Tag: infectious disease

Beyond Imagining: Pediatric HIV Research Faces the Future

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Originally published in the 2015 CHOP Research Annual Report.

I composed this original article based on multiple interviews and background literature research.

Excerpt:

The HIV epidemic in 2015 and beyond is a dramatically different one than ever seen or imagined during the height of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s and ‘90s.

“In the early days, up to a quarter of all infants born to women with HIV became infected. Now it’s less than one percent,” said Richard Rutstein, MD, an HIV clinical research leader and medical director of the Special Immunology Service at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia since its inception in 1989. “For those infected, HIV has changed from a rapidly fatal disease to a chronic illness.” Dr. Rutstein is also a professor of Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

At the front line of this evolution, CHOP researchers are helping infected pregnant women, infants, children, and youth around the world live full, productive lives.

Why Kids Need Bug Squashers: An Infectious Disease Q&A

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Originally published on Cornerstone, the CHOP Research Blog

I conducted this interview, transcribed and edited the Q&A, and wrote the introduction.

Excerpt:

Pediatric infectious disease specialists, the doctors who specialize in wiping out microbial and other infections in children, are a dedicated bunch. These physicians work at the front lines of diseases new and old, as well as protecting against complications from other medical interventions.

Last month, members of this profession honored Theoklis E. Zaoutis, MD, MSCE, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, as an exemplary leader in their midst with the Distinguished Service Award from the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (PIDS). This award, presented at the Society’s annual IDWeek meeting, recognizes a member who has made an outstanding contribution to the specialty of pediatric infectious diseases.

On the occasion of this recognition, Cornerstone sat down with Dr. Zaoutis, who is also director of the Center for Pediatric Clinical Effectiveness Research at CHOP and Thomas Frederick McNair Scott Professor of pediatrics and professor of epidemiology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. We wanted to know what is hot in the field of pediatric infectious disease research and what lies ahead. Read on for the edited conversation.