Infectious Diseases

The Division of Infectious Diseases provides clinical care to patients with all types of infectious processes in both the inpatient and outpatient settings. Eighteen faculty members make up the division. Housestaff participate as integral members of consultation services, where they are part of a team consisting of infectious diseases attending physicians and fellows, medical students and clinical pharmacists.

The Infectious Diseases Division maintains two very active consultation services at VCU Medical — general infectious diseases and transplant infectious diseases. There is also a consultation service at the Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center. The Infectious Diseases Division also provides services at Outpatient clinics including consultation clinics, an HIV clinic and a Travel and Tropical Medicine Clinic.

The primary areas of research include health care epidemiology, staphylococcal pathogenesis, antimicrobial pharmacoepidemiology and HIV clinical trials. The division maintains collaborative research relationships with the VCU School of Pharmacy and the Department of Epidemiology and Community Health.

VCU Faculty

• Yussef Bennani, MD
• Gonzalo Bearman, MD, MPH - Division Chief
• Patrick Ching, MD - Director, Travel & Tropical Medicine Clinic
• Christopher Doern, PhD (ABMM)
• Michelle Doll, MD
• Michael S. Donnenberg, MD
• Paul M. Fawcett, PhD
• David Friedel, MD
• Patricia Fulco, PharmD
• Suzanne Lavoie, MD
• Megan K. Morales, MD (Transplant ID) - Medical Director, Transplant Infectious Diseases
• Meera Pahuja, MD
• Laura Pedersen, MD, MPH - Fellowship Associate Program Director
• Jillian Raybould, MD - Director, Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program & Medical Director, Infectious Diseases Clinic
• Julie Reznicek, MD - Director, Orthopedic Infectious Diseases & Director, Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy (OPAT)
• Barry Rittmann, MD
• Sangeeta Sastry, MD - Director of Education and Quality Improvement, Ryan White Services & Director, VCU Antimicrobial Stewardship Program
• Akira Shishido, MD
• Lora Thomas, MD
• Nicole C. Vissichelli, MD (Transplant ID)
• Nathaniel C. Warner, MD
• Richard Wenzel, MD, MSc (Emeritus)
• Jinlei Zhao, PhD

VAMC Faculty

• Anthony Baffoe-Bonnie, MD
• Jane Cecil, MD
• Julie Boatman, DO
• Michael Climo, MD
• Matthew Hitchcock, MD
• John D. Markley, MD

Inpatient and outpatient infectious diseases consultation, including second opinions for:

• Bone and joint infections, including prosthetic joint infections
• Endocarditis and vascular infections
• Meningitis and other central nervous system infections
• Urinary tract infections
• Fungal infections
• Skin and soft tissue infections
• Tropical diseases
• Hospital-acquired infections
• HIV infection
• Antibiotic-resistant infections (e.g., MRSA)
• Fever of unknown origin
• Mycobacterial infections, including tuberculosis and MAC
• Sexually transmitted infections
• Infectious diarrhea, including fecal transplant for Clostridium difficile
• Preparation for international travel
• Outpatient intravenous antibiotic therapy

The Division of Infectious Diseases practices at the following locations:

• Adult Outpatient Pavilion
  Infectious Disease Clinic, 13th floor
  (804) 828-6163

Travel and Tropical Medicine Clinic, 13th Floor
(804) 828-4515

Orthopedic Infectious Diseases Clinic, 12th Floor

• Gateway Building
  Transplant Infectious Diseases Clinic, 7th floor

• VCU MCV Physicians at Mayland
  3470 Mayland Ct.
  Richmond, VA 23233 
  (804) 527-4540
  Fax: (804) 527-4487

The Division also offers patient care to veterans through the Richmond VA Medical Center.

Housestaff are invited to design and/or participate in investigations supervised by infectious diseases faculty as research electives. The primary foci of research in the Division are healthcare epidemiology, HIV clinical trials and the genetic basis of antibacterial resistance in staphylococci.

• Clinical trials in HIV-infected patients
  Veronica Ayala-Sims, Suzanne Lavoie, Daniel Nixon
• Global Health  
  Gonzalo Bearman, Michael Stevens, Richard Wenzel
• Translational virology 
  Daniel Nixon
• Epidemiology of health care associated-infections 
  Gonzalo Bearman, Michael Climo, Michael Stevens, Richard Wenzel, Edward Wong
• Antimicrobial resistance in bacteria  
  Gordon Archer, Michael Climo
• Antimicrobial utilization  
  Michael Stevens
• Antimicrobial pharmacoepidemiology  
  Amy Pakyz, Ron Polk, Michael Stevens
• Clinical microbiology 
  Betty Forbes, Chris Doern

Division of Infectious Diseases 
VMI Building, Suites 107 & 205
1000 East Marshall Street
Richmond, Virginia 23298
Phone: (804) 828-9711
Fax: (804) 828-3097

Division Contacts

Medicine

Gonzalo Bearman, MD, MPH, MPA
Division Chief and Hospital Epidemiologist
Email: gonzalo.bearman@vcuhealth.org

Patrick Ching, MD
Director, Travel & Tropical Medicine Clinic
Email: patrick.ching1@vcuhealth.org

Megan Morales, MD
Medical Director, Transplant Infectious Diseases
Email: megan.morales@vcuhealth.org

Jillian Raybould, MD
Director, Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program &
Medical Director, Infectious Diseases Clinic
Email: jillian.raybould@vcuhealth.org

Julie Reznicek, DO
Director, Orthopedic Infectious Diseases &
Director, Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy (OPAT)
Email: julie.reznicek@vcuhealth.org

Sangeeta Sastry, MD
Director of Education and Quality Improvement, Ryan White Services &
Director, VCU Antimicrobial Stewardship Program
Email:  sangeeta.sastry@vcuhealth.org

Administration

Rebecca Mullin, MHA
Division Administrator
Box 980663
Richmond, Virginia 23298-0111
Phone:  (804) 828-6866