The Division of Infectious Diseases is one of 14 divisions within the Department of Medicine of the UAB School of Medicine. Eighteen full-time faculty have their primary appointments in the ID Division. Other ID-trained faculty whose primary appointments are in other divisions or departments, such as Geographic Medicine, Allergy, General Medicine, Epidemiology, and Pediatrics, also contribute actively to the Division. The UAB Department of Medicine, one of the largest in the country, places equally strong emphasis on research, patient care, and education. Our ID Division has the same mission. Numerous centers and programs facilitate collaboration within the UAB Medical Center across division, department and school boundaries, fostering excellence in both research and clinical activities.

Two or three new fellows are appointed each year. The duration of the fellowship varies according to the needs and future career of the trainee. Clinically focused fellows may train only two years, but fellows interested in an academic career are expected to commit a minimum of three years to training. As a rule, hospital- and ambulatory-based clinical training occurs primarily over the first two years, but there is flexibility in the schedule. Trainees work with Infectious Diseases attendings, residents and students on inpatient ID/General Medicine services and three ID consulting services. In addition, trainees participate regularly in several outpatient clinics focusing on HIV/AIDS, STD, tuberculosis, general infectious diseases and travel medicine. Three division-wide conferences are held weekly: Journal Club, Case Conference, and Grand Rounds.

Fellows are expected to participate in either clinical or bench laboratory research. Areas of focus for clinical research are virology including antiviral therapy, mycology including antifungal therapy, endocarditis, vaccines, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV and AIDS, international medicine, and opportunistic infections in compromised hosts such as transplant recipients and AIDS patients. Opportunities for in-depth bench laboratory experiences in molecular virology, immunopathogenesis of disease, genetic markers of disease, microbial resistance, etc., are also available with faculty preceptors or mentors located either within the ID Division, or in other Medicine divisions or other departments, such as Hematology/Oncology, Immunology, Geographic Medicine, Pediatrics, Microbiology, Cell Biology and Genetics.  In addition, there are opportunities for a limited number of fellows to receive training to further their pursuit of academic careers through Masters programs (MPH or MSPH) at the UAB School of Public Health.

(THE 1917 CLINIC) 

The 1917 Clinic was founded in 1988 to provide outpatient services to patients with HIV disease in the state of Alabama and surrounding states. The goals of the clinic are to provide:

        1)    primary, continuity patient care

        2)    social service support and case management

 Under the vision and leadership of Dr. Michael Saag, Director, over 4500 patients have been evaluated since the clinic opened. There are over 1000 currently active patients. More than 250 clinical trials have been conducted at the clinic, including studies under the auspices of the NIAID AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) and industry-sponsored trials. Infectious Diseases faculty actively involved in the HIV/AIDS clinical and research programs in addition to Dr. Saag include Drs. Kilby, Goepfert, Johnson, Gnann, Hoesley, Bachmann, Parker, Schwebke, and Dismukes. The clinic is staffed by not only attending physicians and fellows, but also two clinical nurse practitioners, three social workers, four registered nurses, two psychologists, three pharmacists, and 30 research and other support staff. All Fellows from the Division attend the clinic weekly throughout their entire fellowship in order to gain experience in meaningful long-term patient care with HIV-infected individuals. Fellows are strongly encouraged to participate in opportunities for clinical research and investigation. In addition to the medical services outlined above, the clinic provides dental care, psychological assessment, psychometric evaluations, nutritional counseling, and art therapy.

The Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) Program within the Division of Infectious Diseases consists of four faculty members:  Dr. Edward Hook, Director, focuses on clinical epidemiology of STDs and diagnosis and management of gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis; Dr. Jane Schwebke focuses on bacterial vaginosis, trichomoniasis, vaginal infections, and STD control policies and practices; Dr. Laura Bachmann is studying opportunities for STD control in difficult to reach, non-STD Clinic populations and Dr. William Geisler who is evaluating the impact of host response on the natural history and clinical manifestations of human chlamydial infections.  Research within the STD Program is supported by numerous NIH and CDC grants and contracts including one of the nation's five NIH funded STD Cooperative Research Center grants.  Each area of research is independently funded by NIH and the Centers for Disease Control.  In addition, each investigator has strong ties with the more than 30 other UAB faculty members in the Schools of Medicine and Public Health who emphasize STD research, enabling trainees to experience and pursue STD-related fellowship training at every level from molecular biology and clinical epidemiology to public policy.   The STD training experience at UAB is further strengthened by the close working relationship between the Division and the Jefferson County Department of Health STD Clinic, which is located only four blocks from the Division offices.

The AVRC at UAB was initiated in 1994 as one of six national NIH-sponsored AIDS Vaccine Evaluation Units (AVEUs) for clinical testing and laboratory evaluations of candidate human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) vaccines.   In 2000, the program became one of ten international NIH-sponsored HIV Vaccine Trials Units (HVTUs) for human trials of vaccines to prevent HIV/AIDS disease.   Trials of vaccines for other pathogens, such as varicella zoster virus (VZV) and human papillomavirus (HPV), are also performed.   AVRC performs clinical and laboratory research relating to vaccines and host immune responses, and integrates a group of collaborating UAB immunologists, virologists, microbiologists, and clinicians.   Funding for the research comes from both federal and industry sponsors. 

