The Yale School of Public Health (YSPH) announced that Melinda Pettigrew will serve as the interim Dean of the school beginning July 1. Currently, she is the Anna M. R. Lauder Professor of Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases) and serves as the deputy dean of YSPH. Dr. Pettigrew is the Chair of the ARLG Diversity Working Group and a member of the Laboratory Center Consortium Team.

The role of interim dean will involve a variety of key responsibilities from working with faculty, staff, students, and university leaders to defining the school’s current and future priorities. Join us in congratulating Dr. Pettigrew on her new role!

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Join us in congratulating Melinda Pettigrew, PhD, who was appointed the Anna M. R. Lauder Professor of Epidemiology in the Yale University School of Public Health (YSPH) in February 2021. Dr. Pettigrew is the Chair of the ARLG Diversity Working Group and a member of the Laboratory Center Consortium Team.

Dr. Pettigrew’s research delves into the effect of microbiome disruptions on antibiotic resistance and the risk for hospital-acquired infections. She is a professor of epidemiology at YSPH as well as the senior associate dean for academic affairs and serves on the editorial board of mBio, an American Society for Microbiology journal.

The launch of a new European clinical trial network in September will aid in the battle to combat antimicrobial resistance by delivering rapid, high quality research studies. The European Clinical Research Alliance for Infectious Diseases (ECRAID) features a coordinated, single-point-of-access model that aims to streamline infectious diseases research, reduce costs, and accelerate medical advancements.

The EU-funded ECRAID-Base project is supporting the ongoing development of ECRAID into an independent, self-sustaining, not-for-profit organization over the next five years.

ECRAID’s infrastructure combines networks built by the Platform for European Preparedness Against (Re-)emerging Epidemics (PREPARE) program and the Combatting Bacterial Resistance in Europe (COMBACTE) consortium. The ARLG and COMBACTE have been collaborative partners since 2019. Herman Goossens, who has been a proponent of improving European clinical trial efficiencies by increasing collaboration, is spearheading ECRAID’s vision by serving as its executive director and CEO.

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January 2021 brought news of the passing of John Bartlett, MD, who was a mentor, colleague, and friend to many. In the initial years of our grant, he played a fundamental role in building ARLG and made significant contributions to our mentoring program. As a tribute to his leadership and legacy, we have given our fellowship program a new name, the Dr. John G. Bartlett ARLG Fellowship.

John’s early work to design and lead the ARLG Mentoring Committee stemmed from his dedication to support early career researchers and sustain ongoing exploration into the threat of antibacterial resistance. The program has now provided development opportunities to more than 45 mentees, and it continues to grow.

John’s commitment to supporting mentees and early-stage research may have originated from his own career experience, which included pioneering the establishment of early HIV treatment guidelines and ground-breaking work on the connection between C. difficile and antibiotic-related colitis. His expertise also spanned other areas including bioterrorism, respiratory tract infections, anaerobic pulmonary infections, and antimicrobial resistance. He fulfilled academic roles at UCLA, Tufts, and Johns Hopkins University where he was instrumental in starting and leading the Infectious Disease Division.

His inspiring career along with his reputation for generosity and compassion make John an ideal namesake for the ARLG fellowship award. His legacy exemplifies our commitment to mentoring and supporting the next generation of infectious diseases researchers. Like John, their contributions to combat the threat of antibacterial resistance will help to improve the lives of countless people well into the future.

Learn more about the Dr. John G. Bartlett ARLG Fellowship.

A July WebMD article titled “Antimicrobial Resistance Threat Continues During COVID” highlighted commentary from Vance Fowler, MD, and Tori Kinamon , MD Candidate at the Duke University School of Medicine, and recipient of the FDA Antibacterial Drug Resistance (DOOR) Fellowship. The input came from an online media briefing sponsored by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) the previous day and formed the foundation of the article’s content.

The article underscores the urgency of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the potential complications from COVID-19 treatments. Dr. Fowler and Kinamon provide insight on these topics as well as information on the critical importance of new research and the work happening now on innovative strategies.

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The European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) selected Prof. Herman Goossens (University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium) to receive its most prestigious award, the ESCMID Award for Excellence in Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases 2020. At the recent European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) 2021 online conference, Prof. Goossens presented his keynote recipient lecture and accepted his award, which was delayed due to last year’s COVID-19 cancellations.

His keynote presentation titled “Transcending European clinical research in infectious diseases through collaboration to break down traditional silos” outlined difficulties in the EU COVID-19 clinical research response and highlighted the need to focus on partnerships and clinical trial networks to streamline research. The alliance between ARLG and COMBACTE is one example of this type of collaboration and correlates to Prof. Goossens’ work as vice-chair of the European Clinical Research Alliance on Infectious Diseases (ECRAID)-Base and the coordinator of The Platform foR European Preparedness Against (Re-) emerging Epidemics (PREPARE).

The ESCMID executive committee selected Prof. Goossens for the award in recognition of his significant contributions in the areas of clinical microbiology and infectious diseases. He is the author of more than 600 Web of Science papers, which have been cited close to 25,000 times. Prof. Goossens has presented at more than 400 international events and received many past honors and awards.

Get On-demand access to this lecture and other great ECCMID21 content.