Matthew Triplette, MD, MPH
Located at
Working in healthcare allows me to pursue a passion for science and discovery to improve overall population health for the future while also developing individual therapeutic relationships to help patients and families deal with disease with the best technology of today. Cancer patients and their families show the best of humanity. Their ability to face their illnesses with courage and dignity constantly inspires me. My primary research is to better understand how best to utilize lung cancer screening to save the most lives and make this an effective service for eligible patients. I also study lung disease and lung cancer in immune-suppressed patients, such as persons living with HIV, to understand unique risk factors in these populations. In the realm of lung cancer where we diagnose most cancers in advanced and incurable stages, I hope improvements in screening and detection lead to more early diagnoses and improved survival. Outside of work, I love spending time outdoors in and around Seattle. I enjoy hiking, biking, running and skiing. I love to travel (particularly for the food!) I also enjoy hanging out with my family and my pets.
Provider background
Specialty: Pulmonology
High risk prevention, thoracic cancers
When I care for patients in the intensive care unit and in pulmonary clinics at the University of Washington and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, I am continuously amazed by our nurses, housestaff, advanced practice providers, technicians and other staff members who work together to provide comprehensive and compassionate care for our patients. My goal is to provide leadership in patient care worthy of their efforts.
Diseases treated
Stories
Nina McEachem picked up smoking as a teen living in Ketchikan, Alaska. She had entered foster care at age 11 after her mother died of leukemia and her father, a school janitor, was overwhelmed caring for five children. In her community—McEachem has both Alaska Native and Aleutian heritage—most people that she knew smoked. Her father was a heavy smoker and experienced a heart attack when McEachem was 19; before that, she said she and her eighth-grade friends smoked behind the school.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of death in the U.S. and highly treatable when caught early. But less than 15% of people at high risk for lung cancer receive potentially life-saving screening.
Research
Clinical trials
We make promising new treatments available to you through studies called clinical trials led by Fred Hutch doctors. Many of these trials at Fred Hutch have led to FDA-approved treatments and have improved standards of care globally. Together, you and your doctor can decide if a study is right for you.
Publications
Many of our Fred Hutch doctors conduct ongoing research to improve standards of patient care. Their work is evaluated by other doctors and selected for publication to the United States National Library of Medicine, the largest medical library in the world. See scientific papers this Fred Hutch provider has written.
Your care team
Insurance
Fred Hutch accepts most national private health insurance plans as well as Medicare. We also accept Medicaid for people from Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho. We are working to ensure that everyone, no matter what their financial situation, has access to the care they need.
