Current Fellows - Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program

Third Year Fellows

Shamim Islam, MD

Medical School: Weill Medical College of Cornell University

Pediatric Residency: University of California San Francisco

Post-Residency:

• London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (DTM&H)
  
• International Centre for Diarrheal Diseases Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B) (1 year);
• Hospitalist and moonlighting physician, San Francisco

Research:
Prior to fellowship, I’d been involved with research activities on visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar) in Bangladesh. My main research project currently expands on these experiences. Specifically, I am examining the potential immunologic underpinnings of a rarer dermatological manifestation of the disease – Post-Kala-azar Dermal Leishmaniasis (PKDL) – through comparing cytokine profiles of various Kala-azar and PKDL patients, who have been identified through field-based epidemiologic efforts by a team of CDC-funded workers in Bangladesh. I continue to work with collaborators and senior investigators from the CDC and ICDDR,B in Bangladesh, while benefitting from local mentorship at CHORI. Beyond my core Leishmaniasis research activities.

I have also been able to participate in other scholastic pursuits during my fellowship, namely with the development of an antibiotic clinical guidelines and stewardship program at our hospital, as well as a new study on the impact of blood-based (Interferon-gamma release assay) tests on latent tuberculosis infection management.

Omoniyi Omotoso, MD

Medical School: Washington University School of Medicine

Pediatric Residency: Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland

Post-Residency: Master’s Degree in Public Health, University of California, Berkeley

Research:
In between my clinical fellowship years, I obtained a Masters in Public Health with an Epidemiology concentration at the University of California Berkeley. My master's paper was a systematic review of "Chlamydia trachomatis infections as an independent risk factor for development of cervical cancer irrespective of the presence/absence of human papillomavirus (HPV)." The impetus and inspiration for the paper was a CHORI investigator who collaborated with a colleague based in Ecuador. In that Ecuadoran region there were two local populations with significantly different cervical cancer rates, and the hypothesis was the difference was attributable to different Chlamydia trachomatis incidence rates.. I'm currently working on the meta-analysis based on my master's paper. In addition, my longer-term interest is HIV co-infections, centering on tuberculosis and malaria.

Kathleen Chang, MD

Medical School: University of California San Diego

Residency: Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland

Fellowship Research:
Evaluation for probable early-onset group B streptococcal neonatal disease, in infants born at ≥32 weeks of gestation, in the era of intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis

Impressions of Fellowship:
Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland provides an incredible clinical experience ranging from "bread-and-butter" cases of osteomyelitis to malarial cases from abroad to unfortunate cases of aspergillosis. The attendings are always eager to teach, and there are ample opportunities for learning including journal clubs, case presentations, microbiology sessions, clinical research training and radiology rounds. You play an active role not only in seeing patients, but also in participating in infection control, antibiotic stewardship and the creation of hospital guidelines.

As a fellow, I participated in an NIH-funded multicenter research study addressing early-onset group B streptococcal neonatal disease and focused on a subanalysis of the data for my independent research project. I appreciate what I have gained from my training, and am now active in influencing policy, education and, of course, clinical care in my new position at Kaiser Permanente.

Second Year Fellow

Kara DuBray, MD

Medical School: University of North Carolina School of Medicine at Chapel Hill

Pediatric Residency: Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland

Post-Residency:

• Diploma Course in HIV, Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
• Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative, Pediatric AIDS Corps Physician, Lesotho (1 year)
• Private Practice, San Leandro (1 year)

Research:
Currently I am working with Dr. Carol Glaser at the California Encephalitis Project (CEP). The CEP, a California Department of Health funded surveillance project, was initiated in 1998 to identify causes and to characterize clinical and epidemiologic features of encephalitis in California. Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland has worked closely with the CEP during this time period, referring many pediatric encephalitis cases for further testing. I am focusing on describing outcomes of pediatric encephalitis and determining predictors of outcome.