My research focuses on the epidemiology of infectious diseases in underserved populations internationally and the applicability of vaccines to reducing disease in these populations. Projects have focused on bacterial meningitis surveillance, the course of treated tuberculosis infection, laboratory methods for detection of Chagas and norovirus infection, molecular biology of the dengue virus, and drug susceptibility testing of tuberculosis.

International health, Hib, pneumococcal, tuberculosis, Chagas, vaccine, vaccine preventable diseases, infectious disease surveillance

Polymerase chain reaction for chronic Trypanosoma cruzi infection yields higher sensitivity in blood clot than buffy coat or whole blood specimens. Fitzwater S, Calderon M, Lafuente C, Galdos-Cardenas G, Ferrufino L, Verastegui M, Gilman RH, Bern C; Chagas Disease Working Group in Peru and Bolivia. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2008 Nov;79(5):768-70.

Detection and measurement of alternative splicing using splicing-sensitive microarrays. Srinivasan K, Shiue L, Hayes JD, Centers R, Fitzwater S, Loewen R, Edmondson LR, Bryant J, Smith M, Rommelfanger C, Welch V, Clark TA, Sugnet CW, Howe KJ, Mandel-Gutfreund Y, Ares M Jr. Methods. 2005 Dec;37(4):345-59.