Research: Division of Infectious Diseases and Travel Medicine

The Division of Infectious Diseases and Travel Medicine is committed to participation in state-of-the-art research projects and clinical trials in therapeutics for the treatment of infectious diseases.  The overarching goals of our research endeavors are, the to promote translational science into the clinical practice of infectious diseases, study and development of novel agents to treat infectious diseases, the study of epidemiological questions in infectious diseases that affect our communities, and to recruit and enroll a diverse patient population and the medically underserved into promising clinical trials.

Our research program is comprised of the following components:

Clinical Trials Unit: Our Clinical Trials Unit (CTU) is comprised of experienced research coordinators and regulatory affairs personnel who are dedicated to the recruitment of patients into therapeutic drug trials of novel agents.  Under the direction of Dr. Princy Kumar, the CTU performs clinical trials in all phases of drug development, from Phase I through Phase III.  The CTU has particular expertise in performing pharmacokinetic studies for innovative antiretroviral agents for the treatment of HIV. MGUH has an inpatient Clinical Research Unit (CRU) where complex Phase 1 trials can be performed.  Over the last 20+ years the Division of Infectious Diseases and Travel Medicine has received both federal funding as an AIDS Clinical Trials Unit (ACTU) and funding from the pharmaceutical industry to develop new treatments for HIV and its complications, HCV, C. Difficile Colitis, CLABSIs, and most recently, SARS-CoV-2 Infections. Our current research portfolio is extensive as it encompasses nearly 50 ongoing studies. For more information regarding our clinical trials unit, please contact mpm229@georgetown.edu

Fellowship Research Program: All of our Infectious Disease Fellows participate in clinical research and have been successful in publishing and presenting their work at national meetings including ID Week, CROI, AASLD, and the American Transplant Congress.  They have been involved in studies regarding multi-drug resistant organisms, HIV associated complications, and infections in solid organ transplant recipients. To review a sample of Fellows’ Research and Scholarly actives, please click here.

MedStar Health Research Institute (MHRI): As a fellow at MGUH, one has access to all of the resources provided by MHRI.  All fellows have 30 hours of free biostatistical support from MHRI for each project that he or she participates in.  Additionally, MHRI has an extensive patient clinical database throughout the entire MedStar system that can be used for data mining to answer a clinical research question.  

Women’s Interagency HIV Study (WIHS): Since 1994 Georgetown has been a site for the NIH funded Women’s Interagency HIV Study (WIHS).  This is an observational, longitudinal cohort study of both HIV infected women and non-HIV infected women under the direction of Dr. Seble Kassaye.  The overall goal of this study is to describe the natural history of HIV infection in Women with regard to opportunistic infections and malignancies, antiretroviral treatment response and toxicities, medical comorbidities (including cardiovascular disease, metabolic complications, etc.), neurocognitive complications as well as psychosocial aspects of HIV infection.  The WIHS cohort provides a very robust data set for local and national investigators to collaborate on. Recently, the WIHS cohort has been combined with the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS) which will enhance further research in the natural history of HIV.   For more information, please visit the WIHS Website.

DC CFAR: The District of Columbia Center for AIDS Research (DC CFAR) is a unique city-wide consortium representing 230 HIV investigators at eight collaborating research institutions in Washington, D.C.  The DC CFAR is a part of a larger network of Centers for AIDS Research (CFARs) funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to provide scientific leadership and institutional infrastructure for HIV/AIDS research.  Georgetown has been an integral part of the DC CFAR under the scientific leadership of Drs. Princy Kumar and Seble Kassaye.  For more information, please visit the DC CFAR website.

DC Cohort: The DC Cohort is a longitudinal research project that collects clinical data from approximately 10,000 consenting people living with HIV receiving care at fifteen HIV clinics in the District of Columbia. The DC Cohort is sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The primary project goal is to improve the quality of care and treatment of people living with HIV receiving care at large clinics in the District of Columbia.  Georgetown contributes to this database and as a result faculty investigators have had access to this data set and have been successful in presenting and publishing clinical research on HIV infected patients in the District of Columbia.  This database is regularly updated by out Data Manager, Madhuri Natarajan who also provides statistical support for both our faculty and fellows. For more information please visit the DC Cohort Website.

Looking Ahead

The Division of Infectious Diseases will continue to develop and participate in clinical studies that fulfill its research agenda and serve the patient population it cares for.