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Division of Infectious Disease & Tropical Pediatrics

Our Mission

Improve the health of children by promoting excellence in diagnosis, management, and prevention of infectious diseases through clinical care, education, research, advocacy, and training.

About Us

The Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine has a longstanding comprehensive clinical and research training program. Clinical training takes place at the Maryland Hospital for Children, part of the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC). The hospital provides all pediatric and surgical subspecialty services, making our infectious diseases clinical service diverse and engaging.

The Division of Pediatric Diseases and Tropical Pediatrics is part of the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health (CVD), recognized internationally for expertise in all aspects of vaccine development both domestic and international from basic science vaccinology research, infectious diseases epidemiology and burden of disease, to cutting-edge immunology and to post-licensure studies.

The CVD provides a rich, international training environment with research support for fellows available through an NIH T32 Training Grant in Vaccinology. Trainees are mentored by teams of leaders in their respective fields, and advance to positions in academia, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), clinical infectious diseases, industry, and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs).


Research

Our investigators lead large domestic and international projects. On a national scale, we are one of nine sites in the U.S. contracted by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) to run a Vaccine Treatment and Evaluation Unit (VTEU) that performs clinical trials and detailed immunologic assessments of vaccines against infectious diseases of public health importance. We are also one of six sites in the U.S. with a large U19 from NIAID to run a Cooperative Center for Human Immunology (CCHI) focused in understanding human immune responses to infectious agents and the basis of immune protection. We are testing new vaccines to prevent RSV and improved vaccines for meningococcus and measles. At our CVD-Mali field site, we are conducting clinical trials of vaccines against Ebola and meningococcus and are examining the effectiveness of vaccinating pregnant women against pertussis (whooping cough) to protect their newborns. We are conducting large studies of the causes, outcomes, and treatment of diarrheal illnesses and mortality in young children.

At our field site in Malawi, Central Africa, and with our collaborators in Burkina Faso, we are evaluating a new typhoid fever vaccine, including conducting large-scale epidemiological and immunological studies.

Our team of malaria researchers work in Mali, Malawi, and Burkina Faso leading malaria vaccine trials, large-scale epidemiological and immunological studies, and clinical trials evaluating strategies to prevent malaria in pregnancy and HIV-malaria interactions. We are leading clinical and translational research to understand the pathophysiology of severe malaria. Our well-established research sites provide a platform for additional areas of research such as examining the impact of HIV exposure during pregnancy on infant immune responses to vaccines.


Research Facilities

Pediatric vaccine trials are conducted at the CVD outpatient facilities and within private pediatric practices in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area.

We maintain field sites for clinical trials and epidemiological studies in Mali (CVD-Mali) and Blantyre, Malawi (Blantyre Malaria Project) in addition to our collaborations with other sites in sub-Saharan Africa in The Gambia, Kenya, Burkina Faso, and in South Asia (Bangladesh).

Basic and translational studies are performed in the CVD laboratories and in collaboration with partner institutions to promote capacity-building.


Educational Activities

Our pediatric infectious disease inpatient and outpatient consultation services provide an enriching experience with exposure to a broad array of patients and ample time for education and mentorship while on rounds. We provide ongoing didactic lectures to the students and residents during the core pediatric lecture series. 

CVD's bi-annual Vaccinology course consists of a series of lectures on a variety of vaccinology topics including:

  • Strategies for vaccine development
  • Pre-clinical evaluation
  • Human clinical trials
  • Current immunization recommendations
  • Economics of vaccine development and public health intervention

Special lectures address highly debated issues of current interest such as vaccine safety, public perception of vaccines, and emerging infectious diseases (e.g., Ebola and Zika). Lectures are presented by experts from industry, academia, non-profit research institutes, foundations and government.

Students and residents are welcome to engage in research projects with our faculty.


Fellowship Program

The Fellowship Program in Pediatric Infectious Disease offers outstanding clinical training and research opportunities in infectious diseases, vaccine development, clinical trials, and public health.

The clinical training takes place at the University of Maryland Children's Hospital, a large tertiary level referral hospital with all pediatric and surgical sub-specialty services. Faculty members are committed to education and professional development of the fellows.

We offer outstanding opportunities for research in vaccine development and international health. The CVD is an international leader in the development and evaluation of vaccines, with a focus on diseases that have the greatest burden among children in low and middle-income countries. Research ranges from basic pathogenesis, vaccine development and immunology, to epidemiology, clinical trials and public health in domestic and international settings. This fellowship is open to individuals who have successfully completed a pediatric residency program. Fellows who have completed one year of clinical training elsewhere and still need to fulfill their research requirements may also apply. U.S. citizenship or Green Card is required.

T32 Training Grant in Vaccinology: Each year, we accept 1-2 pediatricians into our Pediatric Infectious Disease Fellowship Program. The Vaccinology Training Grant supports fellows who pursue research projects related to vaccine development, immunology, or clinical trials.

Click on the link above to learn more about the T32 Training Grant in Vaccinology or review the T32 fact sheet.

For more information about the Fellowship Program, please contact:

Carol Kairo, on behalf of
Matthew Laurens, MD, MPH
Pediatric Infectious Disease Fellowship Program Director
Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health
University of Maryland School of Medicine
685 W. Baltimore Street, Room 480
Baltimore, MD 21201
+1 (410) 706-8695
E-mail: ckairo@som.umaryland.edu


Faculty

Clinical Faculty

Research Faculty

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