Infectious Diseases
The Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Stony Brook Children's provides inpatient and outpatient consultations for children with all types of infections, from acute to chronic, caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites.
Additionally, we offer a Travel Medicine Clinic for pediatric patients venturing abroad. Our specialists, all of whom are board-certified in Pediatrics and Pediatric Infectious Diseases, provide advanced clinical services for sick children, conduct research, teach medical trainees, and play an active role in task forces in the hospital and the community.
Stony Brook is located in the epicenter of Lyme disease in North America. The Pediatric Infectious Diseases team has decades of experience diagnosing and treating patients with a wide range of tick bite-related concerns. Stony Brook offers visits with our tick experts at the Regional Tick-Borne Disease Resource Center or at any of the other offices listed below.
Research is a key component of our work. The Pediatric Infectious Diseases team has studied new diagnostic tests and treatments for Lyme disease and other tick-borne infections. We offer participation in investigations of new vaccines and new therapies for the prevention and treatment of many pediatric infections. Other ongoing areas of research include tuberculosis, congenital Cytomegalovirus (CMV), and HIV.
As Suffolk County's only Pediatric-Maternal HIV/AIDS Center, we also have an extensive basic and clinical research program, bringing cutting-edge therapies to the region.
Services
The Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases offers an extensive range of services – including infection prevention, diagnosis and treatment – for children and families throughout Suffolk County.
Inpatient services include more than 500 consultations each year on all types of infectious diseases. Consultations occur in Stony Brook’s Pediatric Acute Care Unit, Hematology-Oncology Unit, Burn Unit, Pediatric Emergency Department, Newborn Nursery, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).
On an outpatient basis, the division provides more than 1,000 consultations a year, not including the clinical trials programs. Patients are frequently seen for tick-borne infections, complex acute infections of all types, management of intravenous antibiotics, pre-travel counseling and hospital follow-up, among other reasons.
For our pediatric patients living with HIV, we provide ongoing, comprehensive, coordinated and family-centered services, including PrEP and PEP, HIV specialist medical care and case management, nutritional assessment, education, crisis intervention and psychosocial support.
Travel medicine consultations are offered to children traveling or returning from abroad.
Our Team
The faculty of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases consists of four full-time, board-certified physicians and one Pediatric Nurse Practitioner performing clinical care and consultations. The Division includes a clinical trials team of faculty members, study coordinators and study nurses devoted to investigating pediatric infectious diseases. Comprehensive care is provided through collaboration with the countless pediatric and surgical specialties available at Stony Brook Children’s.
The Division collaborates with the hospital’s pharmacy as part of the Antimicrobial Stewardship team, including pharmacists specializing in infectious diseases. The Division also collaborates with Infection Prevention and Control to ensure best practices are followed to keep our patients safe. In addition, our patients living with HIV benefit from designated Social Workers and Case Managers as part of our multidisciplinary approach to this disease.
Locations
Commack Advanced Pediatric Care
500 Commack Road, Suite 104Commack, NY 11725
(631) 444-KIDS (5437)
Fax: (631) 638-0157
East Islip Advanced Pediatric Care
269 East Main StreetEast Islip, NY 11730
(631) 444-KIDS (5437)
Fax: (631) 581-9561
Lake Grove Advanced Pediatric Care
4 Smith Haven Mall, Suite 101Lake Grove, NY 11755
(631) 444-KIDS (5437)
Fax: (631) 444-4990
Stony Brook Southampton Tick Resource Center Regional
186 West Montauk HighwayBuilding D, Suite 5
Hampton Bays, NY 11946
Research and Education
A leader in research, Stony Brook's Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases oversees a continuously growing roster of clinical trials. Our extensive clinical trials program includes studies conducted on both an inpatient and outpatient basis. National pediatric clinical trials conducted on-site have included novel vaccines targeting COVID-19, RSV, CMV, Streptococcus pneumoniae, parainfluenza 3, Lyme disease and influenza. The Division has also conducted studies of new antibiotics and antivirals.
Faculty members within the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases have been published extensively in prominent medical journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Pediatrics, and the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (JPIDS).
Current research focuses include:
- COVID-19 therapeutics
- National and regional COVID-19 pediatric database contributions
- Antibiotic-resistant bacteria
- Antibiotic stewardship interventions for primary care physicians
- Long-acting injectable HIV treatments
- Shortened treatment regimens for latent tuberculosis infections (LTBI)
- Pneumococcal, RSV, and other vaccine trials
- Local Chagas Disease epidemiology
- Novel Lyme disease diagnostics
- Emerging tick-borne diseases
- Lyme disease
- Congenital infections including congenital CMV
Our faculty also serve on statewide, national and international infectious disease organizations as members and leaders, including:
- Chair of the International Maternal, Pediatric, Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials (IMPAACT) Network
- Associate Editor, Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (JPIDS)
- Solutions for Patient Safety – National Advisory Committee for Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs
- The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America
- Infectious Diseases Society of America
- Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society
- Advocacy presentations to the New York State Legislature and United States Congress
- World Health Organization
For children growing up with HIV, access to clinical research can make a tremendous difference in their quality of life and prognosis. As the Designated AIDS Center (DAC) for Suffolk County, Stony Brook has been intricately involved in studying new therapies and new combinations of therapies to treat HIV since 1985.
The Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases is devoted to the pursuit of new and better ways to prevent, diagnose and treat HIV-infected children, offering 15 to 20 clinical studies of new medications and therapies at any given time.
Studies include trials sponsored by National Institutes of Health (NIH) as well as industry-funded studies. Stony Brook has been a PACTG/IMPAACT-funded site since 1992 and is currently offering participation in 11 HIV/AIDS clinical trials, including three that assess H1N1 flu vaccines in HIV-infected women and children.
Advances and Recognitions
Advances
Data from studies conducted by the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases have resulted in changes to both vaccine schedules and therapies for HIV-infected populations. For example, Stony Brook's research on conjugate pneumococcal vaccine in HIV-infected infants resulted in the inclusion of this vaccine in the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended infant vaccination schedule.
In addition, data from the Stony Brook site was included in the World Health Organization's guidelines for preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Other endeavors have resulted in improved adherence to antibiotic prescribing guidelines and novel therapeutics for treating tuberculosis.
Recognitions
Pediatric Infectious Diseases Division Chief, Sharon Nachman, MD, has appeared among New York's top doctors listings by Castle Connelly and is a past recipient of the "Changing the Face of Medicine: Local Legends" from New York; for demonstrating commitment, originality, innovation or creativity in the field of medicine.
Other awards honoring Dr. Nachman include the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Distinguished Graduate Alumni Award, the Excellence in Teaching Pediatric Residents Award (2001,02,03,06), the 2006 Community Heroes Award by the Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group, and the 2007 Clinical Trial Exceptional Service Award by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA).
Other Division accomplishments include selection by Newsday as Top Doctors in Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Department of Pediatrics faculty awards for Excellence in Patient Care, and recognition for outstanding contributions to student and resident education.
