Madison Stellfox, MD, PhD

My research focuses on the gram-positive commensal, Enterococcus faecium, which is a part of the normal human microbiota but has become a concerning opportunistic pathogen associated with significant morbidity and mortality. E. faecium is resistant to many first-line antibiotics and most clinical isolates are also vancomycin-resistant (VREfm), leaving patients with limited treatment options. In addition, many patients with VREfm bloodstream infections go on to develop recurrent disease. I am interested in studying how E. faecium and other related bacteria evolve within the human body during chronic infections so that we can develop better ways of treating these challenging pathogens. In addition, I work closely with the Pittsburgh Phage Project (P3), specializing in the clinical application of bacteriophage (phage) therapy for gram-positive infections.