Bone and joint Infections

By Ambika Eranki, MD

August 15th, 2025

Dr. Ambika Eranki, Assistant Professor at the Division of Infectious Diseases and International Medicine, presents this review of infections associated with native and prosthetic joints, in addition to infectious of the spine and vertebrae. Dr. Eranki begins by presenting some case based examples of bone and joint infections. She then discusses the definitions and workup of infectious arthritis, septic arthritis, vertebral osteomyelitis, and prosthetic joint infections. A brief review of infections of the diabetic foot is also presented. Dr. Eranki closes by sharing recent important medical publications for bone and joint infections and the diabetic foot.

Infections of Solid Organ Transplants

By Sally Alrabaa, MBBS

August 7th, 2025

Dr. Sally Alrabaa, Co-Director of Transplant Infectious Diseases at the Morsani College of Medicine, presents an overview of infection issues surrounding the solid organ transplant patient. Dr. Alrabaa differentiates specific infections based upon the early, medium, and late transplant periods. She then covers infections associated with certain specific immunosuppressive regimens. Next, the speaker discusses infections characteristic of different transplant types, including kidney, heart, liver, and lung transplants. Lastly, Dr. Alrabaa briefly touches upon Covid-19 and transplantation.

Vector-borne and Zoonotic Viral Infections

By Robert Castro, MD

July 29th, 2025

Dr. Robert Castro, Infectious Diseases Clinician at the Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, presents this review on infections associated with vector-borne and zoonotic exposures. Dr. Castro begins by discussing vector -borne infections, dividing them into mosquito-borne and tick-borne diseases. Syndromes discussed include Dengue, Chikyunguna, West Nile Virus, and Japanese Encephalitis. Next, Zoonotic infections such as Rabies Virus, Hantavirus, Orf virus, and B virus are covered. Dr. Castro closes by discussing vector control strategies.

Parasite Questions: Protozoa and Helminths

By Anthony Cannella, MD

July 21st, 2025

Dr. Anthony Cannella, Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of South Florida College of Medicine, presents a board review session on parasitology, originally recorded in June 2025. (Please note that due to recording issues, some excessive slide cropping occurred for certain slides, and a few frames may not be completely legible. We apologize for the production errors.)

LVAD/Driveline Infections

By Rachel F. Irby, MD

July 15th, 2025

Dr. Rachel Irby, Senior Infectious Diseases Physician and founder of the Infectious Disease Team(TM) practice in Largo, Florida, reviews infections of cardiovascular devices. To begin, Dr. Irby defines the functions and patient types suitable for a Left Ventricular Assist Device, and how an LVAD integrates with a heart failure management program. Dr. Irby then reviews the types of infections that occur with an LVAD, along with the symptoms and signs of an infection. The work-up of LVAD/Driveline infections is then discussed, followed by the management steps for mild, moderate, and pump-related infections. Infections according to specific pathogens are then covered. Next, the speaker mentions how to prevent LVAD/Driveline infections. Lastly, Dr. Irby discusses the management steps utilized in heart failure management to get a patient to eventual heart transplantation.

Cytomegalovirus – Board Review

By Olga Klinkova, MD

July 7th, 2025

Dr. Olga Klinkova, Assistant Professor at the USF Morsani College of Medicine, and Transplant ID Associate at Moffitt Cancer Center, presents this board review lecture on CMV infections in immunocompromised stem cell transplant recipients. Topics covered include the epidemiology of CMV infection, CMV pneumonitis, CMV GI disease, CMV diagnosis, CMV treatment post-transplant, resistant CMV infection, and CMV prophylaxis options, Interactive questions are included within the presentation.

Measles: A Reemerging Threat

By Rajshri Joshi, DO

June 6th, 2025

Dr. Rajshri Joshi, Infectious Diseases fellow at the USF Morsani College of Medicine, reviews Measles, a previously eradicated disease that is now making a huge comeback across several areas of the US in recent months. Topics covered include its history, means of transmission, pathophysiology, clinical course, complications, and management. Also covered include measles vaccination/prevention, as well as prevention (vaccination) and other adjunctive therapies.

Artificial Intelligence in Infectious Diseases

By David Kornblum, MD

May 29th, 2025

Dr. Kornblum, an Infectious Diseases fellow at the USF Morsani College of Medicine, reviews the rapidly advancing practice and integration of artificial intelligence technologies into mainstream medicine, with a focus on infectious diseases. Dr. Kornblum focuses on several central themes: (1) How good is the information provided by AI models, such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini or xAI’s Grok, for diagnosing complex medial cases. (2) What are the pitfalls of relying on AI models for medical diagnostics? (3) Are there safety concerns with integrating AI models into a physician’s workflow? And (4) what are the future directions for this technology.

Update on Clostridioides difficile

By John Toney, MD, FIDSA

May 15th, 2025

Dr. John Toney, Professor of Medicine at the USF Morsani College of Medicine, looks at the current landscape of Clostridioides difficile infection in the post-COVID environment. A great deal has changed in the years COVID-19 was a major health treat…including taxonomy, epidemiology, and disease prevalence and distribution, as well as treatment practices. Dr. Toney looks at the role of bile acids in C. difficile, as well as virulence mechanisms. Next, he describes the growing recognition for the need for two step testing to screen for true c. diff associated diarrhea. He then describes antimicrobial management, divided into first episode and subsequent recurrences. Also discussed are emerging biotherapeutic options for treatment and whether a C. difficile vaccine will ever be possible.

Histoplasmosis

By Cilia Nazef, MD

May 8th, 2025

Dr. Cilia Nazef, Infectious Diseases Fellow at the USF Morsani College Medicine, presents a talk on Histoplasmosis, an endemic fungal mycosis, in a case based format. Leading off with an in detail discussion of a fascinating patient, Dr. Nazef continues to discuss the clinical manifestations, diagnostic testing, and treatment of this fungal syndrome. She closes the presentation with information on late/long term complications and histoplasmosis in stem cell transplant patients.

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