Vanderbilt University Medical Center

TRAINING PROGRAM DIRECTOR:  Isaac Thomsen, MD, MSCI

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR/CO-DIRECTOR:  Ritu Banerjee, MD, PhD

COORDINATOR:  Ms. Suzanne Miskel

CHIEF, INFECTIOUS DISEASES:  Mark Denison, MD

MAJOR FEATURES OF TRAINING PROGRAM:

Our trainees go on to pursue a wide variety of careers within pediatric infectious diseases, and recent graduates have selected such diverse paths as developing basic science research programs in bacterial or viral pathogenesis, serving as an Epidemic Intelligence Service officers for the CDC, conducting patient-oriented translational research investigating viral or bacterial pathogens, developing an outpatient antibiotic stewardship program, or obtaining a Masters of Public Health to pursue epidemiologic infectious disease research both domestically and globally.

Our clinical training program provides a rich experience with dedicated services for general pediatric infectious diseases, an immunocompromised host service, and an outpatient ID service. As a tertiary care Children’s Hospital with a wide catchment area and active transplant programs, we have no shortage of interesting cases and learning opportunities.
The Pediatric ID faculty at Vanderbilt are deeply committed to mentorship and to the development of the next generation of the Pediatric ID community, and have a wide range of clinical and research expertise. We have a long history of providing trainees with the critical skills and tools to pursue a productive and enjoyable career in pediatric infectious diseases. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to the Program Directors with any questions you may have!

Here is a brief video with some highlights of our program: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LY1HYLoE1cY

TITLE OF RECENT FELLOWS’ PUBLISHED PAPERS:

1. Matthew Vogt (first author, class of 2020. Human antibodies neutralize enterovirus D68 and protect against infection and paralytic disease. Science Immunology. 2020 Jul; 5(49): eaba4902. PMID: 32620559
2. Sophie Katz (first author, Class of 2019). Analysis of a High-Prescribing State’s 2016 Outpatient Antibiotic Prescriptions: Implications for Outpatient Antimicrobial Stewardship Interventions. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 2020. 41(2): 135-142. PMID: 31755401. PMCID: 7309961
3. Keerti Dantuluri (first author; Class of 2020). Rurality of Residence and Inappropriate Antibiotic Use for ARI Among Young Tennessee Children. Open Forum Infec Dis. Dec 2020, 15;8(1):ofaa587.
4. James Wood (first author, class of 2017). Serologic Detection of Antibodies Targeting the Leukocidin LukAB Strongly Predicts Staphylococcus aureus in Children With Invasive Infection. JPIDS, 2019 Jun; 8(2): 128–135.
5. Jimmy Carlucci (first author, Class of 2017) Tuberculosis Treatment Outcomes among HIV/TB Co-Infected Children in the International Epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA) Network. Journal of AIDS. 2017 Jun 1; 75(2): 156–163.

GRANT FUNDING RECEIVED FOR FELLOW RESEARCH PROJECTS:

NIH T32 awards (numerous); LEAP fellowship (Katz)

PIDS-St. Jude research fellowship award (Vogt).

AFFILIATED HOSPITALS:

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt

FELLOWS ACCEPTED EACH YEAR:  2

VISAS ACCEPTED:  H1B

FUNDING ENSURED FOR ALL 3 YEARS:  Yes

IS COMPLETION OF PEDIATRIC RESIDENCY TRAINING IN THE U.S. OR CANADA A REQUIREMENT:  No

Program provides training (didactic lectures, hands on experience, and antimicrobial stewardship meetings/membership) in:

1. Microbiology lab on site
2. Infection control and hospital epidemiology
3. Antimicrobial stewardship
4. Immunocompromised hosts

Opportunities to fulfill the ABP requirements for scholarly activity is available in the following general areas:

1. Antimicrobial agents
2. Antimicrobial stewardship
3. Bacteriology/bacterial infections
4. Bioethics
5. Clinical trials
6. Epidemiology and statistics
7. Global health
8. HIV
9. Immunizations
10. Infection control/hospital epidemiology
11. Medical education
12. Mycology/fungal infections
13. Parasitology/parasitic diseases
14. Public health
15. Quality improvement
16. Transplant medicine
17. Virology/viral diseases

Opportunities exist for research outside of the ID Division: Yes

Program offers the opportunity to obtain a Master’s degree in a field such as Public Health, Education, Clinical Sciences, or Epidemiology (assuming appropriate arrangements are made): Yes