Nicholas Matthew Bernthal, MD, known as Nick Bernthal, is an American orthopedic oncologist, surgeon scientist, educator, and academic leader who combines cancer surgery, medical research, and patient care. He has spent his career treating malignant musculoskeletal cancers and finding strategies to prevent surgical complications as UCLA’s Department of Orthopedic Surgery Chair and Executive Medical Director.
It’s striking how different Nicholas Bernthal’s tale is from his siblings’ entertainment professions. Nick Bernthal is known for academic medicine, but Jon and Tom Bernthal are famous actors and businessmen. He went from athletics and worldwide public health to orthopedic surgery, cancer research, teaching, and global service.
Basic Information
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | Nicholas Matthew Bernthal, MD |
| Common name | Nick Bernthal |
| Profession | Orthopaedic oncologist, surgeon scientist, professor, academic leader |
| Current leadership | Chair and Executive Medical Director, UCLA Department of Orthopaedic Surgery |
| Birthplace | Washington, D.C. area |
| Childhood home | Cabin John, Maryland |
| Education | Princeton University, Weill Cornell Medicine, UCLA, University of Utah |
| Medical specialty | Orthopaedic oncology and musculoskeletal tumors |
| Wife | Julie T. Bernthal, MD |
| Children | Jack, Georgia, and Cole |
| Brothers | Tom Bernthal and Jon Bernthal |
| Father | Eric Lawrence “Rick” Bernthal |
| Mother | Joan Lurie Bernthal |
| Known for | Cancer surgery, implant infection research, global orthopaedic initiatives |
Growing Up in the Bernthal Family
Nicholas is the youngest of three brothers in a close-knit Jewish family from the Washington, D.C., region. He grew up in Cabin John, Maryland, in a household where education, service, community involvement, and helping others were important values.
His father, Eric Lawrence “Rick” Bernthal, worked as a lawyer with Latham & Watkins and later became involved in animal welfare leadership. He served as chair of the board of directors of the Humane Society of the United States. His mother, Joan Lurie Bernthal, worked as a social worker and remained considerably more private than her sons.
The family environment appears to have encouraged both achievement and generosity. The Bernthal household also had an unusually open-door approach to family life, including fostering children. Rick and Joan later became grandparents to 11 grandchildren, extending the family’s emphasis on connection across another generation.
Nicholas also grew up with an accomplished extended family. His paternal grandfather, Murray Bernthal, was a musician and producer. Another notable family connection is his cousin Adam Schlesinger, the late musician and songwriter associated with Fountains of Wayne.
Nicholas Bernthal and His Brother Tom Bernthal
Thomas “Tom” Bernthal is Nicholas’s oldest brother. Born in 1974, Tom developed a career in journalism and business rather than medicine or entertainment.
He worked as an NBC News producer and became an Emmy winner before founding Kelton Global, a strategic consulting firm. His professional life eventually moved into the world of business strategy and entrepreneurship.
Tom is also known for his marriage to Sheryl Sandberg, the former Facebook and Meta chief operating officer. They married in 2022. Tom has three children from a previous marriage.
The contrast between the brothers is striking. Tom built a reputation around media, strategy, and business, while Nick entered medicine and Jon entered acting. Yet the three brothers have remained closely connected despite following dramatically different professional paths.
Nicholas Bernthal and Jon Bernthal
Jon Bernthal, born Jonathan Edward Bernthal on September 20, 1976, is Nicholas’s middle brother and the most recognizable Bernthal to the general public.
Jon became an internationally known actor through roles such as Shane Walsh in The Walking Dead and Frank Castle, also known as the Punisher, in Marvel productions. His performances have made the Bernthal name familiar far beyond the medical and business worlds.
Jon has spoken warmly about Nick and described him as an exceptional athlete who eventually became a highly respected cancer surgeon. Their relationship has repeatedly surfaced in interviews and on Jon’s podcast Real Ones, where the brothers have discussed medicine, family, loss, service, and the emotional realities of demanding careers.
Their relationship is more than a famous actor mentioning his successful brother. The two have worked together through their nonprofit, Drops Fill Buckets, which grew from their shared interest in practical humanitarian work.
Jon is married to Erin Angle, a trauma nurse and niece of professional wrestler Kurt Angle. They have three children, Henry, Billy, and Adeline.
Nicholas Bernthal and Julie T. Bernthal
Nicholas’s wife, Julie T. Bernthal, MD, is also a physician. She is an endocrinologist specializing in diabetes, endocrinology, and metabolism and has worked within the UCLA medical system.
Julie earned her medical degree from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA in 2013. She completed her internal medicine residency in 2016 and her endocrinology fellowship in 2020. She is board certified in both internal medicine and endocrinology.
Their marriage creates an interesting professional partnership. Both are physicians, yet their specialties address very different areas of medicine. Nicholas works primarily with cancer, bones, soft tissue, reconstruction, and surgical complications, while Julie focuses on hormonal and metabolic health.
Together they have three children, Jack, Georgia, and Cole. Family appearances, including a 2026 Dodgers event, have offered occasional glimpses of their life outside the hospital.
The family lives in the Los Angeles area, around Mar Vista and Venice Beach, with their dogs.
From Princeton Basketball to Medicine
Nicholas’s road to medicine was not completely straightforward. From 1998 to 2002, he attended Princeton University, where he studied politics, graduated magna cum laude, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
He also played basketball for Princeton. Athletics appears to have been more than a hobby for him. His competitive background later became part of the way his brother Jon described him.
During college, Nicholas spent a semester at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. In 2001, he became involved in HIV/AIDS policy work with the post apartheid government. That experience exposed him to public health challenges and underserved communities on an international scale.
For me, this period helps explain the direction of his later career. His story was not simply about becoming a surgeon. It was about finding a way to combine science, service, and direct human impact.
Medical Education and Orthopaedic Oncology
Nicholas graduated from Weill Cornell Medicine in 2006 with Alpha Omega Alpha honors.
He then studied medicine at UCLA. He did orthopedic surgery residency from 2007 to 2012 after a 2006–2007 general surgery internship. He did an arthroplasty infection research fellowship during residency.
He joined the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah for musculoskeletal oncology and sarcoma fellowship training in 2012. By 2013, he was teaching at UCLA.
His specialty encompasses difficult orthopedic issues. He treats sarcomas, bone and soft tissue tumors, pediatric cancers, metastatic disease, and patients who need substantial reconstruction following tumor excision.
Leadership at UCLA
Nicholas steadily advanced through the UCLA academic system.
He became Chief of Musculoskeletal Oncology and later took on responsibilities as Director of the Orthopaedic Oncology Fellowship and Director of the Global Orthopaedic Initiative. In May 2021, he became Interim Chair and Executive Medical Director of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery.
In November 2023, he was appointed the permanent Chair and Executive Medical Director.
The position places him at the center of a large academic medical department where clinical care, research, education, and administration all compete for attention. His career therefore extends well beyond the operating room.
He also serves as an attending surgeon at UCLA Medical Center and UCLA Santa Monica and has been connected with the Luskin Orthopaedic Institute for Children.
Research Into Surgical Infection Prevention
One of Nicholas Bernthal’s most important research interests is preventing infection after orthopaedic implantation.
Cancer patients undergoing major reconstructive surgery can face substantial infection risks. Large implants, extensive surgery, chemotherapy, compromised tissues, and complex wounds can create an environment where bacterial infections become particularly difficult to prevent and treat.
His NIH funded laboratory has investigated antimicrobial implant coatings, tumor biology, oncology implants, imaging, immunology, and functional outcomes after reconstruction.
One especially notable direction involves a customizable antimicrobial coating that can be prepared in the operating room in less than 10 minutes. Preclinical research demonstrated impressive infection prevention in animal models, with the broader goal of moving the technology toward clinical testing.
The concept is deceptively simple: rather than waiting for an infection to appear, make the implant itself part of the defense. In orthopaedic oncology, that could become a powerful shift.
A Career Built Around Global Service
Nicholas and Jon Bernthal co-founded Drops Fill Buckets, a nonprofit focused on practical health and education projects.
The organization’s philosophy emphasizes specific projects and tangible outcomes rather than simply collecting money for a broad charitable mission. Nicholas’s international experiences, including his work in South Africa and earlier exposure to medical needs in India, helped shape this outlook.
His global orthopaedic work also reflects a broader idea about medicine. A successful surgeon can operate on one patient at a time, but education, infrastructure, and international partnerships can potentially affect entire communities.
