Infectious Disease

Research Activities

The Pediatric Infectious Diseases faculty actively carries out research ranging from basic science (including molecular, viral, and bacterial pathogenesis) to epidemiology, vaccine development, clinical trials of anti-infectives and vaccines public health, and hospital infection control. There are three research subgroups within the division; a viral pathogenesis group, a bacterial pathogenesis group, and an epidemiology and clinical research group. Collaborating basic scientists are found in Departments of Microbiology, Cell Biology, Physiology, Medicine, Epidemiology, the School of Public Health, the School of Nursing, and the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory. Each fellow will be required to complete a scholarly activity that results in a "work product". Areas of research include basic, clinical, or translational research; health services; quality improvement; bioethics; education; and public policy that is consistent with ABP, ACGME and departmental requirements. Fellows will perform research projects under the guidance of a selected mentor. In addition, each fellow is assigned a scholarly oversight committee in accordance with ABP and Departmental guidelines.

Investigator initiated research program

Investigators in the division of pediatric infectious diseases participate in various investigator initiated clinical research projects. Clinical research in the area of HIV is of interest to the members of the division and the following studies are currently on going: Initiation of Antiretroviral Therapy in Behaviorally-infectedYouth with HIV; Knowledge, attitude, and practice survey of providers initiating antiretroviral therapy in HIV infected youth; promoting and engaging in care and timely initiation of ARV in newly diagnosed youth. Active research studies are also occurring in the area of epidemiology and infection control and include: Use and Outcomes for pediatric patients treated with caspofungin for candidemia 2002-2008; Human metapneumovirus outbreak in pediatric long term care; Interdisciplinary research for improving antibiotic prescribing in the NICU; hand hygiene and interventions for long term care; evaluation of and intervention to improve antimicrobial prophylaxis in pediatric surgery.

Clinical trials

The division of pediatric infectious diseases actively participates in pharmaceutical sponsored clinical trials including vaccine studies , pharmacokinetic studies and outcome studies of new antimicrobials and antivirals. The division works with other areas of the medical center including the NICU and primary pediatrics to recruit patients for these studies.

VZV research

Research on this virus conducted at Columbia has included epidemiology, diagnosis, immunology, latency, prevention, and treatment of varicella and zoster.   Studies with varicella vaccine which examined the safety and efficacy of the vaccine in leukemic children and in adults were crucial to its licensure in the United States.  Drs. Gershon and LaRussa  are continuing to study the safety and efficacy of varicella vaccine in the “vaccine era”.  They played a significant role in the recent recommendation to administer 2 doses of vaccine to all children.  They have also focused on HIV infection in children, particularly with regard to opportunistic on the growth and pathogenesis of VZV in cell culture.   They are also examining latency of VZV in humans and have developed an animal model (in guinea pig neurons) of latency and reactivation of VZV, along with Dr. Michael Gershon in the Department of Pathology and Dr. Saul Silverstein in the Department of Microbiology.

There are several collaborative clinical research studies with the Division of Pediatric Pulmonary which include: a randomized, placebo controlled clinical trial of azithromycin in children and adolescents with CF who are not yet infected with P. aeruginosa; a study entitled CF-FONE which is a pilot and feasibility study to develop a web-based cell phone to improve adherence by young adolescents; an analysis of the CF Foundation Patient Registry to assess trends in microbiology over the past decade; and a study of MRSA in CF children and adolescents which assesses the molecular epidemiology and risk factors for MRSA.