The goal of the human microbiome project is to better understand the microbial components of our bodies and how this interface between micro-organisms and humans contribute to normal physiology and disease predisposition. In this podcast, we will explore a classic microbiome disruption disease, namely C difficile infection. Looking at C diff infection through the lens of the microbiome, we will explore the pathophysiology, treatment, and future of this important and devastating infectious disease.
SPEAKERS
Krishna Rao, M.D., M.S., is Assistant Professor of internal medicine at Michigan Medicine at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He received his Doctor of Medicine degree from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois and completed a pediatrics residency and an infectious diseases fellowship at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He also received a Master of Science degree in Clinical Research Design and Statistical Analysis from the University of Michigan School Of Public Health.
Dr. Rao’s clinical, administrative, and research interests include the diagnosis and management of healthcare-associated infections, especially Clostridium difficile infection. His clinical work includes managing the University of Michigan Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (stool transplant) program for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection, a program that he co-founded. His primary research goal is to investigate how biochemical, microbiological, and clinical factors can help clinical decision-making in healthcare-associated infections, and he hopes to ultimately integrate these factors into robust risk-prediction algorithms for use by clinicians. He is currently funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on studies pertaining to C. difficile infection, the effect of antibiotics on the gut microbiota, and infections from Gram-negative bacteria, including multi-drug resistant organisms, such as Klebsiella pneumoniae.
Financial Relationship Disclosure
Merck: PI on Research Grant, BioK+ International, Inc. And Roche Molecular Systems, Inc.: Consultant
All other planners, presenters, reviewers, ASHP staff, and others with an opportunity to control content report no financial relationships relevant* to this activity.
*As defined by the ACCME definition of commercial entity.
Erik R. Dubberke, M.D., MSPH, is Professor of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, where he is faculty in the Division of Infectious Diseases. He also serves as Hospital Epidemiologist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Missouri Baptist Medical Center and is Clinical Director of the Transplant Infectious Diseases service at Washington University. His main research interests are in the epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI). Dr. Dubberke has over 160 publications, is a member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA)/Society of Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) CDI guideline panel, and has made both the Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researchers and “Best Doctors in America” lists from 2015 to the present.
Financial Relationship Disclosure
Merck: Consulting, Pfizer: Consulting and Research, Rebiotix/Ferring: Consulting and Research, BioK+: Consulting, Seres: Consulting, Summit Therapeutics: Consulting, Synthetic Biologics: Research
All other planners, presenters, reviewers, ASHP staff, and others with an opportunity to control content report no financial relationships relevant* to this activity.
*As defined by the ACCME definition of commercial entity.
HOST
Kevin W. Garey, Pharm.D., M.S., FASHP, is Professor and Chair of the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Translational Research at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy in Houston, Texas. Dr. Garey is also Adjunct Professor at the University of Texas School of Public Health and Clinical Specialist and Researcher at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in Houston.
Dr. Garey received a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, a Doctor of Pharmacy from SUNY Buffalo in Buffalo, New York, and a Master of Science in Biometry from the University of Texas School of Public Health. His postdoctoral training includes a pharmacy practice residency at Bassett Healthcare, Cooperstown, New York, and infectious disease specialty residency and fellowship training at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
Dr. Garey is a member of the Infectious Diseases Society of American (IDSA) Standards and Practice Guidelines Committee and is a member of the IDSA-Society of Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) practice guidelines for C. difficile infection (CDI). He is an active member of the Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists (SIDP) and the American Society of Health-system Pharmacists (ASHP). He has been awarded several national awards including the ASHP Best Practices Award in Health-system Pharmacy Administration (2010), the ASHP Drug Therapy Research Award (2007), and the SIDP Impact Paper in Infectious Diseases Pharmacotherapy Research Award (2007, 2012). He received the University of Houston PLS leadership award in 2013. Dr. Garey's research, supported by the National Institute of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the pharmaceutical industry, involves clinical and translational research in healthcare-associated infections including post-surgical infections, candidemia, and CDI. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles including identification that a delay in therapy for patients with candidemia impacts mortality and identification of a genetic risk for CDI.
Financial Relationship Disclosure
Summit Pharmaceuticals: PI on Research Grant, Acurx: Research Grants Tetraphase, Paratek, and Summit Pharmaceuticals: Research Grants
All other planners, presenters, reviewers, ASHP staff, and others with an opportunity to control content report no financial relationships relevant* to this activity.
*As defined by the ACCME definition of commercial entity.
This podcast is provided by ASHP and supported by an educational grant from Merck.
