The Division of Infectious Diseases has active clinical teaching services and outpatient clinics, recording
approximately 75 inpatient and 200 outpatient visits per month at each hospital. The division supervises the New York
State designated AIDS Center at University Hospital, which includes an inpatient unit, an outpatient clinic and
treatment area, and a staff of physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses and social workers.
Research is carried out by the nine full-time members of the division in the following areas.
Lyme Disease Research Group:
Stony Brook is situated at the epicenter of Lyme disease in North America. Our University Hospital sees several hundred
patients per year. The Division of Infectious Diseases is at the forefront of an interdepartmental research program, using
cutting edge molecular biological techniques to develop reliable diagnostic tests, multivalent vaccines and innovative therapies.
AIDS Center:
The AIDS Center, a New York State designated program, encompasses a multidisciplinary approach to management of patients with
HIV infection. The Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Center has a large clinical research program involved in the testing of new therapies
for HIV treatment as well as development of a vaccine for HIV. These programs interrelate to basic investigations of HIV
pathogenesis by examining immune reconstitution of people under therapy for HIV infections. New therapies for HIV based
upon identification of target sites in HIV replication cycles are under study. The Center also includes the State-funded HIV
Clinical Scholars Program, an educational program supported by the New York State Department of Health’s AIDS Institute.
Other areas of investigation are:
- Studies of Toxoplasma gondii with the aim of identifying steps in replication that may be susceptible to chemotherapy
- Studies of the molecular pathogenesis of Hantavirus which leads to Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)
- In vitro, in vivo and clinical trials of investigational antibacterial and antiviral agents; epidemiology of antimicrobial
use and abuse
- Epidemiology and prevention of nosocomial infections, infections in patients with compromised host defenses and infection
with resistant organisms
- Host defense mechanisms for infectious organisms, such as Cryptosporidium, Leishmania donovani, Salmonella typhi, Borrelia
burgdorferi, Toxoplasma gondii and Trichinella spiralis
- Molecular mechanism of microbial adherence to mucosal and endothelial surfaces
Medical students may take the clinical infectious diseases rotation. Students evaluate patients seen in consultation and discuss
each patient with division fellows and faculty. Students also gain experience working with a modern clinical microbiology
laboratory. Electives are available at both hospitals. Under attending supervision, residents see patients in consultation.
The division has an ACGME-approved fellowship program in Infectious Diseases. The two-to-three-year program encompasses
both clinical and research activity. Divisional conferences include a weekly Core Review (Journal Club), a weekly Clinical
Conference, monthly Research Conferences and a yearly lecture series on immunology, biostatistics, research design and public
health. In addition to working with members of the Infectious Disease faculty in the Department of Medicine, arrangements can be
made for postdoctoral fellows to work in laboratories of members of the basic science departments, such as Microbiology and Pharmacology,
the Center for Infectious Disease of the Center
for Molecular Medicine and Biology and the recently inaugurated Graduate Program in Public Health of our Medical School.
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