Dr. Paul Goepfert performs research on human T lymphocyte responses to pathogens and vaccines, and serves the AVRC as Associate Director for Translational Research.  Dr. John Gnann leads a large VZV vaccine clinical trial, runs the Serology and Diagnostic Core, and serves as Associate Director, AVRC.    A major current focus is the testing of candidate HIV-1 vaccines to stimulate CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) responses.   DNA immunization, with and without live vector boosting, is an exciting new CTL vaccine strategy currently being evaluated.  Another major project involves mapping the peptide epitopes targeted by CTLs in a cohort of HIV-infected minority adolescents, one of the high risk population groups for which an HIV vaccine is most needed.   Several ID fellows, PhD post-doctoral fellows, graduate students, and research assistants have received training while contributing to these research projects.   Additional information is available at www.uab.edu/avrc.

DIVISION OF GEOGRAPHIC MEDICINE

The Divisions of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine at UAB are closely allied.   The Division of Geographic Medicine, with nine full-time faculty members, focuses its research activities on infectious diseases prevalent in developing countries, including onchocerciasis, lymphatic filariasis, malaria, toxoplasmosis, HIV/AIDS, STDs, and detection of a variety of emerging pathogens.   The scientific disciplines involved include immunology, immunochemistry, molecular biology and virology, immunogenetics, clinical trials, and epidemiology.    Overseas collaborations have been established in West and Central Africa, Brazil, Mongolia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Jamaica, and Peru.   Fellows in Geographic Medicine spend three to four years in training, including one year of clinical training on the various Infectious Diseases services and the remainder in the laboratory and the field.   In addition, fellow participation in the Traveler's Health Clinic, Geographic Medicine consult service, and overseas field projects is mandatory.

PRIMARY FACULTY - GEOGRAPHIC MEDICINE

Shashwatee Bagchi, MD, Assistant Professor

OraLee H. Branch, PhD, Assistant Professor

Debasish Chattopadhyay, PhD, Assistant Professor

David O. Freedman, MD, Professor

Michael E. Kimerling, MD, MPH, Associate Professor

Sibylle Kristensen, MPH, MSPH, Research Instructor

Qianjun Li, PhD, Research Assistant Professor

Robert J. Novak, PhD, Professor

Julian C. Rayner, PhD, Assistant Professor

Stewart E. Reid, MD, MPH, Research Assistant Professor

Jianming (James) Tang, PhD, Associate Professor

Thomas R. Unnasch, PhD, Professor

UNIQUE FEATURES AND STRENGTHS OF THE UAB MEDICAL CENTER WHICH DIRECTLY IMPACT FELLOWSHIP TRAINING IN INFECTIOUS DISEASES

• Over 1150 beds for adults in three hospitals, including UAB Hospital (tertiary referral center), Birmingham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and Cooper Green Hospital (county indigent).

• Free-standing Children's Hospital of Alabama with 160 beds.

• State-of-the-art ambulatory care center, The Kirklin Clinic.

• Diversity and depth of patient pathology, including acute and chronic disease, as well as the gamut of infectious diseases, from the common to the rare and exotic.

• UAB Medical Center ranks among the top ten centers in the nation in number of transplants performed and UAB kidney transplant program ranks as one of largest in the world.

• Numerous ambulatory ID-related experiences including Tuberculosis and Sexually Transmitted Diseases Clinics at Jefferson County Department of Health, the Infectious Diseases and Travel Medicine Clinics at The Kirklin Clinic, and two free-standing HIV/AIDS Clinics (1917 and BVAMC).

• Excellence in teaching by faculty of the ID Division.   Over the years, faculty have received numerous teaching awards given by the UAB medical students and Department of Medicine housestaff.   ID Division has also been chosen one of the top three teaching divisions in Department of Medicine for past 8 years.

• UAB ranks #20 among all US universities in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding (FY 00 - $162.1 million).   UAB is the leading research university in the lower Southern states.

• Strong UAB Departments of Microbiology and Medicine which rank number one and number six in the nation, respectively, in NIH funding (FY 00).

• ID Division's annual research funding resources exceed $15 million.

• Excellence in retrovirology and AIDS research funded through eight major NIAID and NICHD programs including Adult AIDS Clinical Trials Unit; Adolescent AIDS Trials Network; Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Unit; Center for AIDS Research; and Acute HIV Infection and Early Disease Research Network.

• UAB AIDS Program ranked #4 in country by US News and World Report - 2001.

• Excellence in vaccine research (AVRC at UAB) funded in part through NIAID and CDC, including HIV Vaccine Trials Unit and Anthrax Vaccine Trials Unit.

• Excellence in STD research funded through three major NIAID and NCDC funded programs: Sexually Transmitted Diseases Cooperative Research Center; STD Clinical Trials Unit; and STD Accelerated Prevention Campaigns - Syphilis Elimination.

• Two pathogen-focused, multi-center clinical research study groups:

                        NIAID Mycoses Study Group, PI - Dr. William Dismukes, 
                        Adult Infectious Diseases

                        NIAID Collaborative Antiviral Study Group, PI - Dr. Richard Whitley,
                        Pediatric Infectious Diseases.

• Outstanding and unique international programs including the Gorgas Course in Clinical Tropical Medicine (held annually in Peru) and the GeoSentinel Emerging Pathogens Network (worldwide surveillance of infectious diseases in travelers and immigrants).

Fellowship applications: