Ivan A. Gonzalez, M.D.
Dr. Ivan Gonzalez is a Pediatric Infectious Diseases expert with the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases and the Director of UM’s Zika Response Team. Dr. Gonzalez served as the principle investigator on the proposed grant titled Pediatric Zik-Action: Evaluation of Zika End Organ Damage: A Team Science Approach. His efforts were recognized nationally, and he was invited as a speaker for the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) Annual Meeting that occurred in November 2016. Dr. Gonzalez was joined by the President of the ASTMH and CDC laboratory directors to discuss strategies in handling Zika virus infections in the U.S. In addition, Dr. Gonzalez was invited by the CDC to participate in the Forum on the Diagnosis, Evaluation, and Management of Zika Virus Infection Among Infants. He was also selected by the CDC for a feature in the series entitled “CDC Response to Zika, Features from the Frontline”.
As part of his clinical responsibilities, the role of pediatric infectious diseases transplant liaison increases the capture of potential needs to enhance patient care. Currently there is a need for multicenter studies in order to determine the best evidence-based practices that will impact patient outcomes. Thus far, the division has had success investigating our standard of care leading to changes in our clinical protocols resulting in a decrease in morbidity and mortality. These studies shed some light on current practices and will eventually lead to multicenter studies through our national association. Dr. Gonzalez also holds a pilot grant titled: Prognostic Capability of CMV and EBV IGRA in Pediatric Solid Organ Transplant Recipients. This pilot will begin to address predictive biomarkers to determine morbidity and mortality associated with two viruses often seen in solid organ transplant recipients. The grant will also create a sample biorepository in order to facilitate future projects for potential biomarkers for infection and/or rejection in the pediatric population. In addition, the division is investigating how patients with normal and abnormal defense systems respond to vaccines such a pneumococcal and influenza vaccine in order to develop more effective vaccination strategies. These studies are conducted in conjunction with the solid organ transplantation services.
Charles D. Mitchell, M.D.
During the last 30 years at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Dr. Charles Mitchell has consistently been involved in research related to the global pandemic of HIV-1 among mothers and their infants, both domestically and internationally. During that time, he has been the Principal Investigator for three Fogarty International Center Training Initiatives, including an AIDS International Training and Research Program, an International Maternal and Child Health Training and Research Program, and Medical Informatics. Thirty-five international investigators from countries where Pediatric HIV is endemic were trained in HIV research as a result of these programs. He has been a co-investigator with Dr. Charles Wood of the University of Nebraska on a long-term study of the Epidemiology of Human Herpesvirus Type 8 in Zambia. He is currently the IMPAACT (International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials) Clinical Research Site Leader at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. As a result of his involvement in IMPAACT, he was one of the originators and co-chairs of IMPAACT Protocol P1041 (a large phase III randomized, placebo-controlled study to determine the efficacy of primary INH prophylaxis in preventing TB disease and latent TB infection in HIV perinatally-exposed South African infants). Also, he was awarded a NIAID RO1 grant to study Microbial Translocation and Alterations in the Bowel Microbiota and Microbiome (“the MITABS study”) in newly diagnosed HIV perinatally infected infants as well as perinatally exposed, uninfected infants in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic (DR). During 2017, he received the Batchelor Foundation award for Excellence in Child Health Research and is currently the Principal Investigator on a study funded by this award Evaluating the Utility of a MTB CFP10 Blood Assay for both diagnosing and monitoring the response to TB therapy in Dominican children with TB.
Delia M Rivera-Hernandez, M.D.
Dr. Delia M. Rivera-Hernández’ research interests include the natural history and epidemiology of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infection and AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) in children and youth. She has also worked on studying the antibody response to HIV in children who have been identified early to have HIV infection and have been started on treatment. HIV-specific T and B cell response were evaluated in order to identify the differences between seronegative and seropositive individuals in term of quantity and quality of these cells. She is a collaborator in a multicenter study assessing the safety of initiating combined antiretroviral therapy in infants younger than 6 weeks of age, characterizing the plasma HIV RNA decline in these HIV-infected infants.
Gwendolyn B. Scott, M.D.
Dr. Scott has been the Director, Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases for more than 25 years and is now an Emeritus Professor at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Throughout her career, she has dedicated herself to the advancement and education of pediatric HIV and pediatric infectious diseases. Dr. Scott is a distinguished physician scientist with many accomplishments. Her expansive academic reputation may be attested to by her track record in providing scientific leadership at the regional and national level. She was one of the first Directors of the NIH funded Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group and was actively involved in the study that led to the first “home run” in the AIDS epidemic. It was this study that documented that the administration of prenatal AZT to pregnant HIV infected women could reduce maternal-infant transmission by almost 70%. This initial breakthrough led to subsequent perinatal intervention studies in which she was also involved. These studies led the decrease of perinatal HIV transmission. Dr. Scott has also chaired the NICHD Pediatric HIV/AIDS group (PHACS) Network, the Perinatal Transmission Committee of the Pediatric Clinical Trials Group, and has served as a working member of innumerable task forces, committees and advisory groups concerned with the HIV agenda including the Red Book Committee on Pediatric Infectious Diseases of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Currently, Dr. Scott is the Principal Investigator for PHACS studies, Surveillance Monitoring for ART Toxicities Study (SMARTT) and Adolescent Master Protocol (AMP/AMP UP), and multiple IMPAACT Studies.
