Updates in the Prevention and Treatment of Recurrent Clostridioides difficile Infection Focus on High-Risk Populations

Anne J. Gonzales-Luna, Pharm.D., BCIDP
Assistant Professor
Department of Pharmacy Practice and Translational Research
The University of Houston College of Pharmacy
Houston, Texas

Anne J. Gonzales-Luna, Pharm.D., BCIDP, is Assistant Professor at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy in Houston, Texas.

Dr. Gonzales-Luna earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Texas College of Pharmacy in Austin, and completed an ASHP-accredited postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) residency at the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Houston. Following her residency, Dr. Gonzales-Luna completed an Infectious Diseases Pharmacotherapy fellowship at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy, with a research focus on Clostridioides difficile.

Dr. Gonzales-Luna serves as a preceptor for Antimicrobial Stewardship and Research rotations for fourth-year pharmacy students, as well as the Infectious Diseases Pharmacotherapy Fellowship program coordinator.

Dr. Gonzales-Luna is a member of ASHP, the Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists (SIDP), American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP), the Texas Society of Health-System Pharmacists (TSHP), and the Gulf Coast Society of Health System Pharmacists (GCSHP).
 

Andrew Skinner, M.D.
Division of Infectious Diseases,
Loyola University Medical Center
Clinical Instructor,
Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine

Dr. Andrew Skinner is a Clinical Instructor at Loyola University Medical Center within the division of Infectious Diseases. He completed his internal medicine residency at University of Chicago (NorthShore) and his infectious diseases fellowship at Loyola University Medical Center.

Dr. Skinner’s research interests are the molecular and clinical epidemiology and pathogenesis of Clostridioides difficile. His clinical interests are dedicated to the treatment of individuals with multiple recurrent C. difficile infections. Dr. Skinner is a member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (ISDA) and is a member of the C. difficile Focused Treatment Update guideline committee.

Kevin W. Garey, Pharm.D., M.S., FASHP, Activity Chair
Professor and Chair
University of Houston College of Pharmacy
Houston, Texas

Kevin W. Garey, Pharm.D., M.S., FASHP, is Professor and Chair of the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Translational Research at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy in Houston, Texas. Dr. Garey is also Adjunct Professor at the University of Texas School of Public Health and Clinical Specialist and Researcher at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in Houston. 

Dr. Garey received a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, a Doctor of Pharmacy from SUNY Buffalo in Buffalo, New York, and a Master of Science in Biometry from the University of Texas School of Public Health. His postdoctoral training includes a pharmacy practice residency at Bassett Healthcare, Cooperstown, New York, and infectious disease specialty residency and fellowship training at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. 

Dr. Garey is a member of the Infectious Diseases Society of American (IDSA) Standards and Practice Guidelines Committee and is a member of the IDSA-Society of Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) practice guidelines for C. difficile infection (CDI). He is an active member of the Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists (SIDP) and the American Society of Health-system Pharmacists (ASHP). He has been awarded several national awards including the ASHP Best Practices Award in Health-system Pharmacy Administration (2010), the ASHP Drug Therapy Research Award (2007), and the SIDP Impact Paper in Infectious Diseases Pharmacotherapy Research Award (2007, 2012). He received the University of Houston PLS leadership award in 2013. Dr. Garey's research, supported by the National Institute of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the pharmaceutical industry, involves clinical and translational research in healthcare-associated infections including post-surgical infections, candidemia, and CDI. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles including identification that a delay in therapy for patients with candidemia impacts mortality and identification of a genetic risk for CDI.
 

Krishna Rao, M.D., M.S.
Assistant Professor
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan

Krishna Rao, M.D., M.S., is Assistant Professor of internal medicine at Michigan Medicine at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He received his Doctor of Medicine degree from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois and completed a pediatrics residency and an infectious diseases fellowship at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He also received a Master of Science degree in Clinical Research Design and Statistical Analysis from the University of Michigan School Of Public Health.

Dr. Rao’s clinical, administrative, and research interests include the diagnosis and management of healthcare-associated infections, especially Clostridium difficile infection. His clinical work includes managing the University of Michigan Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (stool transplant) program for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection, a program that he co-founded. His primary research goal is to investigate how biochemical, microbiological, and clinical factors can help clinical decision-making in healthcare-associated infections, and he hopes to ultimately integrate these factors into robust risk-prediction algorithms for use by clinicians. He is currently funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on studies pertaining to C. difficile infection, the effect of antibiotics on the gut microbiota, and infections from Gram-negative bacteria, including multi-drug resistant organisms, such as Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Erik R. Dubberke, M.D., MSPH
Professor of Medicine
Clinical Director, Transplant Infectious Diseases
Washington University School of Medicine
St. Louis, Missouri

Erik R. Dubberke, M.D., MSPH, is Professor of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, where he is faculty in the Division of Infectious Diseases. He also serves as Hospital Epidemiologist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Missouri Baptist Medical Center and is Clinical Director of the Transplant Infectious Diseases service at Washington University. His main research interests are in the epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI). Dr. Dubberke has over 160 publications, is a member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA)/Society of Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) CDI guideline panel, and has made both the Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researchers and “Best Doctors in America” lists from 2015 to the present.