Overview
My research is focused on optimizing the use of antimicrobials and preventing healthcare-associated infections via interventions made by antimicrobial stewardship programs in acute care hospitals. I aim to develop, implement, and evaluate the utility of outcomes important in assessing the success of hospital antimicrobial stewardship programs, which will then serve as a means to optimize program development. I am also an active clinician with expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases. I am uniquely positioned to study antimicrobial stewardship program optimization in my role as Co-director for Research of the Duke Antimicrobial Stewardship Outreach Network. This network’s mission is to develop practical approaches and support for implementation of antimicrobial stewardship in the community hospital setting, which includes outcomes assessments that utilize benchmarking to network data. This network is made up of >30 community hospitals which share a common data infrastructure, access to comparative antimicrobial use data, consultation with Duke liaison pharmacists and physicians, and educational materials. In addition, I serve as medical director of the Duke University Hospital Antimicrobial Stewardship and Evaluation Team (ASET) and actively practice front-line stewardship at my home institution.
Current Appointments & Affiliations
Associate Professor of Medicine
·
2024 - Present
Medicine, Infectious Diseases,
Medicine
Recent Publications
Using Encounter-Level Data for Risk-Adjustment of Antimicrobial Use Comparisons: Feasibility and Variable Selection.
Journal Article Clin Infect Dis · December 15, 2025 BACKGROUND: External comparisons of hospital antimicrobial use (AU), risk-adjusted using encounter characteristics, may better inform antimicrobial stewardship program strategy. Barriers to encounter-level modeling include feasibility of data collection an ... Full text Link to item CiteAntimicrobial Stewards Must Aim for Balance in "Going Beyond the 9 to 5".
Journal Article Open Forum Infect Dis · December 2025 Full text Link to item CiteMulticenter evaluation of blood culture contamination and blood cultures practices in US acute care hospitals: time for standardization.
Journal Article J Clin Microbiol · August 13, 2025 Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) recommends a blood culture contamination (BCC) threshold of <3%, with ≤1% considered optimal. However, there is not a standardized definition of BCC, and the effect of multiple definitions on BCC rates or ... Full text Link to item CiteRecent Grants
A Diagnostic Stewardship Intervention to Improve Blood Culture Use Among Adult Patients in Acute Care Hospitals
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Johns Hopkins University · 2022 - 2025Leveraging National Healthcare Safety Network Antimicrobial Use Option to Inform, Implement and Assess Antibiotic Stewardship Activities
ResearchConsultant · Awarded by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · 2022 - 2023Modeling the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on U.S. Healthcare Facilities, Workforce and Resources
ResearchInvestigator · Awarded by Washington State University · 2021 - 2022View All Grants
Education, Training & Certifications
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill ·
2012
M.P.H.
Virginia Commonwealth University, School of Medicine ·
2006
M.D.