Research

Peter Beernink, PhD 

Dr. Beernink focuses on understanding specific molecular interactions between host and pathogen, particularly between complement Factor H and Neisserial surface proteins. These investigations are directly applicable for developing improved vaccines for prevention of the disease caused by the bacteria from the genus Neisseria.   

Deborah Dean, MD, MPH 

Dr. Deborah Dean focuses on Chlamydia trachomatis and involves in vitro and bioinformatic approaches along with studies of human populations to address host-pathogen interactions, including bacterial genomics, host immune responses and microbiome/metabolome associations with disease protection and pathogenesis.  

Jane Symington, MD, PhD 

Dr. Jane Symington is a pediatric physician-scientist investigating the pathogenesis of Coccidioides, the fungus that causes Coccidioidomycosis, more commonly known as Valley Fever. Her current work focuses on dissecting the interactions between Coccidioides and innate immune cells to identify and target pathways important for fungal virulence or protective host responses. 

Mary Prahl, MD 

Dr. Mary Prahl is a clinician-scientist engaged in translational research evaluating human immune responses to infectious diseases during pregnancy and early childhood to facilitate the development of novel strategies for disease prevention. 

Margaret Feeney, MD 

Dr. Margaret Feeney’s research interests encompass the T cell response to childhood infections such as malaria, HIV, and CMV, as well as age-based differences in the immune response during early life. The Feeney’s lab strives to understand the human immune response to malaria and to harness this knowledge to improve vaccines, prevention strategies, and immunomodulatory therapies.  

The Feeney Lab | UCSF Experimental Medicine 

Prachi Singh, DO, FAAP 

Dr. Prachi Singh is interested in antimicrobial stewardship. Her activities include quality improvement initiatives on improving empiric antimicrobial use within Benioff Children's Hospitals. She leads the Antimicrobial Stewardship for Kids (ASK!) project, which aims to improve antimicrobial stewardship in remote and rural access care hospitals in California without pediatric antimicrobial stewardship support. 

Rachel Wattier, MD, MHS 

Dr. Rachel Wattier started the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital San Francisco and has conducted collaborative research to improve judicious antimicrobial and diagnostic test use in children. Her current research as a scholar in the UCSF-KPNC Urologic Epidemiology K12 program focuses on improving evidence uptake and application in the diagnosis of urinary tract infections. 

Victoria Chu, MD 

Dr. Victoria Chu is interested in the intersection of public health and clinical medicine. Her current research focuses on using genomic sequencing techniques to better understand (1) the acquisition of antimicrobial resistance and (2) transmission of infections within healthcare systems. 

Daniele Gusland, MD, FAAP 

Dr. Daniele Gusland is interested in endemic mycoses, congenital and neonatal infections, judicious use of antimicrobials, and population health. Her activities include medical directorship of the outpatient infectious disease clinic at the Mission Bay clinic, working with our Pediatric Ambulatory Improvement Group (PAIG) to increase flu vaccine uptake in our subspecialty clinics, and outreach to local hospitals and physician groups. 

George Rutherford, MD, MA 

Dr. George Rutherford is interested in the epidemiology and control of communicable diseases of public health importance, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. He leads a large research and service group based in the UCSF Institute for Global Health Sciences that works on improving the generation and use of strategic information predominantly for the Presidential Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). His group has also been very active in COVID-19, Zika, and Ebola virus outbreaks. 

Lynn Ramirez, MD, MS 

Dr. Lynn Ramirez is the Medical Director of Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Control at the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco. She is interested in healthcare epidemiology and infection prevention and control. Her activities include hospital-acquired infection prevention and healthcare system response to emerging, re-emerging, and novel pathogens. 

Alexander Newman, MD, MS 

Dr. Anders Newman is interested in HIV testing, prevention, and care, specifically for adolescent patients. He is engaged in quality improvement initiatives to increase testing and early access to HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) initiation in outpatient centers, with future implementation in the emergency department and urgent care.  

Ann Petru, MD 

Dr. Ann Petru is focused on the care and management of children with HIV infection, many of whom were internationally adopted in early childhood, and on babies born to parents who are HIV-infected.  

Theodore Ruel, MD 

Dr. Ted Ruel’s research activities focus on the optimization of treatment outcomes for children living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. He serves as co-chair of the NIH/DHHS Panel on Antiretroviral Therapy and Medical Management of HIV-Infected Children that publishes treatment guidelines for children in the USA, and as co-chair to the Pediatric Antiretroviral Working Group at the World Health Organization.  

Within the International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials (IMPAACT), he is chair of the Treatment Scientific Committee and co-chair of P1093, a protocol establishing dosing and safety of Dolutegravir in children. Dr. Ruel has been involved in several trials looking at the treatment of malaria and HIV in children in sub-Saharan Africa and currently leads a cluster randomized trial of a multi-level intervention to improve outcomes in youth living with HIV in rural Kenya and Uganda. He also continues to work on broader maternal and child health issues through an NGO that he co-founded, Global Strategies. 

Charlotte Hsieh, MD, FAAP 

Dr. Charlotte Hsieh directs the Pediatric TB Program and is Medical Director of Informatics at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland. She is interested in the role of electronic health record (EHR)-based tools to support the care cascade of children with TB. 

Devan Jaganth, MD, MPH 

Dr. Devan Jaganath is interested in advancing care for children and adolescents with TB. His research focuses on developing and evaluating new tests for TB diagnosis and monitoring through data science approaches and conducting multi-center, international cohort studies. He is also interested in the use of electronic health records to improve the care cascade for latent TB infection screening and treatment. He leads the UCSF Center for Tuberculosis Maternal & Childhood TB initiative. 

Michelle Hsiang, MD, MS 

Dr. Michelle Hsiang is Director of Research for the Malaria Elimination Initiative at the Institute for Global Health Sciences. Her research is in the epidemiology of malaria in low-endemic settings aiming for elimination. She develops and evaluates novel malaria diagnostic, surveillance, and drug and vector control interventions to address the challenge of low-level infections that contribute to persistent transmission and disease. She currently has active study sites in Tanzania and Peru.