Judith A. Anesi, MD

Judith A. Anesi, MD
Post-Doctoral Fellow and Attending Physician
ARLG Research Fellow
Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine

About My ARLG Research Fellowship

I was awarded the ARLG Research Fellowship to study multidrug-resistant Gram-negative infections among solid organ transplant recipients. More specifically, I am evaluating the clinical and molecular epidemiology of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producing Enterobacteriaceae bloodstream infections among solid organ transplant recipients.

Solid organ transplant recipients are particularly vulnerable to infection and can be the “canary in the coal mine” when new drug-resistant organisms are emerging. As a result, they represent an important piece of the global antimicrobial resistance puzzle. In order to minimize the morbidity and mortality related to these bacterial infections, it is important to study their clinical and molecular epidemiology. I have chosen to focus on ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae infections because they are the most common type of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative infections. I have chosen to focus on bloodstream infections, since they are arguably the most serious type of bacterial infection faced by this population.

Progress to Date

We have completed data collection at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital and continue to collect data from solid organ transplant recipients at Johns Hopkins Hospital and the University of Maryland Medical Center.

Thus far, we have learned that among solid organ transplant recipients who develop an Enterobacteriaceae bloodstream infection:

  • Approximately 18 percent are due to an ESBL-producing organism and about 6 percent are due to carbapenem-resistant organisms.
  • Outcomes are significantly worse for those recipients who develop an ESBL- or carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae bloodstream infection than those patients who have more susceptible infections.

Impact of ARLG Research Funding to My Career

Not only has this funding allowed me to develop a new line of research focused on multidrug-resistant bacterial infections among solid organ transplant recipients, but it has also provided protected research time. This allows me time in my post-doctoral fellowship to collect data that will be used for a NIH K application submission. Exposure to ARLG leadership and the large-scale studies that they are performing has also provided me with an important education in the design and implementation of rigorous clinical trials and epidemiological studies. I have developed new mentorship relationships in the process that have cemented my interest in continuing to study antimicrobial resistance among immunocompromised hosts in the future.

Benefits of ARLG

ARLG is not merely a funding mechanism for research in antimicrobial resistance; rather, it is a community of scientists who ardently pursue improved human health through a better understanding of the optimal prevention, detection, and management of antimicrobial resistance. This community is the most valuable asset of the ARLG enterprise.