Joseph Scalea, MD

Dr. Scalea is a board-certified surgeon specializing in kidney, pancreas, liver, and islet cell transplantation. Dr. Scalea's patient care philosophy is to treat his patients with a meticulous focus on excellence and compassionate care. His clinical area of expertise is in abdominal organ transplantation, with a special interest in kidney, pancreas, and islet cell transplantation. Dr. Scalea has achieved outstanding results in his simultaneous kidney and pancreas (SPK) transplant recipients. At MUSC Health, he is the Surgical Director of the Kidney Transplant Program and the Director of Hepatology, Nephrology, and Transplant ICCE Quality and Innovation.

Dr. Scalea's research interests focus on improving outcomes and access to care for patients needing life-saving transplantation and researching strategies to achieve immune tolerance in allogeneic solid organ transplantation. He received international notoriety in 2019 for pioneering drones for organ transplants. As the inaugural Vice Chair of Surgery for Innovation, Dr. Scalea will expand his experience in clinical medicine, academic leadership, commercialization, and innovation to help translate innovative ideas from the laboratory to industry.

Dr. Scalea received his medical degree and surgical training from the University of Maryland and completed his transplant fellowship at the University of Wisconsin and his post-doctoral fellowship at the Harvard Medical School, Transplantation Biology Research Center.

When not in the clinic or laboratory, Dr. Scalea enjoys painting and performing music. His artworks are currently on display in Baltimore and Washington, D.C.