ARLG Clinical Trial Site Spotlight: Henry Ford Health

Dr. Marcus Zervos, MD, MACP, FIDSA and the Henry Ford Hospital Clinical Team

Back Row: Sherae Hereford, Nurse Manager Research; Mariia Numi, Research Study Coordinator; Khaled Almawri, Research Study Coordinator; Katrina Williams, Research Nurse Leader; Michael Garcia, Research Nurse. Middle Row: Shruti Tirumala, Research Study Coordinator; Hiedy Razoky, Director of Research Operations; Sindhuja Koneru, Research Study Coordinator. Front Row: Dr. Marcus Zervos, Infectious Disease Senior Staff; Dr. Erica Herc, Director Residency Training Program; Dr. Geehan Suleyman, System Medical Director, Infection Prevention and Control, and Antimicrobial Stewardship.

 

1. What is your specialty and your primary area of focus?

  • Infectious Diseases
  • Antimicrobial resistance in Staphylococcus aureus
  • Enterococcus

2. Please tell us a bit about Henry Ford Health.

Henry Ford Health is an academic institution composed of 13 hospitals, making it the second largest health system in the state of Michigan. The main location for research is in Detroit at Henry Ford Hospital—a quaternary referral hospital housing 877 beds. We take great pride in serving a wide population, and it shows in our clinical trial enrollment as well.

3. Can you tell us about your research team—sub- or co-investigators, key study coordinators, research nurses, and others—who play a vital role in ARLG studies at Henry Ford Health?

The Center of Emerging and Infectious Diseases proudly has 14 physicians and 6 advanced practice providers serving as principal investigators (PIs) or sub-investigators on studies with huge support from 40 research staff members that include coordinators, nurses, social workers, etc. Drs. Geehan Suleyman, Erica Herc, Mayur Ramesh, and Marcus Zervos have all served as PIs on various ARLG studies over the years. Katrina Williams, RN, Khaled Almawri, and Melissa Resk are major participant recruiters, with the help of many others.

4. Which ARLG projects have you participated in as a clinical trial site?

Henry Ford Hospital has been a lead investigative site in various ARLG studies since the inception of ARLG. Major publications and projects include:

  • Publications
    • Holland TL, Raad I, Boucher HW, Anderson DJ, Cosgrove SE, Aycock PS, Baddley JW, Chaftari A-M, Chow S-C, Chu VH, Carugati M, Cook P, Corey GR, Crowley AL, Daly J, Gu J, Hachem R, Horton J, Jenkins TC, Levine D, Miro JM, Pericas JM, Riska P, Rubin Z, Rupp ME, Schrank Jr J, Sims M, Wray D, Zervos M, Fowler VG Jr; for the Staphylococcal Bacteremia Investigators. Effect of algorithm-based therapy vs usual care on clinical success and serious adverse events in patients with staphylococcal bacteremia: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA. 2018 Sept 25;320(12):1249-1258. PMID: 30264119.
    • Lodise TP, Rosenkranz SL, Finnemeyer M, Evans S, Sims M, Zervos MJ, Creech CB, Patel PC, Keefer M, Riska P, Silveira FP, Scheetz M, Wunderink RG, Rodriguez M, Schrank J, Bleasdale SC, Schultz S, Barron M, Stapleton A, Wray D, Chambers H, Fowler VG, Holland TL. The Emperor's New Clothes: Prospective Observational Evaluation of the Association Between Initial Vancomycin Exposure and Failure Rates Among Adult Hospitalized Patients With Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Bloodstream Infections (PROVIDE). Clin Infect Dis. 2020 Apr 10;70(8):1536-1545. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciz460. PMID:31157370.
  • Projects
    • ACUMIN (NCT03369951)—Site PI is Dr. Mayur Ramesh*
    • CRACKLE/MDRO Network (NCT03646227)—Site PI is Dr. Erica Herc*
    • DOTS (NCT04775953)—Site PI is Dr. Mayur Ramesh*
    • EVADE (NCT02696902)—Site PI is Dr. Marcus Zervos*
    • OPTIMIZE-GNI (NCT06709521)—Site PI is Dr. Geehan Suleyman*
    • Pneumonia Direct Pilot (NCT06181669)—Site PI is Dr. Geehan Suleyman*
    • PROVIDE—Site PI is Dr. Marcus Zervos*
    • RADICAL II—Site PI is Dr. Emanuel Rivers**
    • SAATELITE (NCT02296320)—Site PI is Dr. Marcus Zervos*
    • SHREC (NCT04574596)—Site PI is Dr. Erica Herc*
    • VENOUS—Site PI is Dr. Marcus Zervos*
      *Infectious Disease
      ** Emergency Medicine and Critical Care

5. Why is the mission of the ARLG important to you?

Being a department that focuses on infectious disease, infection prevention, and public health locally, nationally, and internationally, we see the unfortunate outcomes of overuse and misuse of antibiotics. Partnering with an organization that understands and shares similar values and goals gives hope to our team and patients and informs our healthcare initiatives. Antimicrobial resistance is one of the leading infectious disease problems worldwide. Studies are needed to identify new agents and the best ways to use existing drugs.

6. Is there anything else you’d like to share about your work with the ARLG?

We have been proud to be a part of ARLG’s mission to prevent, diagnose, and treat infections that are caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. We will do what we can to aid in the research efforts and hope to continue to be a part of the solution to this healthcare crisis.