Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program

Infectious disease has been a key area of investigation since the founding of UC-Davis Medical Center. Our founding chief, Paul Hoeprich, M.D. wrote the first comprehensive textbook on Infectious Diseases. In the late 1980s and the 1990s, UC Davis scientists, including faculty from the Division of Infectious Diseases, played important roles in understanding HIV infection, AIDS, and other retroviral infections by identifying simian and feline immunodeficiency viruses. Our faculty, along with others at UC Davis, advanced knowledge of the natural history of both the AIDS viruses, including mechanisms of cross-species transmission and the role of the immune systems in fighting these viruses. Our current division chief, Dr. Stuart Cohen, is a leading expert in the pathogenesis and epidemiology of Clostridium difficile disease, and the first-author of the current IDSA C. difficile guidelines.  Dr. George Thompson, fellowship director, is the managing editor and second-author of the 2016 IDSA Aspergillosis Guidelines, and the 2020 Endemic Mycoses Guidelines.


Ongoing research efforts within the division span the breadth of infectious diseases.  Members of the division have developed bioengineered stem cells that generate an HIV-resistant immune system in transplant recipients and human clinical trials have recently begun.  Other areas of active clinical and laboratory research include hepatitis B and C, Clostridium difficile and H. pylori, invasive fungal infections, transplant medicine, infection control, and antibiotic stewardship.  Department faculty members pursuing research in infectious diseases are associated with many other departments in our Schools of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine; the Center for Immunology and Infectious Diseases; California National Primate Research Center; the Mouse Biology Program; Mutant Mouse Pathology Laboratory;  Comprehensive Cancer Center; Center for Biophotonics; the UC Health System Epidemiology Collaborative, and more.

[ LARGE VIEW ]

Welcome to the Division of Infectious Diseases Fellowship program, part of the Internal Medicine Department at UC Davis Health.

Current Fellows

Class of 2024
War War Ko, M.D.
Residency: St. John’s Episcopal Hospital
Aishan Shi, M.D.
Residency: Banner University of Arizona Tucson
Kimrey Van Perre, M.D.
Residency: Loma Linda University Medical Center
Class of 2023
Malik Darwish, M.D.
Residency: University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Gerald Hutfles, D.O.
Residency: Providence Portland Medical Center
Laya Reddy, M.D.
Residency: Scripps Green Hospital and Scripps Clinic

Where Are They Now

Class of 2022
Gauri Barlingay, M.B.B.S Banner Desert, Mesa, AZ
Derek Bays, M.D.  UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA
*UC Davis Medical Center Fellow of the Year Award Winner
Minh-Vu Hoang Nguyen, M.D., M,Sc, National Jewish Health, Denver, CO
*UC Davis Department of Internal Medicine Trainee Research Award (Fellow, 2020)
Class of 2021
Kaitlyn Hardin, M.D. UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA
Class of 2020
Archana Reddy, M.D. UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA
Janet Yang, M.D. Sacramento VA Medical Center, Mather, CA
Class of 2019
Melony Chakrabarty, M.D. UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA
Anne Spichler Moffarah, M.D. Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
Class of 2018
Nathaniel DeFelice, M.D. Sutter Health, Roseville, CA
Bruce Weng, D.O. Riverside University Health System Medical Center, Moreno Valley, CA
*UC Davis Medical Center Fellow of the Year Award Winner
Class of 2017
Jillian Ahrens, M.D. Clinical Team Lead for Nurx, A Telehealth Company
Rie Ueno, M.D. Merck Inc., Tokyo, Japan
Class of 2016
Ethan Stewart, M.D. Kaiser, San Diego, CA
Sarah Waldman, M.D. UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA
Class of 2015
Priya Nand, M.D. Dignity Health, Stockton, CA
Meryl Twarog Perez, M.D. Pulmonary Medical Associates, Sacramento, CA
Class of 2014
Matthew Eldridge, M.D. Kaiser, South Sacramento, CA
Lenora Lee, M.D. Kaiser, Sacramento, CA
Class of 2013
Sanaz Abderrahmane, M.D. Mercy Medical Group, Sacramento, CA
Bhavna Malik, M.D. Sutter Health, Walnut Creek, CA
Class of 2012
Sharon Wang, D.O. Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, Colton, CA
Shiv Sudhakar, M.D. Palo Alto VA Medical Center, Menlo Park, CA
Class of 2011
Jevon Tang, M.D. Washington Hospital, Fremont, CA
Eric Shigeno, M.D. St. Joseph Health Mission Hospital, Mission Viejo, CA
Class of 2010
Jennifer Brown, M.D. UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA
Phillip Cole, M.D. Amplyx Pharmaceuticals, San Diego, CA
Class of 2009
Erin Hsu, M.D. Sutter Health, San Francisco, CA
Robert Eison, M.D. Colorado Infectious Diseases, Denver, CO


