The Bug Club, Infectious Diseases AOC
The Area of Concentration in Infectious Diseases (IDAOC), also known as “The Bug Club,” introduces medical students to the breadth of infectious diseases, from molecular and translational research to clinical management, epidemiology, prevention, and public health policy. Through a longitudinal para-curriculum of conferences, mentorship, clinical rotations, and research, students gain a strong foundation in the field while exploring career pathways in infectious diseases.
Goals & Learning Objectives
The IDAOC aims to spark and sustain interest in infectious diseases by engaging students in diverse activities across the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC. Because infectious diseases span multiple specialties, participants benefit from exposure to Medicine, Pediatrics, OB/Gyn, and beyond. Students will:
- Explore the wide range of career pathways in infectious diseases and their training requirements.
- Understand the role of infectious diseases in addressing social, scientific, and global health challenges.
- Recognize the urgent issues of antimicrobial resistance, prevention, and the need for more ID specialists.
- Learn and apply research tools to pressing questions in infectious diseases.
- Develop an understanding of sexually transmitted infections in the U.S. and their broader impact.
Activities
Weekly ID Grand Rounds and Case Conferences
The ID Division in the Department of Medicine holds weekly grand rounds every Thursday. Presentations include case discussions with review of literature, research in progress of both infectious diseases fellowship trainees and faculty, and state of the art presentations by invited guests. The ID Division in the Department of Pediatrics also holds similar conferences every Friday while the Reproductive ID Division holds monthly conferences.
Weekly HIV Conference and ID Journal Club
HIV conferences discuss core principles in HIV management and diagnostics accompanied by multidisciplinary discussions involving social, psychological, and sexual/reproductive health of people living with HIV. Management of coinfections with Hepatitis B and C, and sexually transmitted diseases together with preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) are also discussed. In addition, “Genotype Conferences” are held to help HIV care providers manage patients with multiple resistance mutations. At ID Journal Club, fellows present recently published high-impact papers on various areas of infectious diseases.
Other Clinical Case Conferences
In the Transplant ID teleconference, interesting cases in solid organ and bone marrow transplant from major transplant centers (UPMC, Cleveland Clinic, UNC, University of Sao Paolo, Mayo Clinic) are presented and discussed. The Tropical INFECTIOUS DISEASES AREA OF CONCENTRATION Medicine teleconference presents highly interesting cases in the Philippine General Hospital/University of the Philippines. The Pediatric Infectious Disease division also has weekly fellows teaching conferences on Tuesday mornings that cover a broad range of topics related to Pediatric Infectious Disease. There are also monthly Journal Club presentations which are interspersed with Research in Progress seminars, both presented by Pediatric Infectious Disease fellows and faculty.
Seminar Series
The Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology (IDM) at the Graduate School of Public Health and the Center for Vaccine Research both hold regular seminar series where faculty and invited guests present the latest updates on ongoing research and cutting edge science related to infection biology.
Clinical Rotations
Students will be able to do rotations with the different infectious diseases clinical services. These include: general adult and pediatric ID, surgical ID, transplant ID, endocarditis service, VA ID, Reproductive ID Integrated Life Sciences, and outpatient ID at the Center for Care of Infectious Diseases which has the general, transplant, and travel ID clinics, the HIV/PrEP clinic, the Cdiff/Fecal Microbiota Transplant clinic, and the Tele-ID clinic. In addition, students may be able to rotate with Infection Control and Prevention team at either Presbyterian/Montefiore Hospitals or the VA, and with the Antibiotic Management Program.
Requirements
- Apply by the start of the 2nd year (1st-year students also welcome).
- Attend at least one ID-related conference/meeting per month.
- Attend quarterly IDAOC meetings.
- Complete an ID-related clinical rotation (Medicine, Pediatrics, or OB/Gyn).
- Undertake an ID-related research project (ideally integrated with the Longitudinal Research Project).
Certificate & Awards
Students who meet all requirements will receive a certificate at the end of the 4th year. Additionally, the Matthew Eric Piraino Award for Excellence in Infectious Diseases (est. 2010) recognizes Pitt medical students, whether or not they are AOC members, who demonstrate outstanding performance in ID-related clinical or research activities.
Mentorship
Each student is paired with a faculty mentor aligned with their interests. The ID Divisions in Medicine, Pediatrics, and OB/Gyn together include more than 70 faculty available to guide students in clinical and research training. A future initiative aims to create a “buddy system” linking first-year students with more senior AOC participants.
Steering Committee
- Anthony Lentsher, PhD
- Catherine Chappell, MD
- Matthew Culyba, MD PhD
- Bernard Macatangay, MD
- Anita McElroy, MD PhD
- Peter Veldkamp, MD MS
- Alex Viehman, MD
- Sarah Glenn, glennse@upmc.edu (Administrative Coordinator)