Ali Roberts

Ali's Story

Dr. Ali Roberts is originally from Nashville, TN and completed her Pharm.D. at Belmont University. While at Belmont, Dr. Roberts was the founding president for the student chapter of ASHP and led the chapter in obtaining official recognition. She completed a residency program at Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga, TN. During her residency, she participated in the antimicrobial stewardship program and collaborated with the laboratory to implement a test for fosfomycin sensitivity in patients with ESBL cystitis. She was awarded a travel grant to present her research at the national MAD-ID conference in 2013.

After completing her residency, Dr. Roberts joined Aegis Sciences Corporation, a toxicology testing laboratory. At Aegis, she lead the clinical development and implementation of pharmacogenetic testing in collaboration with the BioPharma team. Additionally, she consulted with an average of 100 providers per month regarding the interpretation of test results, presented at numerous conferences and universities, and contributed to several scientific papers. She obtained BCPS certification in 2014.

Dr. Roberts recently joined Diatherix, a molecular testing laboratory providing rapid infectious disease pathogen identification, as the Director of Clinical Services. She will be assisting with result interpretation and utilization of appropriate antibiotics, while also educating providers regarding the clinical advantages of molecular testing in infectious disease. Additionally, she will collaborate with Sales, R&D, and Marketing regarding new service opportunities and the advancement of current test offerings. Dr. Roberts will also contribute to research and publications that support the need for Diatherix’s testing services.

Dr. Roberts is a member of the Section Advisory Group for Emerging Sciences.

Overview of Facility/Health System

Diatherix is a laboratory that provides molecular testing for rapid identification of infectious diseases and genes that confer antibiotic resistance. Diatherix’s mission is to provide individualized diagnostic services to physicians and the healthcare community through proprietary multiplex molecular diagnostic technology that links diagnostics to therapeutics.

Significant Projects

The role that Dr. Roberts assumed at Diatherix is a new position, and she is currently establishing metrics and key performance indicators while collaborating with multiple departments to assess the need for clinical input.

Initial Involvement in ASHP

"I started the student chapter at Belmont when I realized that I would likely be pursuing a more non-traditional practice area. I also anticipated the need for extracurricular involvement when applying to residencies." 

Advice for Someone New to Your Specialty Area

"Complacency leads to missed opportunities. You must always be willing to question a process or progress will leave you behind."

Value of ASHP

"The value of networking truly can not be defined."

"ASHP creates a platform for those of us that do not fit into a more conventional pharmacy practice area."