Research Projects with Fellows, Residents and Medical Students

Publications in peer-reviewed journals from fellows, residents and students in the ID division.

2023

Bailey L, Papamanoli A, Thorne M, Ford F, Dy JI, Chevireddy C, Psevdos G. Influenza vaccination for hospital employees: a 3-year success-story of a flu-pod drive-thru at a Veterans Affairs medical center. Am J Infect Control 2023;51:346-48

Njoroge A, Ford F, Psevdos G. Antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in US Veterans living with HIV. Infect Dis Clin Pract 2023; 31:e1209

Zahra A, Thorne M, Psevdos G. Detection of Non-SARS COV-2 respiratory viruses in US Veterans during the second year of COVID-19 Pandemic. Infect Dis Clin Pract 2023; 31:e1225

Sajib M, Ford F, Psevdos G. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the prevalence of multidrug-resistant organisms in Veterans Affairs nursing homes. Infect Dis Clin Pract 2023; 31:e1224

Munir M, LeMaitre B, Lobo Z, Psevdos G. A 15-year review of Helicobacter pylori screening and treatment among United States Veterans.  Helicobacter 2022; 27:e12919

Tin K, Papamanoli A, Psevdos G, Lobo Z, Kaplun O. New onset diarrheal illness in a patient receiving Nivolumab for lung adenocarcinoma. Infect Dis Clin Pract 2022; 30: e1084

Gauvin GA, Mian B, Psevdos G, Lier A. SARS-COV-2 and Legionella Co-infection. J Global Infect Dis 2023; 15:40

Njoroge A, Psevdos G. Bleeding rectal ulcer in an elderly Veteran receiving pembrolizumab for lung cancer. Infectious Diseases Clinical Practice 2023:31:e1270

Lum M, Gauvin C, Pham SK, Papamanoli A, Spitzer ED, Kalogeropoulos AP, Marcos LA. Procalcitonin as a Potential Biomarker in the Study of Babesiosis Caused by B. microti. Pathogens. 2022 Oct 23;11(11):1222. doi: 10.3390/pathogens11111222. PMID: 36364974; PMCID: PMC9698394.

Sajib MI, Lamba P, Spitzer ED, Marcos LA. False-Positive Serology for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in Long Island, New York, during 2011-2021. Pathogens. 2023 Mar 22;12(3):503. 

Ameen E, Nin Zhu S, Morales Guzman C, Taub E, Siles C, Meza Sanchez G, Vilcarromero S, Ramal C, Tangoa N, Marcos LA. Feasibility of Training Community Health Workers to Use Smartphone-Attached Microscopy for Point-of-Care Visualization of Soil-Transmitted Helminths in the Peruvian Amazon. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2023 Apr 17:tpmd220210. 

Marcos LA, Vorkas CK, Mann I, Garry E, Lamba P, Pham SK, Spector R, Papamanoli A, Krivacsy S, Lum M, Zahra A, Hou W, Spitzer ED. Reduced Cholesterol Levels during Acute Human Babesiosis. Pathogens. 2023;12(4):613. 

Qureshi F, Romeiser JL, Murphy PF, Go R, Abola R. "A quality assurance initiative on improving cefazolin perioperative redose compliance," Int J Qual Health Care 2022; 34(4): mzac073. PMID: 36103371 DOI: 10.1093/intqhc/mzac073 

Sajib MI, Monteforte M, Go R. Clinical Outcome of Cefiderocol for Infections with Carbapenem-Resistant Organisms. Antibiotics (Basel). 2023 May 21;12(5):936. doi: 10.3390/antibiotics12050936. PMID: 37237839; PMCID: PMC10215264.

Saldivar, Miguel; Michelen Alvarez, Yamil; Milla, Lucia; Kalogeropoulos, Andreas; SIN, ERIC; Hellman, Harriet; Gilman, Robert ; Marcos, Luis  Seroprevalence of Chagas Disease among people of Latin American descent living in Suffolk County, Long Island, New York. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Accepted for publication 01 June 2023

Pradhan A, Vorkas CK.Cell Host Microbe. 2023 Mar 8;31(3):329-330. doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2023.02.003.PMID: 36893731

Ammu, Anusha, Busara Songtanin, and Sarath Nath. "Mycobacterium goodii central venous catheter-related bloodstream infection." Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings. Vol. 36. No. 1. Taylor & Francis, 2023.

Culas, Roshni, Sridesh Nath, and Sarath Nath. "Safely prescribing nirmatrelvir and ritonavir—Avoiding drug-drug interactions." JAMA Internal Medicine 183.4 (2023): 362-363.

