Joshua K. Schaffzin , MD, PhD

I was drawn to a career in pediatrics by my own pediatrician. At a young age, I could see how he helped kids, and I was inspired to do the same.

My research interests developed during my medical training. I was fortunate to be accepted into a medical scientist training program (MSTP), where I earned my MD and PhD at the same time. This training offered me a better understanding of the importance of basic and clinical research.

My mentor, Dr. Beverly Connelly, taught me how to be an excellent physician and leader, and encouraged me to pursue a career in infectious disease and infection control.

At Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, I serve as a pediatric infectious disease physician and lead our hospital’s Infection Prevention and Control program. My clinical interests include general infectious diseases and immunocompromised/transplant infectious diseases.

I also have a strong interest in improvement science and healthcare epidemiology. I study healthcare-acquired infection prevention systems and behavioral approaches to infection prevention.

What’s fascinating to me about infection prevention is that it’s all about changing behavior. However valid, a discovery is not helpful if it cannot be communicated to, and implemented by, people. To be part of meaningful change, we need data, but most importantly, we need to understand and influence behavior.

I have experience working in laboratory, clinical epidemiology and data analysis settings. Though many discoveries are made in these settings, it often takes more than a decade to introduce them into practice. Even then, it takes constant vigilance to maintain progress. I wish to be a part of an effort to implement evidence sooner and more effectively.

I'm passionate about my work as a physician, researcher and leader, and inspired by the teams I work with. My interactions clinically and professionally in the healthcare world continue to drive me to seek improvements and find ways to make those improvements stick. I’m eager to find partners who feel the same way.