Infectious Diseases Epidemiology
Program Description
With the introduction of antibiotics and the resultant improvements in life expectancy, the vanquishing of infectious diseases in the latter stages of the 20th century seemed to be imminently achievable. Indeed, in 1967 US Surgeon General William H. Steward proclaimed that the "…war against infectious diseases has been won". With the subsequent eradication of smallpox in 1977, many authorities suggested a shift in focus away from the study of infectious diseases in favor of chronic diseases. However, the emergence and re-emergence of a wide variety of infectious diseases in the past 20 years has renewed the emphasis on the investigation of infectious diseases. The emergence of infections and outbreaks due to such pathogens as HIV, lyme, antimicrobial-resistant bacterial infections, West Nile Virus, SARS, influenza, and tuberculosis demonstrates the importance of efforts designed to elucidate the emergence, epidemiology, diagnosis, and therapy for these various pathogens.
Many investigators at the University of Pennsylvania focus on the study of infectious diseases. These researchers study the epidemiology, treatment, and impact of infectious diseases such as HIV, influenza, antimicrobial-resistant bacteria, healthcare-associated infections, and community-acquired infections. In addition, these investigators explore epidemiologic methods specific to infectious diseases (e.g., control group selection, measuring adherence to therapy) or which have important applications to infectious diseases research (e.g., surveillance methods, molecular epidemiology, geographic information systems, mathematical modeling).
Numerous investigators in the CCEB currently receive public and private funding in support of studies focusing on the epidemiology of infectious diseases. Many others are co-investigators and collaborators. These individuals are noted below.
Program Members
- Ebbing Lautenbach, MD, MPH, MSCE (program leader)
- Andrea Apter, MD, MSc
- Warren B. Bilker, PhD
- Gregory Bisson, MD
- Charles Branas, PhD
- Susan Coffin, MD, MPH
- Jeffrey Gerber, MD, MPH
- Robert Gross, MD, MSCE
- Sean Hennessy, PharmD, PhD
- Darren R. Linkin, MD
- A. Russell Localio, MS, JD, PhD
- David Margolis, MD, PhD
- Joshua P. Metlay, MD, PhD
- Gary Smith, DPhil
- Brian L. Strom, MD, MPH
- Theoklis E. Zaoutis, MD, MSCE
