Director, Wound Infections Research Area Infectious Disease Clinical Research Program
Assistant Professor, Department of Preventive Medicine and Biostatistics
Uniformed Services University
Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine
Bethesda, MD
Abstract: Skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI), including those due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), are common in the military. Among all military personnel, the risk of SSTI is highest among new recruits. Since 2009, the Infectious Disease Clinical Research Program, Uniformed Services University (Bethesda, MD), has conducted observational and interventional research on SSTI and S. aureus colonization among US Army Infantry Trainees at Fort Benning, GA. This seminar will highlight a number of accomplishments, including genomic characterizations of MRSA colonization and infection, examinations of skin microbiome and its association with infection, and the results of two randomized controlled trials evaluating hygiene- and vaccine-based prevention strategies in this high-risk population.