on?
 
I am interested in a variety of clinical studies to improve outcomes in spine surgery. Specifically, I recently authored a study to optimize surgical technique and quality for a specific lumbar procedure called transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion. I am actively studying our understanding of instability in degenerative spondylolisthesis, one of the most common low-back conditions. Additionally, I am running several prospective clinical trials, one with the aim of optimizing postoperative pain control using a specific nerve block technique and another to evaluate a drug to limit bleeding in spine surgery. 
 
However, my research interests do not stop in the clinic or operating room. I believe in collaborative translational research with the brightest minds in basic science being key to true orthopedic innovation. I am currently a principal investigator on one project looking at artificial intelligence analysis of spine tumor (chordoma, chondrosarcoma) hisotological samples to determine biologic behavior of the tumors. Additionally, I am a principal investigator on another translational study investigating the PET (positron emission testing, normally used for tumors) signatures of degenerative discs in adult scoliosis.
 
Are there any current trends or technologies in orthopaedics that you’re particularly passionate about?
 
For spine tumors, I am very passionate about the rise of multidisciplinary care using the simultaneous advances of surgery, medical oncology / molecular medicine, and radiation oncology. Ongoing innovation in multiple fields has led to some really amazing treatment algorithms which limit invasiveness of surgery and keep even the most aggressive tumors in check for long periods. 
 
In non-tumor spine surgery, I am most excited about our increasing ability to use large data sets to predict outcomes. Using computational power not available to our human brains, we are increasingly able to predict the correct surgical approach, the correct implants and to assess how we are doing as surgeons both in and after the operating room to enhance patient outcomes. 
 
Outside of medicine, what keeps you inspired or grounded?
 
I am an outdoors-oriented person and enjoy skiing, running, cycling, fishing, and other pursuits with my wife, three children (14,12 and 9), and our English Setter, Rye. When long days at work or in the mountains get exhausting, you can find me following European soccer, Chicago sports, reading or playing chess.  
Matthew W. Colman, MD, associate professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Northwestern Medicine

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