ACP Fellowship

Suttichai Sae-tia, MD

Miguel Saldivar, MD

Bettina Fries, MD

AAAS Fellowship

Bettina Fries, MD

Distinguished Professor - SUNY

Bettina Fries, MD

IDSA abstracts Oct 2022

1.     Marcos LA, et al. Peripheral Blood RNA Signatures Associated with Human Babesiosis, Quality of Life and Neurological Symptoms. Poster presentation at IDWeek 2022, Washington DC. 

2.     Elena K Martin,  Caroline Wang, Audun Lier,  Nancy Azab,  Bettina C. Fries Infectious Complications in People Who Inject Drugs (PWID): A Retrospective Review and Recommendations for Improved Care IDWeek 2022, Washington DC.

New Grants 

A. Marcos LA

Title: Host Peripheral Blood Biomarkers to Diagnose Active Lyme Disease and post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome.  

Sponsor: Department of Defense, W81XWH-21-TBDRP-IDA
Role: PI (Total: 754,214; 5% time effort)
05/2022-09/2025     

B. Vorkas CK

1R21AI171578-01A1 Mycobacterium tuberculosis-derived metabolites acting as ligands for MR1-restricted T cells
Dept of Medicine Pilot Award
OVPR seed award

C. Fries BC
OVPR Seed grant
IDSA GERM grant with student
URECA grant with student

Talks 2022-2023

Fries BC Uganda International meeting for Cryptococcus and Cryptococcosis

Marcos LA Grand rounds at Northwell

2022

Grossman J, Fan J, Allard F, Moon J, Marcos LA. Persistent Clostridium difficile Colitis Mimicking A Fatal Case Of Strongyloides Hyperinfection Syndrome. Int J Infect Dis. 2022;117:369-371.

2021

Wang Z, Garcia RM, Huff HV, Niquen-Jimenez M, Marcos LA, Lam SK. Neurocysticercosis control for primary epilepsy prevention: a systematic review. Pathog Glob Health. 2021:1-15.

Papamanoli A, Kalogeropoulos AP, Hotelling J, Yoo J, Grewal P, Predun W, Jacob RP, Cao K, Marcos LA, Skopicki HA. Association of Serum Ferritin Levels and Methylprednisolone Treatment With Outcomes in Nonintubated Patients With Severe COVID-19 Pneumonia. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(10):e2127172.

Yoo J, Grewal P, Hotelling J, Papamanoli A, Cao K, Dhaliwal S, Jacob R, Mojahedi A, Bloom ME, Marcos LA, Skopicki HA, Kalogeropoulos AP. Admission NT-proBNP and outcomes in patients without history of heart failure hospitalized with COVID-19. ESC Heart Fail. 2021:4278-4287.

2020

Adjuvant Maggot Debridement Therapy for Deep Wound Infection due to Methicillin‑resistant Staphylococcus aureus
Olga Kaplun1 , Magdalena Pupiales2 , George Psevdos3,4

Antimicrobial stewardship program achieved marked decrease in Clostridium difficile infections in a Veterans Hospital
Froehlich Morgan Pharm-D a, Maymonah Belal MDb, Bailey Lisa RN, MS, BSN, CLC c, Florence Ford RN, MSN, BSN c, Beth LeMaitre MTd, George Psevdos MDe,*

An Unexpected Etiology for Abdominal Pain and Diarrhea in an Argentinian Immigrant
Olga Kaplun, MD,* Zeena Lobo, MD,† and George Psevdos, MD†

Atypical Peripheral Smear Findings in a Patient With Fever and Cough During Spring of 2020
Aikaterini Papamanoli, MD*, and George Psevdos, MD†

The Burden of Neurocysticercosis at a Single New York Hospital
1 Luboslav Woroch,2 Keith Sweeney,3 Roberta Seidman,4 and Luis A. Marcos5,6,7

Candidiasis and Mechanisms of Antifungal Resistance.
Bhattacharya S, Sae-Tia S, Fries BC.Antibiotics (Basel). 2020 Jun 9;9(6):312. doi: 10.3390/antibiotics9060312.PMID: 32526921 Free PMC article. Review.

COVID-19: challenges and opportunities.
Singer AJ, Fries BC.Clin Exp Emerg Med. 2020 Jul 20. doi: 10.15441/ceem.20.054. Online ahead of print.PMID: 32683854 No abstract available.

