Pitt Public Health is one of the few graduate schools of public health with a department dedicated to the study of infectious diseases, which are at the root of some of the world’s most pressing health issues.

The Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology (IDM) is committed to training the next generation of scientists and public health professionals to enhance the control of infectious diseases in the human population. Our integrated microbiology graduate programs are devoted to the education and training of graduate students in various molecular, immunologic, epidemiologic, and biologic aspects of microbial pathogenesis, as well as infectious disease control, prevention and education.

Pitt Public Health has made major contributions in defining, preventing, and treating some of the most devastating diseases of the past 60 years. Among the pioneering scientific breakthroughs made by IDM researchers are...

  • Prevention of poliovirus with gamma globulin, which helped in the development of the Salk polio vaccine
  • Identification of dengue viruses and the hemorrhagic fever caused by them
  • Discovery of adeno-associated virus
  • Linking the transmission of cytomegalovirus to infected organs in transplantation
  • Evidence showing HIV load in the blood is a strong predictor of disease progression
  • Establishing the Pitt Men's Study, a part of the ongoing, greater than 30 year nationwide Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study on the natural history of HIV infection
  • Establishing The Mid Atlantic AIDS Education and Training Center (MAETC) which has provided HIV/AIDS education, consultation, technical assistance and resource materials to health care professionals for over 30 years

Degrees

The IDM Department is committed to high-quality graduate education that is consistent with our cutting-edge research and behavioral and community education programs. Drawing on the disciplines of molecular biology, immunology, epidemiology, medicine, health education, and community intervention, our graduate programs encourage students to engage in cross-disciplinary research of multiple aspects of infectious diseases.

Doctoral and master level degree programs offered include...

Within the MPH program two concentrations are available:

 

As the battle against HIV continues, Pitt Men’s Study volunteer joins coronavirus vaccine study

TRIBUNE-REVIEW — When drug ma...
As the battle against HIV continues, Pitt Men’s Study volunteer joins coronavirus vaccine study

TRIBUNE-REVIEW — When drug makers solicited volunteers to test a coronavirus vaccine, Marc Wagner jumped. It was a matter of giving back. Wagner felt compelled to do his part for science. But just as important, it was an opportunity for him to honor the herculean efforts of scientists and others he... (11/30/2020)

Why a vaccine won’t end the covid pandemic

TRIBUNE-REVIEW — IDM's Amy ...
Why a vaccine won’t end the covid pandemic

TRIBUNE-REVIEW — IDM's Amy Hartman said the early results from vaccine trials have her feeling more optimistic than she’s been throughout the pandemic. But, she cautioned, “it’s important to keep in mind that vaccines aren’t necessarily a finite ‘solution’ but they are an important step toward ... (11/25/2020)

Emergency use of COVID-19 vaccines likely in weeks, though U.S. still headed for a harsh winter

MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL - ...
Emergency use of COVID-19 vaccines likely in weeks, though U.S. still headed for a harsh winter

MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL - "Vaccination of select high-risk individuals may start by the end of the year, but most likely the majority of vaccines will be released during the first quarter of 2021," said IDM's Amy Hartman. Vaccine makers still need to gather results from larger groups of recipien... (11/24/2020)

SARS-CoV-2 infection of African green monkeys results in mild respiratory disease discernible by PET/CT imaging and shedding of infectious virus from both respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts

Amy L. Hartman, Sham Nambulli...
SARS-CoV-2 infection of African green monkeys results in mild respiratory disease discernible by PET/CT imaging and shedding of infectious virus from both respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts

Amy L. Hartman, Sham Nambulli, Cynthia M. McMillen, Alexander G. White, Natasha Louise Tilston-Lunel, Joseph R. Albe, Emily Cottle, Matthew D. Dunn, L. James Frye, Theron H. Gilliland, Emily L. Olsen, Katherine J. O’Malley, Madeline M. Schwarz, Jaime A. Tomko, Reagan C. Walker, Mengying Xia, Matthe... (11/17/2020)

Rapid 3D Enhanced Resolution Microscopy Reveals Diversity in Dendritic Spinule Dynamics, Regulation, and Function

Colleen R. Zaccard, Lauren Sh...
Rapid 3D Enhanced Resolution Microscopy Reveals Diversity in Dendritic Spinule Dynamics, Regulation, and Function

Colleen R. Zaccard, Lauren Shapiro, Maria D. Martin-de-Saavedra, Christopher Pratt, Kristoffer Myczek, Amy Song, Marc P. Forrest, Peter Penzes Dendritic spinules are thin protrusions, formed by neuronal spines, not adequately resolved by diffraction-limited light microscopy, which has limit... (11/17/2020)