*100% Board Pass rate over the last 10 years

Recent Fellow Publications

Recent Poster Presentations at National Meetings

  • Berghout J, Thompson GR III, Bays DJ, Waldman S, Stewart E, Hsu A, Powell DA, Chaput AL, Pouladi N, Vitali F, Shubitz LF, Holland SM, Frelinger JA, Galgiani JN, Lussier YA. Identification of Rare Variants Contributing to Disseminated Coccidioidomycosis Susceptibility After Infection. University of Arizona Genetics Program – “Is it In Your Genes?”. Tucson, AZ: Nov 20th, 2019.  Poster # pending. 
  • Bays DJ, Thompson GR III, Freifeld AJ, Reef S, Synder L, Huppert M, Salkin D, Galgiani JN. The Natural History of Chronic Pulmonary Coccidioidomycosis in the Pre-Antifungal Era. In: IDWeek 2019.  Programs and Abstracts of the 54th Annual Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) Meeting. Washington D.C.: October 4th, 2019. Poster # pending. 
  • Berghout J, Thompson GR III, Bays DJ, Waldman S, Stewart E, Hsu A, Powell DA, Chaput AL, Pouladi N, Vitali F, Shubitz LF, Holland SM, Frelinger JA, Galgiani JN, Lussier YA. Identification of Rare Variants Contributing to Disseminated Coccidioidomycosis Susceptibility After Infection. American Society of Human Genetics. Houston, TX:  Oct 19th, 2019. Abstract #1921354
  • Nguyen MV, Davis M, Wittenberg R, McHardy I, Baddley J, Young B, Odermatt A, Thompson GR III. Posaconazole Serum Drug Levels Associated with Hypertension and Hypokalemia: The Syndrome of Pseudohyperaldosteronism. In: 9th Trends in Medical Mycology (TIMM). Nice, France: October 13th, 2019. Poster #088.
  • Nguyen MVH, Davis MR, Wittenberg R, Mchardy I, Baddley JW, Young BY, Odermatt A, Thompson GR III. Posaconazole Serum Drug Levels Associated with Pseudohyperaldosteronism. In: IDWeek 2019. Programs and Abstracts of the 54th Annual Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) Meeting. Washington D.C.: October 4th, 2019. Poster # pending.
  • Nguyen MV, Davis M, Donnelley M, Wittenberg R, Thompson GR III. Posaconazole-Induced Apparent Mineralocorticoid Excess. In: Coccidioidomycosis Study Group. Programs and Abstracts of the 63rd Annual Meeting. Sacramento, CA:  April 6th, 2019. Selected for Oral Presentation.
  • Davis M, Nguyen MV, Donnelley M, Thompson GR III. Tolerability of long-term fluconazole therapy. In: Coccidioidomycosis Study Group. Programs and Abstracts of the 63rd Annual Meeting. Sacramento, CA: April 6th, 2019. Selected for Oral Presentation.
  • Bays DJ, Thompson GR III, Freifeld AJ, Reef S, Snyder L, Huppert M, Salkin D, Galgiani JN. An Examination of Chronic Pulmonary Coccidioidomycosis in the Pre-Antifungal Era. In:  Coccidioidomycosis Study Group. Programs and Abstracts of the 63rd Annual Meeting. Sacramento, CA: April 6th, 2019.  Selected for Oral Presentation.
  • Mchardy I, Dinh BT, Bays DJ, Waldman S, Stewart E, Pappagianis D, Thompson GR III. New Observations in Coccidioidomycosis Serology. In: IDWeek 2018. Programs and Abstracts of the 54th Annual Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) Meeting. San Francisco, CA: October 4th, 2018. Poster #388.
  • Bays DJ, Thompson GR III, Reef S, Snyder L, Freifeld AJ, Huppert M, Salkin D, Wilson MD, Galgiani JN. A Reexamination of Disseminated Coccidioidomycosis: The Natural History in the Pre-Antifungal Era. In: IDWeek 2018. Programs and Abstracts of the 54th Annual Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) Meeting. San Francisco, CA: October 4th, 2018. Poster #386. 
  • Davis MR, Nguyen MVH, Donnelley MA, Thompson GR III. Long-Term Fluconazole Tolerability and Efficacy in Patients with Coccidioidomycosis. In: IDWeek 2018. Programs and Abstracts of the 54th Annual Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) Meeting. San Francisco, CA: October 4th, 2018. Poster #392. 
  • Bays DJ, Thompson GR III, Reef S, Synder L, Freifeld AJ, Huppert M, Salkin D, Wilson MW, Galgiani JN. Disseminated Coccidioidomycosis in the Pre-amphotericin Era: Examination of the VA-Armed Forces Database. In: Coccidioidomycosis Study Group. Programs and Abstracts of the 62nd Annual Meeting. Flagstaff, AZ: April 14th, 2018.
