My research interests center around the clinical and epidemiological aspects of vaccine preventable bacterial and viral infections of children. My primary research focuses on nasopharyngeal colonization, disease rates, serotype distribution and vaccine effects of Streptococcus pneumoniae both domestically and internationally, including the evaluation and introduction of pneumococcal vaccines in the developing world. In addition to my focus on pneumococcal disease control, is an interest in the epidemiology and control efforts through vaccines, biologics and risk factor reduction for acute lower respiratory infections, RSV, influenza, group A Streptococcus and group B Streptococcus as well as judicious antimicrobial use and general issues of neonatal sepsis.

My research includes large IND phase III trials and post-licensure phase IV clinical trials among American Indians in the American southwest, disease burden estimation modelling efforts for global burden of disease, surveillance for vaccine preventable diseases and risk factor studies both domestically and in the international setting. This work has been predominantly with the PneumoADIP over the past 5 years.

pneumococcus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, clinical trials, American Indian, vaccines, RSV, respiratory syncytial virus, Hib, Haemophilus influenzae, pediatric infectious disease, child survival

2008: Sabin Vaccine Institute, Young Investigator Award.

2003: Nominee, Outstanding Scientific Contribution to Public Health Award, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

2001: CDC, Honor Award for outstanding scientific contributions to public health, Group B Streptococcal Prevention Team

1999: CDC, 1999 Nakano Citation, for the Haiti diethylene glycol poisoning investigation.

1998: Secretary’s Distinguished Service Award, Department of Health and Human Services

1997: CDC Mackel Award epidemic investigation which best combines epidemiology and laboratory work.

1997: CDC Group Honor Award for The Haiti Emergency Response Team

1997: Food and Drug Administration Group Recognition Award.For meritorious service in the investigation of an international public health crisis which was associated with the contamination of pharmaceuticals by diethylene glycol.

1. Shinoff JJ, O’Brien KL, Thumar B, Shaw JB, Reid R, Hua W, Santosham M, Karron

RA. Young infants can develop protective levels of neutralizing antibody following a first infection with respiratory syncytial virus. J Infect Dis. In Press 2008.

2. Millar EV, Watt JP, Bronsdon MA, Dallas J, Reid R, Santosham M, O’Brien KL. Indirect effect of 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (Pnc7-CRM) on pneumococcal colonization among unvaccinated household members. Clin Infect Dis In Press 2008.

3. Lacapa R, Bliss SJ, Larzalere-Hinton F, Eagle KJ, McGinty DJ, Parkinson A, Santosham M, Craig MJ, O’Brien KL. Changing epidemiology of invasive pneumococcal disease among White Mountain Apache. Clin Infect Dis. 2008:Jul 15: Epub ahead of print. PMID 18627249.

4. Bliss SJ, Larzalere-Hinton F, Lacapa R, Eagle KJ, Frizzell F, Parkinson A, Reid R, Craig M, Santosham M, O’Brien KL. Invasive pneumococcal disease and pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccination among White Mountain Apache adults, 1991 – 2005. Arch Int Med. 2008;168(7):749-55.

5. O’Brien KL, David A, Chandran A, Moulton LH, Reid R, Weatherholtz R, Santosham M. Efficacy of PnCRM7 against otitis media among Navajo and White Mountain Apache infants. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2008;27(1):71-3.

6. Eick A, Shaw J, Thumar B, Reid R, Santosham M, Karron R, O’Brien KL. The role of RSV neutralizing antibodies in protecting infants from severe and non-severe RSV disease. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2008;27(3):207-12.

7. Watt JP, O’Brien KL, Benin AL, McCoy SI, Donaldson CM, Reid R, Schuchat A, Zell ER, Hochman M, Santosham M, Whitney CG. Risk factors for invasive pneumococcal disease among Navajo adults. Am J Epidemiol. 2007;166(9):1080-7.

8. O’Brien KL, Millar E, Zell E, Bronsdon M, Weatherholtz R, Reid R, Becenti J, Kvamme S, Whitney CG, Santosham M. Effect of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine on nasopharyngeal colonization among immunized and unimmunized children. J Infect Dis. 2007;196:1211-20.

9. Bliss SJ, O’Brien KL, Janoff E , Cotton M, Musoke P, Coovadia H, , Levine OS. The evidence for using conjugate vaccines to protect HIV-infected children against pneumococcal disease. Lancet Infect Dis. 2007; 8(1):67-80.

10. Basset A, Trzcinxki K, Hermos C, O’Brien KL, Reid R, Santosham M. McAdam A, Lipsitch M, Malley R. Frequency of the pilus in pneumococcal isolates: Association with certain capsular serotypes but not with increased virulence. J Clin Microbiol 2007;45(6):1684-9. PMID 17392439

11. Lipsitch M, O’Neill K, Bugalter B, Trzcinski K, Cordy D, Thompson CM, Goldstein R, Pelton S, Huot H, Bouchet V, Reid R, Santosham M, O’Brien KL. Strain characteristics of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolated from carriage and invasive disease during a cluster-randomized clinical trial of the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. J Infect Dis. 196(8): 1221-7.

12. O’Brien KL, Hochman M, Goldblatt D. Combined schedules of pneumococcal conjugate and polysaccharide vaccines: Is hyporesponsiveness an issue? Lancet Infect Dis. 2007;7(9):597-606.

13. Siber GR, Chang I, Baker S, Fernsten P, O’Brien KL, Santosham M, Klugman KP, Madhi SA, Paradiso P, Kohberger R. Estimating the protective concentration of anti-pneumococcal capsular polysaccharide antibodies. Vaccine 2007;25:3816-26. PMID 17368878.

14. Millar EV, O’Brien KL, Bronsdon MA, Madore D, Hackell J, Reid R, Santosham M. Anti-capsular serum antibody concentration and protection against pneumococcal colonization induced by 7-valent conjugate pneumococcal vaccine (PnCRM7). Clin Infect Dis. 2007;44(9):1173-9. PMID 17407035

15. O’Brien KL, Moisi J, Moulton LH, Madore D, Eick A, Reid R, Weatherholtz R, Millar E, Hu D, Hackell J, Change I, Kohberger R, Siber G, Santosham M. Predictors of conjugate pneumococcal vaccine immunogenicity among infants and toddlers in the American Indian PnCRM7 Efficacy Trial. J Infect Dis 2007;196(1):104-14. PMID 17538890.

16. Hochman ME, Watt JP, Reid R, O’Brien KL. The prevalence of end stage renal disease in Native American adults on the Navajo reservation. Kidney Int 2007;71(9):931-7. PMID 17332739.

17. Singleton R, Butler JC, Bulkow LR, Hurlburt D, O’Brien KL, Doan W, Parkinson AJ, Hennessy TW. Invasive pneumococcal disease epidemiology and effectiveness of 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine in Alaska Native adults. Vaccine 2007;25(12):2288-95. PMID 17254673