A photo of Lara Danziger-Isakov.

Lara A. Danziger-Isakov, MD, MPH


  • Director, Immunocompromised Host Infectious Disease
  • Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics

About

Biography

Children are remarkably resilient, and I find it gratifying to help them live to their full potential despite life-threatening illness. The unanswered questions these patients present drive my research interests — and, as a result, my research is constantly evolving.

I focus on better understanding the infection risk in immunocompromised patients. My research includes discovering new methods to quickly diagnose infection and evaluating the most appropriate treatment options specific to a pathogen. I also study the noninfectious complications and the consequences of infections related to a patient’s underlying illness.

I specialize in treating infections for a variety of patient populations, including those who have received solid organ transplants and hematopoietic stem cell transplants (HSCT), immunocompromised patients and patients undergoing treatment for various cancers. Many of the infections I study are viral or fungal in nature.

My research focuses on understanding the impact of host-pathogen interactions. I have been the protocol chair for three clinical trials supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). These trials evaluated how the immune system responds to infection and, later, how that impacts graft survival in pediatric transplantation. They also examined the impact of B-cell induction and the barriers to treatment adherence. In the Studies in Pediatric Liver Transplantation (SPLIT) study, I act as principle investigator for the evaluation of cytomegalovirus (CMV) prophylaxis.

I also research infectious disease epidemiology and risk factors, as well as immunization safety and efficacy in immunocompromised pediatric patients. This includes my role as principle investigator for an ongoing multicenter study of live viral vaccination after solid organ transplantation.

As a result of my work, I received the 2012 American Society of Transplantation Clinical Science Career Development Award. I have served as a board member, secretary, annual meeting program chair and, most recently, president-elect for the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation.

I am the past chair for the Infectious Disease Community of Practice (IDCOP) for the American Society of Transplantation. And from 2018-2020, I worked as the deputy editor of the American Journal of Transplantation.

MD: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, 1997.

MPH: Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, 2004.

Residency: Pediatrics, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH, 1997-2000.

Fellowship: Pediatric Infectious Diseases, St. Louis Children’s Hospital, Washington Univeristy, St. Louis, MO, 2000-2003.

Certification: Pediatrics, 2000; Pediatric Infectious Diseases, 2003.

Interests

Pediatric infectious disease; infections in transplantation; infections in immunocompromised hosts

Services and Specialties

Infectious Diseases, Lung Transplant

Interests

Infections in transplantation; infections in immunocompromised hosts

Research Areas

Infectious Diseases

Insurance Information

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Publications

The IPTA Nashville consensus conference on post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders after solid organ transplantation in children: IV-consensus guidelines for the management of post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders in children and adolescents. Allen, UD; L'Huillier, AG; Bollard, CM; Gross, TG; Hayashi, RJ; Höcker, B; Maecker-Kolhoff, B; Marks, SD; Mazariegos, GV; Smets, F; Dharnidharka, VR; Green, M; Webber, SA; Esquivel, CO. Pediatric Transplantation. 2024; 28:e14781.

Multicenter Analysis of Valganciclovir Prophylaxis in Pediatric Solid Organ Transplant Recipients. Foca, M; Demirhan, S; Munoz, FM; Valencia Deray, KG; Bocchini, CE; Sharma, TS; Sherman, G; Muller, WJ; Heald-Sargent, T; Danziger-Isakov, L; Su, Y; Maron, GM; Ferrolino, J; Herold, BC. Open Forum Infectious Diseases. 2024; 11:ofae353.

Presentation, management, and outcomes of norovirus in adult and pediatric solid organ and hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients: A multicenter, retrospective study. Callegari, M; Danziger-Isakov, LA; Rose, A; Kaul, D; Shaffer, K; Chong, PP; Florescu, D; German, K; Avery, R; Nguyen, MH; Guo, K; Zhao, L; Daud, A; Ison, MG. Transplant Infectious Disease. 2024; 26:e14270.

Management of infectious disease syndromes in thoracic organ transplants and mechanical circulatory device recipients: a Delphi panel. Luong, ML; Nakamachi, Y; Silveira, FP; Morrissey, CO; Danziger-Isakov, L; Verschuuren, EA M; Wolfe, CR; Hadjiliadis, D; Chambers, DC; Patel, JK; Holm, AM; Mueller, NJ; Chaparro, C; Husain, S. Transplant Infectious Disease. 2024; 26:e14251.

Description of a national, multi-center registry of patients with sickle cell disease and SARS-CoV-2 infection: Data from the Pediatric COVID-19 United States Registry. Dain, AS; Diorio, C; Fisher, BT; Hankins, JS; Witmer, CM; Boustany, M; Burton, M; Ferrolino, J; Sadaf, S; Ross, HS; Statler, VA; Whitworth, MS; Yarbrough, A; Zhu, FH. Pediatric Blood and Cancer. 2024; 71:e30909.

Approach for defining human adenovirus infection and disease for central review adjudication in clinical studies. Fisher, BT; Blumenstock, J; Boge, CL K; Shuster, S; Seif, AE; Green, M; Michaels, MG; Alexander, JL; Ardura, MI; Miller, TP; Green, AM; Dulek, DE; Kajon, AE; Danziger-Isakov, L. Pediatric Transplantation. 2024; 28:e14750.

Immunophenotypic predictors of influenza vaccine immunogenicity in pediatric hematopoietic cell transplant recipients. Amarin, JZ; Dulek, DE; Simmons, J; Hayek, H; Chappell, JD; Nochowicz, CH; Kitko, CL; Schuster, JE; Muñoz, FM; Bocchini, CE; Englund, JA; Halasa, NB; Spieker, AJ; Kalams, SA. Blood Advances. 2024; 8:1880-1892.

Disseminated Disease After Candidemia in Children and Young Adults: Epidemiology, Diagnostic Evaluation and Risk Factors. Murphy, CR; Teoh, Z; Whitehurst, D; Brammer, C; Perkins, K; Paulsen, G; Miller-Handley, H; Danziger-Isakov, L; Otto, WR. The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. 2024; 43:328-332.

Infectious Diseases Evaluation of the Child With Suspected Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis. Leon, MD; Otto, WR; Danziger-Isakov, L; Kumar, A; Huang, FS. Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society. 2024; 13:220-227.

Current Landscape and Future Directions of Pediatric Transplant Infectious Diseases. Otto, WR; Green, M; Danziger-Isakov, L. Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society. 2024; 13:S1-S2.

From the Blog

Live Vaccinations Appear Safe for Organ Transplant Recipients
Infectious Diseases and Vaccines

Live Vaccinations Appear Safe for Organ Transplant Recipients

Lara A. Danziger-Isakov, MD, MPH10/16/2023

Hepatitis of Unknown Origin in Kids: What Do We Know?
Blog Rare and Complex Conditions

Hepatitis of Unknown Origin in Kids: What Do We Know?

By Lara Danziger-Isakov, MD10/6/2022

The COVID-19 Vaccine and Immunocompromised Kids
Blog Vaccines

The COVID-19 Vaccine and Immunocompromised Kids

By Lara Danziger-Isakov, MD11/22/2021

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