COVID-19 in a Veterans Affairs Hospital at Suffolk County, Long Island, New York
Aikaterini Papamanoli, MD, Zeena Lobo, MD, George Psevdos, MD 

Geospatial Distribution and Predictors of Mortality in Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19: A Cohort Study
COVID-19 Writing Group. Mallipattu, SK., Jawa, R., Moffitt, R., Hajagos, J., Fries, B., Nachman, S., Gan, T. J., Saltz, M., Saltz, J., Kaushansky, K., and Skopicki H.

Halting a SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in a US Veterans Affairs nursing home
George Psevdos MDa,*, Aikaterini Papamanoli MDb, Nancy Barrett RN, MS, CIC c, Lisa Bailey RN, BSN, MS, CIC c, Monique Thorne EdD, MS, RN-BC c, Florence Ford RN, BSN, MSNc, Zeena Lobo MDa

Marked Reduction of Vancomycin Utilization in a Veterans Hospital
Morgan Froehlich, Pharm D, Florence Ford, RN, Maymonah Belal, MD, Mary Creed, MT, Zeena Lobo, MD, George Psevdos, MD

Molecular and clinical epidemiology of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales in the USA (CRACKLE-2): a prospective cohort study.
Ivan Duin D, Arias CA, Komarow L, Chen L, Hanson BM, Weston G, Cober E, Garner OB, Jacob JT, Satlin MJ, Fries BC, Garcia-Diaz J, Doi Y, Dhar S, Kaye KS, Earley M, Hujer AM, Hujer KM, Domitrovic TN, Shropshire WC, Dinh A, Manca C, Luterbach CL, Wang M, Paterson DL, Banerjee R, Patel R, Evans S, Hill C, Arias R, Chambers HF, Fowler VG Jr, Kreiswirth BN, Bonomo RA; Multi-Drug Resistant Organism Network Investigators.Lancet Infect Dis. 2020 Jun;20(6):731-741. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(19)30755-8. Epub 2020 Mar 6.PMID: 32151332

Mycobacterium marinum Tenosynovitis following Steroid Injection in an Avid Seaman from Long Island, New York
Eric Sin,1 George Psevdos,1,2* and Luis A. Marcos1,3

Persistent Epididymitis Due to Bacteroides fragilis After Biopsy of the Prostate
Maymonah Belal, MD, Monica Mcgee, MS, MT, Zeena Lobo, MD, George Psevdos, MD

Presence of Borrelia miyamotoi infection in a highly endemic area of Lyme disease
Luis A. Marcos, Kalie Smith, Kelsey Reardon, Frederic Weinbaum & Eric D. Spitzer

Preventive Measures, Advice, and Vaccinations for Traveling US Veterans
Aikaterini Papamanoli, MD, Zeena Lobo, MD, George Psevdos, MD

Respiratory Syncytial Virus Outbreak in a Veterans Affairs Long-term Care Facility
Nancy Barrett, RN, MS, CIC,* Lisa Bailey, RN, BSN, MS, CIC,* Florence Ford, RN, BSN, MSN,* Monique Thorne, EdD, MS, RN-BC,* Nancy Azab, MBCCH,† Beth LeMaitre, MT,‡ Zeena Lobo, MD,§, and George Psevdos, MD§

Review of Viral Testing (Polymerase Chain Reaction) and Antibody/Serology Testing for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2 for the Intensivist.
Motley MP, Bennett-Guerrero E, Fries BC, Spitzer ED.Crit Care Explor. 2020 Jun 15;2(6):e0154. doi: 10.1097/CCE.0000000000000154. eCollection 2020 Jun.PMID: 32696013 Free PMC article. Review.

Rising Eosinophilia After a Trip to the Caribbean in an HIV-Infected Man Infections of Leisure?
Olga Kaplun, MD, Zeena Lobo, MD, George Psevdos, MD

Seasonal Influenza 2019–2020 From an Early Start to a Sharp Decline During COVID-19 Pandemic; Experience of a Veterans Hospital
Aikaterini Papamanoli, MD, Lisa Bailey, RN, Monique Thorne, RN, Beth LeMaitre, MT, Zeena Lobo, MD, George Psevdos, MD

Triclabendazole for the treatment of human fascioliasis and the threat of treatment failures
Luis A. Marcops, Vicente Maco & Angelica Terashima

2018-2019

1. Eric Sin, George Psevdos, Luis A Marcos. Mycobacterium marinum Tenosynovitis Following Steroid Injection in an Avid Seaman From Long Island, New York. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2019;101(6):1193-1194. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.19-0336.

2. Luis A Marcos, Paul M Castle, Kalie Smith, Teresa Khoo, Eric J Morley, Michelle Bloom, Bettina C Fries. Risk Factors for Lyme Carditis: A Case-Control Study. Eur J Prev Cardiol 2019. doi: 10.1177/2047487319876046. 

