Joel E. Mortensen, PhD
- Director, Diagnostic Infectious Diseases Testing Laboratory (Microbiology and Virology)
- Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
About
Biography
My research interests involve developing testing methods for infectious diseases via clinical research trials. The type of goals my colleagues and I are attempting to reach through our research is to reduce the time it takes to detect infectious diseases as well as improve the sensitivity and specificity of diagnostic testing by applying cutting-edge technologies.
The patient care I specialize in involves diagnostic testing for infectious diseases. I was inspired to become a healthcare provider and work with children through a deep personal identification with this particular mission.
I have provided direction to the diagnostic laboratory to ensure the highest quality of results for our patients and I have provided consultation services to the healthcare staff in clinical microbiology. I’ve pursued expanding rapid testing approaches in a clinical microbiology laboratory and in outpatient settings.
I have more than 30 years of clinical microbiology experience and first joined the team at Cincinnati Children’s in 1991. In collaboration with faculty and fellows at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, I have participated in more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, text chapters and case studies. Our research has been published in numerous respected journals, such as Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease, Journal of Clinical Microbiology, The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, and Pediatric Quality and Safety.
BS: Mount Union College, Alliance, OH, 1979.
PhD: The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 1983.
Residency: Accredited Postdoctoral Residence Program in Medical and Public Health Microbiology; Baylor College of Medicine, University of Texas Medical School, Pathology, Houston, TX, 1983-85.
Certification: Certified Laboratory Consultant, American Medical Technologists, 1998.
Interests
Application of rapid testing methods into the clinical microbiology laboratory and outpatient settings; LEAN manufacturing processes applied to clinical microbiology.
Services and Specialties
Interests
Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of fastidious pediatric pathogens.
Research Areas
Publications
Dual test gas pulmonary diffusing capacity in patients with idiopathic scoliosis 40 years after diagnosis. Experimental Physiology. 2025; 110:610-622.
Survival in Patients With Evidence of Pulmonary Thromboembolism on Ventilation-Perfusion SPECT 12 Weeks After Double Lung Transplantation: A Retrospective Cohort Study. Clinical Transplantation. 2025; 39:e70103.
Comparison of lung volumes measured with computed tomography and whole-body plethysmography - a systematic review. European Clinical Respiratory Journal. 2024; 11:2381898.
American Society for Microbiology evidence-based laboratory medicine practice guidelines to reduce blood culture contamination rates: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Microbiology Reviews. 2024; 37:e0008724.
Pulmonary function in patients with idiopathic scoliosis 40 years after diagnosis. The Spine Journal. 2024; 24:2135-2142.
Characterization of initial CLABSI culture results to support antimicrobial de-escalation in pediatric GI inpatients. Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition. 2024; 78:1234-1240.
Pulmonary blood volume measured by 82Rb-PET in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a retrospective cohort study. Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985). 2024; 136:1276-1283.
Clinical utility of multiplex PCR in the detection of pathogens from sterile body fluids. Journal of Clinical Microbiology. 2024; 62:e0161123.
Chapter 69 Neisseria meningitidis. Molecular Medical Microbiology. : Elsevier; Elsevier; 2024.
Neisseria meningitidis. Molecular Medical Microbiology. : Elsevier; Elsevier; 2024.
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