Department of Medicine

Infectious Diseases

The mission of the Division is to provide state-of-the-art care for all patients, to teach and mentor students in the art and science of infectious diseases, and to pursue research that investigates the manifestations and treatment of infectious diseases.

Breadcrumb

Infectious Diseases

Overview

The Division of Infectious Diseases was established in 1966. It provides comprehensive inpatient and outpatient infectious disease care at Rhode Island Hospital, The Miriam Hospital , Newport Hospital, Veterans Administration Medical Center, and Women and Infants Hospital. The mission of the Division is to provide state-of-the-art care for all patients with any type of infectious disease, to teach and mentor medical students, house officers and fellows in the art and science of infectious diseases, and to pursue clinical and basic research that investigates the manifestations and treatment of infectious diseases. The Interim Division Director is Curt G. Beckwith, MD, FACP, FIDSA.

The Division has a number of areas of expertise including Bacteriology, Global Health, HIV/AIDS, Infection Control, Virology, Mycology, and Antimicrobial Stewardship. The Division is active in clinical, translational, and basic science research with over 15 million dollars in annual external funding. The Division hosts a two-year clinical fellowship in infectious diseases, a one-year Advanced Fellowship in HIV Medicine, and an NIH funded T32 fellowship in clinical research on infections related to substance use. Members of the Division are active teachers within the Brown University Department of Medicine and work closely with Brown programs, including the Brown Global Health Initiative.

Global Health Initiative

Global health is a defining issue of our time, and universities have a tremendous responsibility to help reduce the burden of disease in communities around the world and help build an infrastructure for progress and understanding through research, education and service.

Global Health Initiative

Faculty

Curt Beckwith, MD

Professor of Medicine; Interim Chief, Division of Infectious Diseases
Amy Brotherton, PharmD

Assistant Professor of Medicine; Clinician Educator
Angela Caliendo, MD, PhD

Warren Alpert Foundation Professor of Medicine; Executive Vice Chair, Department of Medicine
Philip Chan, MD, MS

Associate Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences; Associate Professor of Medicine
Susan Cu-Uvin, MD

Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice; Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology; Professor of Medicine
Cheston Cunha, MD

Associate Professor of Medicine; Program Director, Brown University Infectious Diseases Fellowship
Erika D’Agata, MD, MPH

Professor of Medicine
Dimitrios Farmakiotis, MD

Associate Professor of Medicine
Timothy Flanigan, MD

Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice; Professor of Medicine
Melissa Gaitanis, MD

Associate Professor of Medicine; Clinician Educator
Mónica García-Solache, MD, PhD, MSc

Assistant Professor of Medicine (Research)
Joseph Garland, MD

Associate Professor of Medicine; Clinician Educator
Sara Geffert, MD

Assistant Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine; Assistant Professor of Medicine; Clinician Educator
Fizza Gillani, PhD

Associate Professor of Medicine (Research); Associate Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice (Research)
Erica Hardy, MD

Associate Professor of Medicine; Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Joseph Harwell, MD

Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics; Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine
Sabina Holland, MD

Assistant Dean of Medicine, PLME FURM; Medical Director, Pediatric HIV Clinic; Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Jennie Johnson, MD

Assistant Professor of Medicine; Clinician Educator
Rami Kantor, MD

Professor of Medicine
Michelle Lally, MD

Director of Providence/Boston Center for AIDS Research; Director of Brown University AIDS Program (BRUNAP); Associate Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice; Associate Professor of Medicine
Jerome Larkin, MD

Associate Professor of Medicine; Clinician Educator
John Lonks, MD

Associate Professor of Medicine; Associate Professor of Medical Science
Leonard Mermel, DO, ScM

Professor of Medicine
Maria Mileno, MD

Associate Professor of Medicine
Jennifer Mitty, MD, MPH

Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine
Gerard Nau, MD, PhD

Associate Professor of Medicine; Clinician Educator
Marguerite Neill, MD

Associate Professor of Medicine
Bharat Ramratnam, MD

Warren Alpert Foundation Professor of Medicine; Chief Scientific Officer, Brown Innovation and Research Collaborative for Health
Donald Rice Jr., MD

Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine
Josiah Rich, MD, MPH

Professor of Medicine; Professor of Epidemiology
Tanya Rogo, MD

Program Director, Pediatric Infectious Diseases Fellowship, Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Francine Romo, MD

Assistant Professor of Medicine; Clinician Educator
Natasha Rybak, MD

Assistant Professor of Medicine; Clinician Educator
Martha Sanchez, MD

Assistant Professor of Medicine; Clinician Educator
Anu Shobayo, MD

Assistant Professor of Medicine; Clinician Educator
Xiaoli Tang, PhD

Assistant Professor of Medicine (Research)
Jun Tao, PhD

Assistant Professor of Medicine (Research)
Karen Tashima, MD

Professor of Medicine
Allan Tunkel, MD, PhD, MACP

Professor of Medicine; Chief of Medical Education; Professor of Medical Science
Edward Wing, MD

Professor Emeritus of Medical Science

Fellowship Programs

Infectious Diseases Fellowship

The Infectious Diseases Fellowship provides career and research mentoring to the next generation of infectious diseases physician-scientists, clinicians, and clinician-educators.