3. Olga Kaplun, Magdalena Pupiales, George Psevdos. Adjuvant Maggot Debridement Therapy for Deep Wound Infection Due to Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. J Glob Infect Dis;11(4):165-167. doi: 10.4103/jgid.jgid_30_19.

4. Olga Kaplun, George Psevdos. Sustained HIV Virologic Suppression With Crushed Combination Tablets Containing Elvitegravir, Cobicistat, Emtricitabine, and Tenofovir Alafenamide. Am J Health Syst Pharm 2019. 1;76(16):1180-1181. doi: 10.1093/ajhp/zxz132.

5. Ariel Yang, Nahid Bakhtari, Liana Langdon-Embry, Emile Redwood, Simon Grandjean Lapierre, Patricia Rakotomanga, Armand Rafalimanantsoa, Juan De Dios Santos, Inès Vigan-Womas, Astrid M Knoblauch, Luis A Marcos. Kankanet: An Artificial Neural Network-Based Object Detection Smartphone Application and Mobile Microscope as a Point-Of-Care Diagnostic Aid for Soil-Transmitted Helminthiases. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2019;13(8):e0007577. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007577. 

6. Rahul Mahapatra, David Cohen, Asa W Viccellio, Aaron Sasson, Jela Bandovic, Eric D Spitzer, Audun Lier, Luis A Marcos. Acute Acalculous Cholecystitis as a Manifestation of Ehrlichiosis.  Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2019;10(5):1033-1034. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2019.05.006. 

7. Audun J Lier, Kalie Smith, Kerim Odekon, Silvia Bronson, Erin Taub, Mathew Tharakan, Gerald J Kelly, Pruthvi Patel, Luis A Marcos. Risk Factors Associated With Linkage to Care Among Suburban Hepatitis C-Positive Baby Boomers and Injection Drug Users. Infect Dis Ther 2019;8(3):417-428. doi: 10.1007/s40121-019-0249-y. Epub 2019 May 25.

8. Lee Hakami, Paul M Castle, Jaydon Kiernan, Koeun Choi, Anjanirina Rahantamalala, Emma Rakotomalala, Rado Rakotoarison, Patricia Wright, Simon Grandjean Lapierre, Ivan Crnosija, Peter Small, Ines Vigan-Womas, Luis A Marcos. Epidemiology of Soil Transmitted Helminth and Strongyloides Stercoralis Infections in Remote Rural Villages of Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar. Pathog Glob Health 2019;113(2):94-100. doi: 10.1080/20477724.2019.1589927. 

9. Rajeev Fernando, David Capone, Susan Elrich, Raymond Mantovani, Luther Quarles 3rd, Alison D'Amato, Nathan Lowe, Ashwin Malhotra, Teresa Khoo, Sara Zufan, Maria Morales-Betoulle, Shelley M Brown, Deborah Cannon, James C Graziano, John D Klena, Shannon Whitmer, Stuart T Nichol, Paul Strachan, Bernard C Camins, Luis A Marcos. Infection With New York Orthohantavirus and Associated Respiratory Failure and Multiple Cerebral Complications. Emerg Infect Dis 2019;25(6):1241-1243. doi: 10.3201/eid2506.181966. 

10. Eric Sin, Adam J Korus, Alexandra Patterson, George Psevdos. An Unanticipated Finding on Peripheral Smear: Blue-green Crystals of Impeding Death? Am J Hematol 2019;94(6):733-734. doi: 10.1002/ajh.25286. 


