IDM News

Photo credit: TONYA SEILER/MNPRO
April 30, 2024

Virus gone wild: Which wild animals carry the COVID-19 virus? An ambitious U.S. project aims to find out

Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Chair Suresh Kuchipudi, and others aim to collect and analyze more than 24,000 samples from 58 wildlife species over the next 2 years.
Photo credit: DJAFFAR AL KATANTY/REUTERS
April 22, 2024

Africa intensifies battle against mpox as ‘alarming’ outbreaks continue

The global outbreak helped bring new attention to mpox and led to a boom in research, Jean Nachega associate professor of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology and Epidemiology says, but almost all of it came in Europe and North America.
Photo credit: Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times
April 15, 2024

‘Nobody saw this coming’; California dairies scramble to guard herds against bird flu

“The concerning trend of multiple states reporting cattle infections raises the likelihood of continued human exposure,” said Suresh Kuchipudi, professor and chair of infectious diseases and microbiology.
Priscila Da Silva Castanha
March 27, 2024

Leading the charge in combatting tick-borne viruses

Assistant Professor Priscila Da Silva Castanha and team awarded Pitt Momentum Funds.

Assistant Professor Priscila Da Silva Castanha, leading a team from the Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, has been awarded Pitt Momentum Funds for her innovative research on the Powassan virus (POWV), an emerging tick-borne virus posing significant public health risks.

CDC/BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
March 27, 2024

Why the mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is worrying disease docs

"It's just a matter of time, if nothing is done, that the transmission crosses the border in the African region and, again, globally," says Jean Nachega associate professor of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology and Epidemiology.

Ha, Kuchipudi, Frank with others at School of Preventative Medicine and Public Health
March 26, 2024

Advancing Global One Health Partnerships with Vietnam

Suresh Kuchipudi, chair of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology (IDM), along with IDM faculty members Linda Frank and Toan Ha, recently visited key institutions in Vietnam.
Credit: Conor O'Donovan/Concern Worldwide
March 14, 2024

Massive public-health experiment sends vaccination rates soaring

“The investigators made a great effort to bring vaccines to remote communities,” says Jean Nachega associate professor of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology and Epidemiology.

Photo Credit: Pitt Med
February 27, 2024

Early birds prepare for avian flu threat

Among those alarmed by a possible future pandemic risk was Simon Barratt-Boyes, professor of infectious diseases and microbiology.

Photo Credit: Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters
February 13, 2024

Brazil has a dengue emergency, portending a health crisis for the Americas

“Right now you have serotypes circulating in Brazil that have not circulated in 20 years,” said Ernesto Marques, associate professor of infectious diseases and microbiology.

Faculty Teagen O’Malley and Sarah Krier
December 5, 2023

Teagen O’Malley and Sarah Krier receive CTSI Dissemination and Implementation Science Pilot competition funding

Teagen O’Malley (IDM), along with co-investigators Jessie Burke (BCHS), Isabel Janmey (UPMC), and Sarah Krier (IDM) received CTSI Dissemination and Implementation Science Pilot competition funding.

Alumni award winners
November 17, 2023

Pitt Public Health honors alumni at awards ceremony

The University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health recognized nine alumni for their outstanding service to the field of public health at an awards ceremony.

A team of doctors from University Hospital's Parma Medical Center.
November 7, 2023

Wars can cause infectious disease outbreaks, posing potential threat to Northeast Ohio

Lawrence Kingsley, emeritus professor of infectious diseases and microbiology, said: “Globally, the leading cause of death is infectious diseases."

Jonas Salk Legacy Exhibit
October 16, 2023

WTAE Listens: Medical breakthroughs in Pittsburgh

WTAE Listens puts the focus on two medical breakthroughs in Pittsburgh: the polio vaccine and organ transplantation.

Suresh Kuchipudi, PhD, MVSc, MBA, professor and chair, Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology
September 26, 2023

New Grants Awarded

Suresh Kuchipudi, PhD, MVSc, MBA, professor and chair, Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology has been awarded three new grants. 

Suresh Kuchipudi, PhD, MVSc, MBA, professor and chair, Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, is leading studies to understand the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 funded by three U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grants totaling $2.7 million.

The Conversation asked infectious diseases and microbiology Chair Suresh Kuchipudi to explain what researchers know about BA.2.86’s ability to dodge immune protection and whether it causes more severe infection than its predecessors.
September 12, 2023

How evasive and transmissible is the newest omicron offshoot, BA.2.86, that causes COVID-19? 4 questions answered

The Conversation asked infectious diseases and microbiology Chair Suresh Kuchipudi to explain what researchers know about BA.2.86’s ability to dodge immune protection and whether it causes more severe infection than its predecessors.