Pulmonary Tuberculosis
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Physicians with Baylor Medicine provide inpatient consultation services at Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center, Texas Children's Pavilion for Women, Houston Methodist Hospital, Kindred Hospital, and Specialty Select Hospital, along with outpatient Infectious Diseases services at Baylor Medicine McNair Campus.
Physicians credentialed with the Harris Health System provide inpatient consultation services at Ben Taub Hospital, outpatient HIV-related services at Thomas Street Medical Center, and outpatient Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine services at the Smith Clinic.
Physicians credentialed with Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center provide both inpatient and outpatient consultations. MEDVAMC outpatient clinic offers veterans a wide variety of services including general infectious disease consultations, management of chronic hepatitis, primary care to HIV-infected patients, follow-up of patients on outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy and evaluation of transplant patients.
Physicians affiliated with MD Anderson Cancer Center provide both inpatient consultations and outpatient clinic services at their institution.
Our award-winning faculty members provide excellent patient care, train the next generation of infectious disease specialists, conduct research that advances our knowledge of infectious diseases, and translate that knowledge to clinical care.
We see patients referred from all over the world with all types of infections, including inpatient consultations for those with severe infections related to complications from other diseases or surgical procedures, and outpatients with infections that are difficult to diagnose and treat.
We deliver excellent care through state-of-the-art treatments and heartfelt compassion for each individual we treat. Through our computerized medical record system, we can instantly communicate with other specialists involved with each patient, improving collaboration and the quality of care delivered.
Division Of Pediatric Infectious Diseases
The Pediatric Division of Infectious Diseases provides outpatient and inpatient care for infants, children, and adolescents with illness of known or suspected infectious etiology. Clinical care activities may include both infectious diseases that are difficult to diagnose and those requiring hospitalization such as bloodstream infections, meningitis, serious pneumonias, and viral diseases.
The Division serves as a center for training and education for hospital clinical staff, providing leadership for antibiotic administration and managing the Hospital Infection Control program. It also operates the Diagnostic Virology Laboratory that provides service both locally and nationally. The Division leads the Department of Pediatrics in funding of both clinical and basic research activities. Its 18 faculty members are conducting numerous NIH and industry sponsored studies in all areas of infectious disease. Major research interests include the following:
Pediatric HIV infection - pathogenesis, drug resistance, breast milk transmission, nutritional micronutrient and antioxidant assessment and the epidemiology of adolescent infections
Cytomegalovirus - pathogenesis and transmission mechanisms of congenital CMV, predictors of adverse outcomes, mechanisms of hearing loss, and therapy and vaccine development
Herpes Simplex Virus - pathogenic mechanisms, therapy and vaccine development, and use in gene therapy
Antiviral research - animal models for viral diseases, clinical trial methodology, host resistance to viral-induced diseases, viral assembly, and molecular epidemiology
General infectious diseases - perinatal infections, streptococcus pneumonia, respiratory syncytial virus, and Varicella-Zoster virus
In addition to its University focused activities, the Division also houses the Central Office for the Collaborative Anti-viral Study Group (CASG), a multi-institutional research group which focuses on clinical trials of anti-viral drugs in both pediatric and adult populations.
Patient CarePolicy for Management of Unvaccinated Pediatric Patients Being Referred for Care by UAB Department of Pediatrics Faculty
Immunization Schedules for 2021
ResearchPediatric Infectious Disease Research
Vaccines Work! Click here to see why
Useful LinksUAB HospitalChildren's of AlabamaPediatric Infectious Diseases SocietyInfectious Diseases Society of AmericaThe Society of Healthcare Epidemiology of AmericaAmerican Academy of Pediatrics
Faculty & Staff Division Co-DirectorRichard Whitley, M.D.
Division Co-DirectorDavid Kimberlin, M.D.
StaffSheridan DunnAdministrative Associatesjdunn@uabmc.Edu 205.638.2573
Faculty ListInfectious Disease Faculty
Infectious Disease In Public Health
Welcome to the Infectious Diseases Epidemiology Group in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health.
Our distinguished infectious disease faculty have experience in the biological, behavioral, and social aspects of infection and diseases, with work in social epidemiology and geospatial analysis of infection in urban and other regions, classic studies to unravel pathogenesis (biological path from infection to disease), identification of risk factors for acquiring infection, and predictive modeling of infection incidence that combines knowledge in all of these areas of enquiry.
We are a diverse group with interests that range from COVID-19, to healthcare associated infection (C. Diff), to HIV and STI prevention, to neglected tropical diseases, to the natural history of chronic viral infections, to evaluation of vaccine efficacy and vaccine preventable diseases, to HIV clinical trials.
We hope that we can excite you about the study of infectious diseases—the etiology, modeling of incidence, and intervention design/strategies.
What is Infectious Disease?Infectious Disease is the study of human and animal diseases caused by microorganisms.
Students studying infectious disease at Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health take courses in areas such as microbiology, epidemiology, health surveillance and patient safety.