2017-2018

  1. Lyme Disease in Hispanics in Long Island, New York: A New Health Disparity in the U.S. (ID fellow Dr. Teresa Khoo, IDWeek 2017, Travel Award)
  2. Barriers to Successful Linkage to Care Among HCV Positive Individuals Presenting to a Major Tertiary Medical Center on Long Island, New York. (Resident Dr. Audun Lier, IDWeek 2017)
  3. Clinical Features of PCR Confirmed Human Ehrlichiosis and Anaplasmosis in an Endemic Area of the Northeast U.S. (Resident Dr. Fleischner, IDWeek 2017)
  4. Investigation of Epidemiology and Pathogenesis of Co-infection with Multiple Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobactereciae in Hospitalized Patients (Dr. Fries’ Lab, Dr. Holowka, IDWeek 2017)
  5. Screening for Lyme Disease with C6 Peptide at a Veterans Hospital in Long Island, NY (ID Fellow, Dr. Robert Chow, IDWeek 2017, Travel Award).
  6. Mapping the efficacy of routine mass drug administration for soil-transmitted helminth infection with tailored educational intervention in remote Madagascar. (MS Emilie Redwood, Stony Brook University School of Medicine; IDSA Foundation Announces Medical Scholarship 2017).
  7. Evaluating a Deep Neutral Network Smartphone App for Point-of-Care Diagnosis of Soil-Transmitted Helminthiases [MS Ariel Yang, MS Nahid Bakhtari; David E. Rogers Student Fellowship Award 2018 (NYAM), the Benjamin H. Kean Travel Fellowship 2018 (ASTMH), the Medical Scholars Program 2018 (IDSA), and International Research Fellowship 2018 (SBU). Mentor: Luis A. Marcos].
  8. A Screening Program for Hepatitis C among Baby Boomers in the Northeast United States reveals an Alarmingly High Prevalence of HCV among People who Inject Drugs (Resident Dr. Kerim Odekon).
  9. Seroprevalence of Chagas Disease among Latin Americans Living in Suffolk County, NY (ID Fellow Dr. Eric Sin, Grant from Healthy Americas Foundation)
  10. Key Clinical and Laboratory Features in Early Diagnosis of Ehrlichiosis in an Endemic Area of Long Island, NY (ID Fellow, Dr. Olga Kaplun, IDWeek 2018, Travel Award)
  11. The Role of Antimicrobial Stewardship Program on Appropriate Use, Dose and Duration of Vancomycin Treatment ((ID Fellow, Dr. Olga Kaplun, IDWeek 2018, Travel Award)
  12. Tick Borne Associated Thrombocytopenia Among United States Veterans in Long Island New York (ID Fellow, Dr. Olga Kaplun, IDWeek 2018, Travel Award)
  13. Serratia marcescens Strains Carrying blaKPC-2 and blaKPC-3 Carbapenemase Associated With Chronic Mechanical Ventilation (ID Fellow, Dr. Mathew Fisher, IDWeek 2018, Travel Award).
  14. Microfluidics as a New Tool to Assess Lifespan and Age-related Traits of Cryptococcus neoformans (Erika Orner, ASM 2017, Travel Award from Medical Mycology Society of the Americas/Immuno-Mycologics)

2016-2017

The current research projects are being conducted in three centers around the world: Madagascar, Peru and at Stony Brook, NY. The participants of these research projects include medical students, internal medicine residents, infectious diseases fellows and faculty from both the Division of Infectious Diseases and the Global Health Institute at Stony Brook.

  1. Understanding the cultural and epidemiological factors that perpetuate cysticercosis in Ifanadiana, Madagascar (Medical Students: Paul Castle, Koeun Choi, Jaydon Kiernan, and Hakami Lee)
  2. Epidemiology of Soil-transmitted Helminthiasis in Ifanadiana, Madagascar (Medical Students: Paul Castle, Koeun Choi, Jaydon Kiernan, and Hakami Lee)
  3. Clostridium difficile infection recurrence rate in patients treated with fidaxomicin in a single center over 4 years (ID fellow Dr. Robert Chow, IDWeek 2016, Travel Award)
  4. Clinical Presentation of Lyme Disease, Anaplasmosis and Ehrlichiosis in Hispanics (ID Fellow Dr. Yasin Abul, IDWeek 2016, Travel Award)
  5. Clinical Outcomes of Patients with Pneumonia Treated with Nebulized Tobramycin (ID fellow Dr. Robert Chow, IDWeek 2016, Travel Award)
  6. A Ten-year review of urinary tract infections in patients with indwelling nephrostomy tubes (ID fellow Dr. Bennadette Maramara, IDWeek 2016, Travel Award)
  7. Epidemiology of Neurocysticercosis at Stony Brook University Hospital, Long Island, NY (IM Resident, Dr. Amy Spallone, IDWeek 2016)
  8. Spontaneous sedimentation in tube technique is as sensitive as Kato-Katz for the diagnosis of soil-transmitted helminths and superior for the detection of Strongyloides stercoralis: a community-based study in the Amazon basin of Peru (mentee in Peru: Dr. George Vasquez, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru; abstract accepted at ASTMH 2016)
  9. High prevalence rates of soil-transmitted helminths in children who receive massive drug administration in a remote amazonian community in Peru (mentee in Peru: Dr. Renato Errea, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru. ASTMH 2016 Annual Meeting Travel Award)
  10. Improving Screening for Hepatitis C in Suffolk County Utilizing the Electronic Medical Record (QI project. ID fellow Dr. Teresa Khoo)
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