Medical Student Research Fellowship for Summer 2011

Mentor: James P. Luby                  
Department: Internal Medicine: Infectious Diseases  
Room number:Y7.218       
Mail Code: 75390 - 9113               
Phone number:214 648 0234                  
E-mail:   james.luby@utsouthwestern.edu                    
Project title:   Fungal Infections in Transplant Recipients. Bacterial Infections in Hemodialysis Patients           

Human subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable):

Animal subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable): 

Project Type (patient-based research, animal-based research, or basic research; this characterization is only to permit a general classification for grouping similar types of projects)

Brief Description of Project: Both projects are patient-based research and deal with Infection Control Problems encountered in patients at the University Hospitals and Parkland Memorial Hospital

Fungal  Infections in Transplant Recipients: Fungal infections are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in transplant recipients.  At the University Hospitals (UTSW), invasive pulmonary aspergillosis has become an increasingly important problem.  We seek to define cases of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in lung, heart, kidney, liver and bone marrow transplant recipients, determine rates of infection and disease, ascertain the secular occurrence of cases (2009-2011) and attempt to establish whether an apparent increase in cases in one category of transplant patients can be substantiated and determine the cause of  the increase . The incidence of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis will be defined by examining the results of fungal cultures submitted to the Microbiology Laboratory, determining cases and case  rates by a review of the electronic medical record, defining the secular trend in cases and determining whether there are epidemiological differences in case rates between patient groups and what may account for the apparent increase in cases in one particular category of transplant recipient. The medical student will review the records of  the cases, help establish the definitions of the cases and define the epidemiological characteristics of  the cases and make statistical analyses to ascertain whether there are differences between categories of transplant patients. He will utilize the electronic medical record to obtain the records of cases.

Bacterial Infections in Hemodialysis Patients: We have become aware that bacterial infections, particularly those caused by  gram negative bacteria  have increased in a certain group of patients undergoing hemodialysis. We seek to review these infections in one category of patients undergoing hemodialysis and compare them to control patients. Patient care records from 2009-2010 from PHHS will be reviewed, definitions of infections and disease established and determine whether an apparent increase can be substantiated by quantitative analysis.  We seek to establish whether there are differences between cases and controls and what are the factors leading to an apparent increase in cases in a particular segment of hemodialysis  patients.The medical student will work with the principal investigator in establishing case definitions, medical records will be reviewed and epidemiological analyses performed to determine whether there is a difference between patients and controls. He will use the electronic medical record to obtain the records of cases and controls .

Previous Projects with Medical Students:  Serological surveys of populations in Dallas and East Texas for antibodies to arbovirus encephalitis viruses. Health Survey of a medically indigent urban population in Dallas. Cytomegalovirus antibodies in an urban community in Dallas. Relationship between cytomegalovirus and hepatic function abnormalities in renal transplant recipients.