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HIV Medicine Fellowship

This fellowship provides advanced training in HIV and tuberculosis medicine through focused clinical sessions, didactics, and research opportunities.

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Research Centers

Providence/Boston Center for AIDS Research (CFAR)

The Providence/Boston Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) is composed of two academic institutions, Brown University and Boston University, their affiliated hospitals, Brown University Health and Boston Medical Center (BMC), and the Rhode Island Department of Health, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, local community organizations, and international sites, including Kenya, South Africa, Philippines, Uganda, Zambia, Russia and Ukraine. The mission of the Providence/Boston CFAR is to promote the NIH HIV priority research agenda. We are devoted to the pursuit of translational research to reduce the burden of HIV infection worldwide, with special focus on substance users, women, MSM, justice-involved persons, and at-risk youth. To achieve this goal, we are committed to fostering emerging HIV investigators both domestically and within resource-limited settings. CFAR Core Services are available to support HIV/AIDS research and Faculty Development Programs are open to all affiliated Boston University and Brown University faculty members. Susan Cu-Uvin MD, Professor of Medicine, Brown University, is the principal investigator of the CFAR.

Providence/Boston Center for AIDS Research

The Providence/Boston Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) is a partnership between Brown University/Brown University Health and Boston University/Boston Medical Center aimed at reducing the global burden of HIV infection.

Center for Health and Justice Transformation

The Center for Prisoner Health and Human Rights seeks health equity for justice involved populations and works to change policy and practice through education, advocacy, research, and the development of strategic solutions. The Center’s work falls into four core areas:

Raising awareness at the national and state level about the healthcare issues and challenges that justice-involved populations face; and providing education and training opportunities for college, graduate, and health professional students and trainees in this area, and encouraging student and trainee engagement and leadership in justice issues
Conducting and supporting clinical, behavioral, and social research involving justice-involved populations
Providing resources, training, and technical assistance that enhances health equity within systems for justice involved populations.
Mobilizing and collaborating with national and local justice system stakeholders to identify, develop, and support practice and policy projects that respond to the intersections of criminal justice, incarceration, recidivism, diversion, and public health

Center for Health & Justice Transformation

The Center for Health and Justice Transformation (CHJT) at Brown University Health is dedicated to advancing health equity in the criminal legal system.

COBRE Center for Antimicrobial Resistance and Therapeutic Discovery (CARTD)

The principal objective of Phase I COBRE application is to build a unique, multidisciplinary center to study mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance and develop therapeutic countermeasures. The long-term goal of the Center for Antimicrobial Resistance and Therapeutic Discovery (CARTD) at The Miriam Hospital is to develop new therapies for infections caused by drug-resistant pathogens. This goal will be attained through short-term objectives of developing a new generation of junior investigators.

COBRE Center for Antimicrobial Resistance and Therapeutic Discovery

The Biorepository Core for the COBRE Center for Antimicrobial Resistance and Therapeutic Discovery (CARTD) is a source of well-characterized clinical isolates.

Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) on Opioids and Overdose

The Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) on Opioids and Overdose at Rhode Island Hospital is the first center of its kind to address the opioid epidemic. The Center is funded by a 5-year Phase I (of III) grant from the National Institute on General Medical Sciences and is directed by Principal Investigator Josiah “Jody” Rich, MD, MPH and Deputy Director Traci Green, PhD, MSc. The Center brings together researchers, policymakers, public health officials, community-based organizations, and scientists from multiple disciplines across Rhode Island to help shape policies and practices that will curb this epidemic. Through the development of robust research infrastructure, the collaborative and multidisciplinary COBRE on Opioids and Overdose will also support innovative work and foster the professional growth of junior investigators.

To bolster research quality and lend support to COBRE junior investigators, the COBRE award funds three research cores. The Data and Research Core led by Brandon Marshall, PhD provides quantitative expertise, methodological knowledge on study designs, and technological resources. The Translational and Transformative Core headed by Susan Ramsey, PhD and Traci Green, PhD, MSc will strengthen translational research in social, behavioral, and clinical sciences, as well as improve study dissemination. The Special Populations Core spearheaded by Curt Beckwith, MD and Timothy Flanigan, MD will assist in the recruitment process and provide guidance in conducting ethical research with vulnerable populations. The long-term goal of the Center is to develop and sustain a critical mass of investigators specializing in opioids and overdose, thereby enhancing the competitiveness of affiliated investigators and propelling the field of opioid and overdose research forward. Through leveraging the exceptional talent and accomplishments in Rhode Island, the COBRE on Opioids and Overdose aims to support excellence in research essential to understanding the mechanisms underlying opioid use disorder and developing innovative solutions. For more information, please contact the Administrative Coordinator, Gayle Fraser.

The Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) on Opioids and Overdose

The Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) on Opioids and Overdose, based at the Rhode Island Hospital, is the first center of its kind aimed to collaboratively address the opioid epidemic.

Investigators

Name	Research Focus
Curt Beckwith, MD	diagnosis, treatment and longitudinal care of HIV and hepatitis C virus
Angela M. Caliendo, MD, PhD	development of molecular diagnostic tests for the detection and quantification of infectious diseases
Susan Cu-Uvin, MD	global health, HIV epidemiology, maternal and perinatal HIV
Erika D'Agata, MD	transmission dynamics of multidrug-resistant organisms, the microbiome and its role in infections, antimicrobial stewardship
Dimitrios Farmakiotis, MD, FACP	infections in hematologic malignancies and the transplant population, antifungal resistance
Beth Burgwyn Fuchs, PhD	antimicrobial drug discovery and development, compound screening using Caenorhabditis elegans
Monica Garcia-Solache, MD, PhD, MSc	antibiotic resistance, extracellular membrane-derived vesicles
Erica J. Hardy, MD, MA, MMSc	infectious disease issues in women, including congenital infection, complex sexually transmitted infections, as well as the medical care and follow-up of survivors of sexual assault
Leah Harvey	HIV/AIDS Harm Reduction Addiction Medicine Bacterial Infections General ID
Rami Kantor, MD	HIV drug resistance, treatment monitoring, and transmission through networks
John R. Lonks, MD	mechanism of pneumococcal resistance
Leonard A. Mermel, DO, ScM, AM (Hon), FSHEA, FIDSA, FACP	Diagnosis, management, and prevention of healthcare-associated infections
Eleftherios Mylonakis, MD, PhD, FIDSA	Host-pathogen and antimicrobial drug discovery, fungal pathogenesis, Clostridioides difficile infections in nursing homes, meta-analyses and cost-effective analyses
Gerard J. Nau, MD, PhD, FIDSA	bacterial pathogenesis, innate immunity, aging, antimicrobial target discovery
Bharat Ramratnam, MD	HIV-1 replication, persistence, RNAi, microbicides
Louis B. Rice, MD	mechanisms of antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria
Josiah (Jody) D. Rich, MD, MPH (NAM)	treatment and prevention of HIV, health of the incarcerated population, opioid use and overdose
Nasasha R. Rybak, MD	non-tuberculous Mycobacteria, tuberculosis
Karen T. Tashima, MD	Clinical Trials on HIV

Publications

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

The Division of Infectious Diseases is dedicated in strengthening the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts within our faculty, trainees and personnel. We understand the importance of offering quality of care to the diverse community in Rhode Island that is respectful of each person’s background, age, race, sex, gender identity, ability, and sexual orientation.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Community

The Brown Minority Housestaff Association (BMHA)

BMHA was founded in 2013 by residents across specialties interested in supporting a diverse GME community and the advancement of underrepresented minorities in medicine through mentorship, networking, and advocacy. The organization aspires to provide a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere for all residents and fellows and hopes to create close-knit, lifelong friendships as its members support one another throughout their training.

Brown Sexual and Gender Minority Alliance (BSGMA)

Brown Sexual and Gender Minority Alliance (BSGMA) is an organization devoted to education, advocacy, and support for sexual and gender minority trainees and faculty affiliated with The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Membership is open to any and all trainees, faculty, and students regardless of identity or orientation.

Curriculum

Develop or refine fellowship curricula and faculty programming that addresses diversity and inclusion, including race in medicine, health disparities in infectious diseases, transgender health, understanding structural racism.

In 2021-2022 the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) anti-racism curriculum was included as part of the ID Division weekly didactic lectures.

Brown Advocates for Social Chance and Equity (BASCE) Fellowship

The program builds a community of medical students, residents, and faculty who have been trained to facilitate cross-cultural activities and dialogues on race, unconscious bias, and health equity within our peer community and respective healthcare systems. The sessions focus on critical thinking and dialogue, mentoring, and active workshopping of a project.

BASCE

Research

The Providence/Boston CFAR Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) Initiative

The Providence/Boston CFAR is committed to cultivating the next generation of scientists working to end the HIV epidemic. The goal of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Initiative is to ensure that the next generation of scientists includes a diverse array of experiences and perspectives.

CFAR

ID Division Contacts