Dr. Zemke’s scientific interests focus on Gram-negative host-pathogen biology in chronic airway disease. She has two current areas of work.
1) Cystic Fibrosis causes severe chronic sinus infections in most people. She has lead a multi-center study to determine the impact of the new highly effective corrector (HEMT) therapies on CF sinus disease, which a specific scientific focus on the effects of HEMT on the microbiome.
2) Dr. Zemke is conducting an NIH funded, observational cohort study in people with have had a tracheostomy placed following critical illness admitted at a Long Term Acute Care Hospital. Three study goals include a) determining shifts in the airway microbial populations associated with tracheobronchitis episodes b) assessing populations Pseudomonas aeruginosa (the most common pathogen in the cohort) for evidence of bacterial evolution and c) determining the inflammatory response to tracheobronchitis episodes. The study also includes collaborations with faculty from the School of Rehabilitation Sciences to determine the role of oropharyngeal dysphagia on respiratory infections in chronic critical illness.
Dr. Zemke currently practices as an intensivist at UPMC East, sees outpatient general pulmonary clinic in New Castle, PA, and rounds at a Long-Term Acute Care Hospital.
- BS, Biochemistry, summa cum laude, Seattle Pacific University, 2001
- PhD, Cell Biology and Molecular Physiology, University of Pittsburgh, 2007
- MD, University of Pittsburgh, 2009
- Residency, Internal Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, 2009
- Fellowship, Pulmonary and Critical Care, University of Pittsburgh, 2015
Education & Training
Zemke AC, Hilliam Y, Stapleton AL, Kimple AJ, Goralski JL, Shaffer AD, Pilewski JM, Senior BA, Lee SE, Cooper VS. Elexacaftor-tezacaftor-ivacaftor decreases pseudomonas abundance in the sinonasal microbiome in cystic fibrosis. Int Forum Allergy Rhinol. 2023; Oct 14. PMID:37837613.
Zemke AC, D’Amico EJ, Torres AM, Carreno-Florez GP, Keely P, DuPont M, Kastuiarachi N, Bomberger JM. Bacterial respiratory inhibition triggers dispersal of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms. Applied Enviro Microbiology. 2023; Oct 31;89(10): e0110123.
Haas AL, Zemke AC, Melvin JA, Armbruster CR, Hendricks MR, Moore J, Nouraie SM, Thibodeau PH, Lee SE, Bomberger JM. Iron bioavailability regulates Pseudomonas aeruginosa interspecies interactions through type VI secretion expression. Cell Rep. 2023; Mar 28;42(3): 112270.
Ambruster CR, Li K, Kiedrowski MR, Zemke AC, Melvin JA, Moore J, Atteih S, Fitch AC, Dupont M, Manko CD, Weaver ML, Gaston JR, Alcorn JF, Morris A, Methe BA, Lee SE, Bomberger JM. Low Diversity and Instability of the Sinus Microbiota over Time in Adults with Cystic Fibrosis. Microbiol Spectr. 2022; Oct 26;10(5): e0125122.
Stapleton A, Kimple AJ, Goralski JL, Nouraie SM, Branstetter BG, Shaffer AD, Pilewski JM, Senior BA, Lee SE, Zemke AC. Elexacaftor-Tezacaftor-Ivacaftor improves sinonasal outcomes in cystic fibrosis. J Cyst Fibrosis. 2022; Sep;21(5): 792-799.
Armbruster CR, Marshall CW, Garber AI, Melvin JA, Zemke AC, Moore J, Zamora PF, Li K, Fritz IL, Manko CD, Weaver ML, Gaston JR, Morris A, Methé B, DePas WH, Lee SE, Cooper VS, Bomberger JM. Adaptation and genomic erosion in fragmented Pseudomonas aeruginosa populations in the sinuses of people with cystic fibrosis. Cell Rep. 2021; Oct 19;37(3): 109829.
Bacon DR, Stapleton A, Goralski JL, Ebert CS Jr, Thorp BD, Nouraie M, Shaffer AD, Senior BA, Lee SE, Zemke AC, Kimple AJ. Olfaction before and after initiation of Elexacaftor-Tezacaftor-Ivacaftor in a cycstic fibrosis cohort. Int Forum Allergy Rhinol. 2021; Oct 28: doi:10.1002/alr.22891.
Zemke AC, Madison CJ, Kasturiarachi N, Pearce LL, Peterson J. Antimicrobial Synergism Toward Pseudomonas aeruginosa by Gallium(III) and Inorganic Nitrite. Front. Microbiol. 2020; Aug21;11: 2113.
Zemke AC, D’Amico EJ, Snell EC, Torres AM, Kasturiarachi, N,, Bomberger JM. Dispersal of Epithelium-Associated Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms. mSphere. 2020; Jul15;5(4): e00630-20.
Zemke AC, Nouraie SM, Moore J, Gaston JR, Rowan NR, Pilewski JM, Bomberger JM, Lee SE. Clinical predictors of cystic fibrosis chronic rhinosinusitis severity. Int Forum Allergy Rhinol. 2019; Jul;9(7): 759-765.
- Member, American Thoracic Society, 2012-present
- ATS Abstract Scholarship Travel Award, 2013
- Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) Clinical Fellowship Training Award, 2014-2015
- ATS Abstract Scholarship Travel Award, 2015
- Department of Medicine: Fellow Bench Research Award, 2015
- Member, American Society for Microbiology, 2016-present
R01 HL162964, Tracheobronchitis in the Critically Ill, PI, 2022-2027.