Why Study Infectious Disease at Drexel Dornsife?Drexel Dornsife's award-winning faculty in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and faculty in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health conduct infectious disease research in communities across the United States and the world. They teach infectious disease through principles and practice to students in infectious disease programs.
Today's critical need to understand infectious disease is translating into career opportunities for public health professionals. Data shows that "40% of infection preventionists are expected to retire in the next five to 10 years," according to Sarah Smathers, MPH, CIC, FAPIC, affiliate faculty and co-director of Dornsife's Certificate in the Infectious Diseases Prevention and Control.
A career in Infectious Disease means "you're always learning. You never know everything there is to know in this field. And just when you think you do, there's a new pathogen to learn about," Smathers told Infection Control Today about her work as a system director at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
Dornsife Alumni Career OutcomesJob titles and companies that Dornsife alumni work for include:
Learn more about the future of careers in infectious disease and opportunities at Drexel Dornsife.
Infectious Disease Programs Master's in Infection Prevention and ControlNew! This fully online Master of Science (MS) in Infection Prevention and Control prepares students for leadership positions in the fast-growing field of infectious disease.
Certificate in Infectious Disease Prevention and ControlThe fully online Certificate in Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, designed for working professionals, focuses on fundamental content in infectious disease, epidemiology and surveillance, and patient safety. Credits from this online certificate can then be rolled into the MS in Infection Prevention and Control.
"Pathogens I & II were the most comprehensive courses I've had, and they were the most impactful to my current position. I really appreciate all the work that Dr. Chernak put into the certificate courses."
-- Certificate in Infectious Disease Prevention and Control student Sara Spear
Infectious Disease and Population Health MinorThe Infectious Disease and Population Health Minor is intended to prepare students to work in the field of infectious disease prevention and control in public health, health care, and other nonprofit settings. It is open to all Drexel graduate students in all schools and colleges.
"The Infectious Disease minor prepared me and allowed me to jump right into my position.
Compared to another colleague who started around the same time, I really feel like the courses from the I minor gave me an edge. Dr. Chernak's Microbes class and textbooks have been a huge resource for me. I also think Professor Smather's class was a huge help since she covered a lot of the NHSN definitions and caveats through the exercises we worked on in her class."
-- Dornsife alum Claire Lichius, MPH, Infection Preventionist at UPMC in Pittsburgh, PA
Core Faculty in Infectious Disease at Drexel Dornsife Joseph Amon, PhD, MSPHJoseph Amon is the Director of the Office of Global Health. He has conducted research on how (and why) specific populations, and diseases, are neglected, and on the impact of political determinants, such as laws, and their enforcement, on health.
Infectious disease research interests: The role of civil society and the response to infectious disease outbreaks and environmental health threats
Esther Chernak, MD, MPH, FACPEster Chernak is the director of the Center for Public Health Readiness and Communication (CPHRC) at Dornsife and co-director of Dornsife's Certificate in the Infectious Diseases Prevention and Control.
Her work focuses on initiatives that enhance public health and health care capacity at the local and state level, improve the preparedness of at-risk communities, build community resilience through partnerships between public health and community health care and social service organizations, and facilitate emergency risk communication.
Infectious disease research interests: Emergency preparedness
Neal D. Goldstein, PhD, MBIWith a background in biomedical informatics, Neal Goldstein focuses on computational approaches in complex data settings to understand infectious disease transmission among vulnerable populations including children and sexual and gender minorities. This has been demonstrated through his work in HIV, healthcare associated infections, and vaccination and vaccine-preventable diseases.
Infectious disease research interests: Computational approaches to understand infectious disease transmission among vulnerable populations
Michael LeVasseur, PhD, MPHMicheal LeVasseur's primary area of research in epidemiology is in HIV and health disparities among sexual and gender minority populations.
He is also interested in the intersections of data science and public health.
Infectious disease research interests: HIV, health disparities among sexual and gender minority populations.
Thersa Sweet, PhD, MPHThersa Sweet's work prior to joining Dornsife was primarily in virology, molecular biology, and cancer biology. Since arriving at Dornsife, she has been involved in epidemiologic studies involving HIV risk in sexual minorities.
She has conducted analyses to identify increased rates of adverse mental health conditions among MSM who have been sexually abused as children—and linking these mediators to incident HIV infection or other STIs in MSM study participants.
Infectious disease research interests: Infectious disease epidemiology, virology, molecular epidemiology, HIV risk in sexual minorities
Infectious Disease Faculty in the NewsExperts in Drexel Dornsife's Infectious Diseases Epidemiology Group are routinely called upon by the media to offer commentary and analysis on infectious diseases.
For example, Neal D. Goldstein, PhD, assistant research professor, and Michael LeVasseur, PhD, assistant teaching professor, authored a guest post for the Drexel News Blog, The Pandemic Will End, but We're Probably Stuck With the Coronavirus. Additionally, LeVasseur was recognized by New York State for his efforts to provide government officials with analyses and forecasts during the pandemic. More news articles are linked below.
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