The most prominent way I approach patient care is to treat every patient how I would treat a member of my own family.
Grant C. Paulsen, MD

About

Biography

I am a pediatric infectious disease doctor at Cincinnati Children’s. I specialize in the diagnosis and management of infections in immunocompromised children.

For children who receive an organ transplant, bone marrow transplant or chemotherapy, living with compromised immune systems is a challenge every day.

I knew from early on that the field of infectious diseases had captured my interest. The discovery aspect of hunting down the specific infection and then figuring out the best way to treat it drew me in. That wide variety inspired me to pursue dual training and board certification in adult and pediatric infections.

One day during training, my wife noted that I was easier to be around when I spent time taking care of children rather than adults. I took that as a sign and never looked back.

The most prominent way I approach patient care is to treat every patient how I would treat a member of my own family.

I believe communication is another important factor in achieving this goal. Taking care of immunocompromised children means managing many different and complex factors for each patient. I emphasis open and frequent conversations with the patient and any other medical providers on the patient’s care team.

Medicine continues to become more complex and nuanced. I continuously work to learn more each day to provide the best care for my patients.

My research focuses on two areas: preventing infections in immunocompromised children and developing new vaccines to prevent infections in general.

I am most proud of being part of the team selected by Cincinnati Children’s in 2018 for the Research Team Award. This award recognizes the team of researchers and staff involved in our Vaccine Therapeutics & Evaluation Unit. Our team is an amazing group of people working hard to move new vaccines forward for everyone.

When I’m not at work, I enjoy spending as much time as I can with my wife, two children and a troublemaking dog. I love exploring the different parks, biking and hiking trails around Cincinnati whenever we can. At home, I’ve made it a mission to teach my kids how to play the old-school board games I grew up playing. They protest and tell me all of those games can now be found online and that I am torturing them for no reason.

MD: University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, CO, 2005.

Residency: Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 2005-2009.

Fellowship: Adult and Pediatric Infectious Diseases, University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL, 2010-2014.

Certification: Internal Medicine, 2009; Pediatrics, 2010.

Interests

Transplant infectious diseases

Services and Specialties

Infectious Diseases, Lung Transplant

Research Areas

Infectious Diseases

Insurance Information

Cincinnati Children's strives to accept a wide variety of health plans. Please contact your health insurance carrier to verify coverage for your specific benefit plan.

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Publications

The Durability of Antibody Responses of Two Doses of High-Dose Relative to Two Doses of Standard-Dose Inactivated Influenza Vaccine in Pediatric Hematopoietic Cell Transplant Recipients: A Multi-Center Randomized Controlled Trial. Schuster, JE; Hamdan, L; Dulek, DE; Kitko, CL; Batarseh, E; Haddadin, Z; Stewart, LS; Stahl, A; Potter, M; Rahman, H; et al. Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2024; 78:217-226.

Safety and Immunogenicity of an Andes Virus DNA Vaccine by Needle-Free Injection: A Randomized, Controlled Phase 1 Study. Paulsen, GC; Frenck, R; Tomashek, KM; Alarcon, RM; Hensel, E; Lowe, A; Brocato, RL; Kwilas, SA; Josleyn, MD; Hooper, JW. Journal of Infectious Diseases. 2024; 229:30-38.

385. Safety and Immunogenicity of a Variant-adapted Bivalent (Original/Omicron BA.4/BA.5) BNT162b2 COVID-19 Vaccine Given as a Booster (Dose 4) to 5- to 11-Year-Old Children Who Previously Received 3 Doses of Original BNT162b2. Paulsen, GC; Sher, L; Sabharwal, C; Kitchin, N; Hill, S; Wasserman, E; Xu, X; Maldonado, YA; Barnett, E; Englund, JA; et al. Open Forum Infectious Diseases. 2023; 10:ofad500.455.

362. Safety and Immunogenicity of a Variant-adapted Bivalent (Original/Omicron BA.4/BA.5) BNT162b2 COVID-19 Vaccine Given as a Booster (Dose 4) to Toddlers and Children 6 Months to < 5 Years of Age Who Previously Received Original BNT162b2 as a 3-Dose Primary Series. Sher, L; Sabharwal, C; Kitchin, N; Kofi Boakya-Appiah, J; Xu, X; Walter, E; Maldonado, YA; Munoz, FM; Englund, JA; Talaat, KR; et al. Open Forum Infectious Diseases. 2023; 10:ofad500.432.

1702. Disseminated Candidiasis after Candidemia: Epidemiology, Diagnostic Evaluation, and Risk Factors. Whitehurst, D; Murphy, CR; Teoh, Z; Brammer, CN; Perkins, K; Paulsen, GC; Danziger-Isakov, LA; Miller-Handley, H; Otto, WR. Open Forum Infectious Diseases. 2023; 10:ofad500.1535.

Immunogenicity and Safety of Alternative Influenza Vaccination Strategies in Repeated Seasons in Pediatric Hematopoietic-Cell Transplant Recipients. Bahakel, H; Spieker, AJ; Stahl, A; Rahman, H; Amarin, J; Hamdan, L; Dulek, DE; Kitko, CL; Batarseh, E; Haddadin, Z; et al. Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society. 2023; 12:s21.

Summer 2023 ACIP Update: RSV Prevention and Updated Recommendations on Other Vaccines. O’Leary, ST; Yonts, AB; Gaviria-Agudelo, C; Kimberlin, DW; Paulsen, GC. Pediatrics. 2023; 152:e2023063955.

February 2023 Updates of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Gaviria-Agudelo, C; Yonts, AB; Kimberlin, DW; O’Leary, ST; Paulsen, GC. Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society. 2023; 12:257-261.

Evaluation of BNT162b2 Covid-19 Vaccine in Children Younger than 5 Years of Age. Muñoz, FM; Sher, LD; Sabharwal, C; Gurtman, A; Xu, X; Kitchin, N; Lockhart, S; Riesenberg, R; Sexter, JM; Czajka, H; et al. The New England journal of medicine. 2023; 388:621-634.

Tocilizumab for Treatment of Children and Young Adults With Severe Acute COVID-19: Experience at a Quaternary-care Children's Hospital. Teoh, Z; Danziger-Isakov, L; Courter, JD; Frenck, RW; Grimley, MS; Marsh, RA; Paulsen, GC; Phillips, CL; Spearman, P; Chima, RS; et al. The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. 2023; 42:119-121.

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