Matthew Pullen, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and International Medicine

Contact Info
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and International Medicine
Infectious Diseases Physician
Summary
Dr. Matthew Pullen completed both his medical education and residency at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, Tennessee, followed by an infectious diseases and international medicine fellowship at the University of Minnesota. Prior to fellowship, his primary areas of research were novel sequencing techniques and group A streptococcus. During fellowship, his research has primarily focused on tuberculosis, cryptococcal meningitis, and COVID-19. He was awarded an NIH Fogarty Global Health Fellowship, allowing him to spend a year working on tuberculosis whole genome sequencing projects in Uganda, as well as performing clinical duties as a consultant and providing medical education lectures.
Expertise
- Tuberculosis
- Cryptococcal meningitis
- COVID-19
Awards & Recognition
Professional Associations
Research
Research Summary/Interests
- Data science
- Epidemiology
- Biodefense
Publications
- Boulware DR, Pullen MF, Bangdiwala AS, Pastick KA, Lofgren SM, Okafor EC, Skipper CP, Nascene AA, Nicol MR, Abassi M, Engen NW, Cheng MP, LaBar D, Lother SA, MacKenzie LJ, Drobot G, Marten N, Zarychanski R, Kelly LE, Schwartz IS, McDonald EG, Rajasingham R, Lee TC, Hullsiek KH. A Randomized Trial of Hydroxychloroquine as Postexposure Prophylaxis for Covid-19. N Engl J Med. 2020 Aug 6;383(6):517-525. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2016638. Epub 2020 Jun 3. PMID: 32492293; PMCID: PMC7289276.
- Pullen MF, Pastick KA, Williams DA, Nascene AA, Bangdiwala AS, Okafor EC, Hullsiek KH, Skipper CP, Lofgren SM, Engen N, Abassi M, McDonald EG, Lee TC, Rajasingham R, Boulware DR. Lessons Learned From Conducting Internet-Based Randomized Clinical Trials During a Global Pandemic. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2020 Dec 28;8(2):ofaa602. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofaa602. PMID: 33553471; PMCID: PMC7798626.
- Pullen MF, Hullsiek KH, Rhein J, Musubire AK, Tugume L, Nuwagira E, Abassi M, Ssebambulidde K, Mpoza E, Kiggundu R, Akampurira A, Nabeta HW, Schutz C, Evans EE, Rajasingham R, Skipper CP, Pastick KA, Williams DA, Morawski BM, Bangdiwala AS, Meintjes G, Muzoora C, Meya DB, Boulware DR. Cerebrospinal Fluid Early Fungicidal Activity as a Surrogate Endpoint for Cryptococcal Meningitis Survival in Clinical Trials. Clin Infect Dis. 2020 Oct 23;71(7):e45-e49. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciaa016. PMID: 31912875; PMCID: PMC7755087.
- Pullen MF, Skipper CP, Hullsiek KH, Bangdiwala AS, Pastick KA, Okafor EC, Lofgren SM, Rajasingham R, Engen NW, Galdys A, Williams DA, Abassi M, Boulware DR. Symptoms of COVID-19 Outpatients in the United States. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2020 Jun 30;7(7):ofaa271. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofaa271. PMID: 33117855; PMCID: PMC7337847.
- Rajasingham R, Bangdiwala AS, Nicol MR, Skipper CP, Pastick KA, Axelrod ML, Pullen MF, Nascene AA, Williams DA, Engen NW, Okafor EC, Rini BI, Mayer IA, McDonald EG, Lee TC, Li P, MacKenzie LJ, Balko JM, Dunlop SJ, Hullsiek KH, Boulware DR, Lofgren SM. Hydroxychloroquine as pre-exposure prophylaxis for COVID-19 in healthcare workers: a randomized trial. medRxiv [Preprint]. 2020 Sep 18:2020.09.18.20197327. doi: 10.1101/2020.09.18.20197327. Update in: Clin Infect Dis. 2020 Oct 17;: PMID: 32995820; PMCID: PMC7523161.
Teaching
Academic Interests and Focus
Clinical
Clinical Interests
COVID-19; Tuberculosis; Cryptococcal meningitis