Geographic Medicine and Infectious Diseases

Clinical investigation in the Division of Geographic Medicine and Infectious Diseases is a well-established and growing area of research, representing a wide variety of projects, such as epidemiologic studies, clinical trials, translational research and outcomes and modeling studies. Active areas of inquiry include:

The study of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (e.g., O157:H7), with the overarching goal of understanding how Shiga toxins cause severe diseases in the human host, such as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). We are using “mini-guts” to better understand how these bacteria and their associated virulence factors affect the host intestinal tract, and to dissect the steps by which Shiga toxin traverses the intestine to gain access to the systemic circulation.

Dr. Helen W. Boucher–Clinical development of anti-infective agents; Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia; antimicrobial utilization.

Dr. Debra Poutsiaka–Infections in critically ill or immunocompromised patients; the gastrointestinal microbiota in health and disease; therapies for SARS-CoV-2 infection

Dr. David R. Snydman–Immunecompromised host, Iron regulation and hepcidin in liver transplantation, microbiota in immune regulation of compromised hosts, C. difficile in compromised hosts and hospitalized patients. 

Dr. Geneve Allison–OPAT (Outpatient Antibiotic Therapy) patient outcomes; OPAT guidelines; diabetic foot ulcer guidelines; lymphedema guidelines; hospital readmissions.

Dr. Jose Caro–The role of the Human Papillomavirus in anal cancer progression in people living with HIV. 

Dr. Brian Chow–Clinical trials for COVID-19 therapies, vaccines

Dr. Jennifer Chow–Role of iron metabolism in risk for infectious diseases; epidemiology of infections in solid organ transplant recipients; epidemiology of invasive fungal infections in critically ill patients.  

Dr. Shira Doron–Antibiotic stewardship; transmission, diagnosis and treatment of hospital-acquired infections; antimicrobial stewardship interventions in long term care.

Dr. Yoav Golan – Hospital acquired infections particularly in the critically ill and immunocompromised patient populations; methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and antimicrobial resistance; invasive candidiasis; decision and cost effectiveness analysis; predictive modeling of infectious diseases.

Dr. Jeffrey K. Griffiths– Biology and epidemiology of cryptosporidiosis in the United States. 

Dr. Rakhi Teena Kohli’s research interests focus on metabolic complications of HIV infection.  She has published on the effect of metformin on insulin resistance and abdominal fat in HIV-infected persons and received a NIH K23 award to examine insulin resistance and body fat changes in HIV-infected persons. Relevant Publications: 

1. Kohli R, Winston D, Sheehan H, Muzzio E, Benetucci J, Weissenbacher M, Wanke C, Knox T, Tang A. Cholesterol Levels in HIV- and/or HCV-Infected Drug Users Living in Argentina. J Int Assoc Provid AIDS Care. 2016 Sep;15(5):400-5. PMID 26518591 
   
   
2. Kohli R, Shevitz A, Gorbach S, Wanke C. A randomized placebo-controlled trial of metformin for the treatment of HIV lipodystrophy. HIV Med. 2007 Oct;8(7):420-6. PMID 17760733

Dr. Laura Kogelman has been a site PI for several multinational multi-center HIV clinical trials, and has collaborated on several clinical HIV and Travel Medicine studies, including NIH and NIMH funded projects.  HIV research projects have included those looking at tools for medication adherence both for HIV medications as well as PrEP. She has also been part of the teams engaged in COVID-19 treatment protocols. Last 3 publications: 

1. Hamer DH, MacLeod WB, Chen LH, Hochberg NS, Kogelman L, Karchmer AW, Ooi WW, Benoit C, Wilson ME, Jentes ES, Barnett ED. Pretravel Health Preparation of International Travelers: Results From the Boston Area Travel Medicine Network.  Mayo Clin Proc Innov Qual Outcomes. 2017 Apr 28;1(1):78-90. PMID: 30225404
   
   
2. Pagan-Ortiz, M., Goulet, P., Kogelman, L., Levkoff, S, & Weitzman, P. Feasibility of a texting intervention to improve medication adherence among older HIV+ African Americans: A mixed methods pilot study. Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine. 2019 Jun 27;5.  PMID:31276016
   
   
3. Weitzman PF, Zhou Y, Kogelman L, Mack S, Sharir JY, Vicente SR, Levkoff SE. A Web-Based HIV/STD Prevention Intervention for Divorced or Separated Older Women. Gerontologist. 2019 Aug 12. PMID:31403668

Dr. David Stone–HIV infection in the incarcerated population; HIV infection in substance users; adherence to HIV therapy; HIV and hepatitis C co-infection.

Dr. Ramnath Subbaraman–Reasons for patient losses in the TB care cascade in India, digital technologies to support adherence to TB medications, social determinants of health in urban slum communities in India.

Dr. Cheleste Thorpe– The study of how antibiotic treatments perturb the host intestinal microbiota, and the critical metabolic functions that are lost as a result of these perturbations. I have been particularly interested in how different treatments for C. difficile affect the microbiome, and influence the risk of recurrence. I am also interested in understanding how antibiotic treatments that are highly microbiota-damaging may promote the acquisition of drug-resistant organisms. This project is a collaboration with Dr. Kyongbum Lee at Tufts University in Medford, MA, and Dr. David Snydman in our ID division.

C. difficile epidemiology and antimicrobial resistance: I collaborate with Dr. David Snydman on the epidemiology of C. difficile infection, with specific attention to the monitoring of C. difficile antibiotic resistance patterns, and determining which ribotypes are circulating at a given point in time.

View Dr. Thorpe's full publication list >

Rakhi Teena Kohli, MD

Laura Kogelman, MD

David Stone, MD

Helen W. Boucher, MD

Shira Doron, MD

Yoav Golan, MD

Jeffrey K. Griffiths, MD

Debra Poutsiaka, MD

David R. Snydman, MD

Jennifer Chow, MD 

Ramnath Subbaraman, MD

Jose Caro, MD

Phone: 617-636-7001
Fax: 617-636-8525