Honors and Professional Recognition
Nicholas has accumulated numerous academic and professional distinctions during his career.
Among them are the American Orthopaedic Association American British Canadian Traveling Fellowship, the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award, Young Investigator recognition from the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society, the AAOS Game Changer Award, and faculty teaching honors.
He has also repeatedly appeared on professional Top Doctor and Super Doctors lists, including recognition in Southern California during the 2022 to 2026 period.
These distinctions reflect several sides of his work. He is recognized not only as a surgeon but also as a researcher, teacher, mentor, and institutional leader.
Nicholas Bernthal’s Family and Public Life
Nicholas’ public career is not entertainment-based like Jon Bernthal’s. UCLA, medical research, professional organizations, charitable activity, and family appearances are his main sources of publicity.
His Healthcare Appreciation Nite first pitch at Dodger Stadium in April 2026 was remarkable. Julie, their children, his brother Tom, and a nephew attended.
This illustrates the Bernthal family’s unique combination of worlds. A Hollywood star, a business titan, and a top academic surgeon can attend a family gathering.
Nick’s public persona remains incredibly concentrated. Patients, research labs, trainees, operating rooms, and cancer therapy improvement are his main associations.
Nicholas Bernthal’s Net Worth and Financial Status
There is no reliable publicly reported figure for Nicholas Bernthal’s personal net worth.
His income likely reflects several professional responsibilities, including clinical practice, academic leadership, research, teaching, and administrative work. As the chair of a major orthopaedic surgery department and an established surgeon in a specialized field, he occupies a highly compensated professional position.
However, his finances should not be confused with those of entertainment celebrities. There is no well-established public figure for his personal wealth, investments, or annual compensation, and he has maintained a much more private financial profile than his famous brother Jon.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Nicholas Matthew Bernthal?
Nicholas Matthew Bernthal, MD, is an American orthopaedic oncologist, surgeon scientist, professor, and academic medical leader. He is the Chair and Executive Medical Director of the UCLA Department of Orthopaedic Surgery.
Is Nicholas Bernthal related to actor Jon Bernthal?
Yes. Nicholas is the younger brother of actor Jon Bernthal. Their other brother is businessman Tom Bernthal.
Who is Nicholas Bernthal’s wife?
Nicholas Bernthal is married to Julie T. Bernthal, MD, an endocrinologist associated with UCLA Health who specializes in diabetes, endocrinology, and metabolism.
How many children does Nicholas Bernthal have?
Nicholas and Julie Bernthal have three children named Jack, Georgia, and Cole.
Where did Nicholas Bernthal attend college?
He attended Princeton University from 1998 to 2002, where he studied politics, graduated magna cum laude, and participated in basketball.
Where did Nicholas Bernthal attend medical school?
He attended Weill Cornell Medicine from 2002 to 2006 and graduated with Alpha Omega Alpha honors.
What is Nicholas Bernthal’s medical specialty?
His specialty is orthopaedic oncology, including the treatment of bone and soft tissue tumors, sarcomas, pediatric cancers, metastatic bone disease, and complex reconstructive cases.
What is Nicholas Bernthal researching?
His research includes antimicrobial implant coatings, orthopaedic implant infections, tumor biology, oncology reconstruction, immunology, imaging, and functional outcomes after major orthopaedic procedures.
When did Nicholas Bernthal become chair of UCLA Orthopaedic Surgery?
He became Interim Chair and Executive Medical Director in May 2021 and was named the permanent Chair and Executive Medical Director in November 2023.
Did Nicholas Bernthal play sports?
Yes. He played basketball at Princeton University and was also recognized as an accomplished athlete during his youth.
What is Drops Fill Buckets?
Drops Fill Buckets is a nonprofit founded by Nicholas and Jon Bernthal that supports practical health and education projects. Its approach emphasizes targeted projects and tangible community benefits.
Is Nicholas Bernthal a celebrity?
He is not primarily a celebrity in the entertainment sense. His public reputation comes from academic medicine, orthopaedic oncology, research, leadership, teaching, and humanitarian work. His connection to Jon Bernthal has nevertheless brought additional public attention to his career.
Does Nicholas Bernthal have a publicly known net worth?
No precise personal net worth has been reliably disclosed. His professional position suggests substantial earnings, but his personal finances remain private.