  • Bays DJ, Thompson GR III, Reef S, Snyder L, Huppert M, Salkin D, Galgiani J. Natural History of Non-CNS Disseminated Coccidioidomycosis. In: IDWeek 2017. Programs and Abstracts of the 54th Annual Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) Meeting. San Diego, CA: October 5th, 2017. Poster #157. 
  • Thompson GR III, Wang S, Bercovitch R, Bolaris M, Van Den Akker D, Lopez R, Heidan A, Catanzaro A, Cadena J, Chin-Hong P, Spellberg B, Blair J, Johnson R. Adjunctive Corticosteroid in the Treatment of Coccidioidal Meningitis, In: IDWeek 2015. Programs and Abstracts of the 52nd Annual Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) Meeting. San Diego, CA: October 2017. Poster #1459. 
  • Nand P, Cohen SH, Wilson M, Brown J. Curbing Antimicrobial Resistance: Do Physicians Receive Adequate Training About Antibiograms? In: Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA). Orlando, FL: May 2015. Abstract #7002.
  • Thompson GR III, Albert N, Hodge G, Sykes J, Bays D, Firacative C, Meyer W, Kontoyiannis D. Phenotypic differences of Cryptococcus gattii genotypes: implications for virulence in a Drosophila model of infection. In: Programs and Abstracts of the 51st Annual Meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) Meeting. San Francisco, CA: Selected for Oral Presentation. Session #1824. 
  • Eldridge M, Cohen SH, Thompson GR III. Treatment of Refractory Coccidioidomycosis with Liposomal Amphotericin B. In: Programs and Abstracts of the 51st Annual Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) Meeting. San Francisco, CA: October 2013. Presentation #M-222. 
  • Thompson GR III, Sykes J, Ding K, Hodge G, Bays DJ, Firacative C, Albert N, Meyer W, Kontoyiannis DP. Virulence of different Cryptococcus gattii genotypes in a Drosophila melanogaster model of infection. In: IDWeek. Programs and Abstracts of the 50th Annual Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) Meeting. San Diego, CA: 2012. Poster #127. *Featured on Poster Walk.  Highlighting the top abstracts presented at IDSA 2012.
  • Thompson GR III, Sharma S, Bays DJ, Pruitt R, Engelthaler DM, Bowers J, Driebe E, Libke R, Cohen S, Pappagianis D. Pleural Effusions Caused by Coccidioidomycosis: ADA levels, serologic parameters, culture results and PCR testing. In: IDWeek. Programs and Abstracts of the 50th Annual Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) Meeting. San Diego, CA:  2012. Poster #138.
  • Thompson GR III, Bays D, Sharma S, Davis M, Libke R, Pappagianis D. Diagnostic Value of Adenosine Deaminase Levels in Lymphocytic Pleural Effusions Caused by Coccidioidomycosis. In: Programs and Abstracts of the 56th Annual Coccidioidomycosis Study Group. Tuscon, AZ: 2012.
  • Thompson GR III, Bays D, Sharma S, Davis M, Libke RD, Pappagianis D. Adenosine Deaminase Levels in Pleural Effusions Caused by Coccidioidomycosis. In: Programs and Abstracts of the 49th Annual Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) Meeting. Boston, MA: Poster #1049.
  • Thompson GR III, Bays D, Pruitt R, Cohen S, Pappagianis D. Association Between Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Level and Type of Coccidioidal Infection. In: Programs and Abstracts of the 49th Annual Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) Meeting. Boston, MA: Poster #1053.
  • Thompson GR III, Wang S, Bercovitch R, Bolaris M, Spier A, Taylor S, Lopez R, Catanzaro A, Cadena J, Chin-Hong P, Spellberg B. Routine CSF Analysis Based on Coccidioidal CF Antibody Titers: Evidence Based Practice or Dogma? In: Programs and Abstracts of the 49th Annual Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) Meeting. Boston, MA: Presentation #963.
  • Thompson GR III, Singer L, Bays D, Meyer W, Lindsay LL, Sykes JE. Differences in Antifungal Susceptibility Among Molecular Types of Cryptococcus gattii. In: Programs and Abstracts of the 8th International Conference on Cryptococcus and Cryptococcosis (ICCC). Charleston, SC: 2011.
  • Thompson GR III, Lunetta JM, Bays D, Johnson SM, Cohen SH, Pappagianis D. Early Treatment with Fluconazole may Abrogate the Development of IgG Antibodies in Coccidioidomycosis.  In:  Programs and Abstracts of the 48th Annual Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) Meeting. Vancouver, Canada: Poster #660.

Infectious Diseases Fellowship Schedule at a Glance

Below is an example of the schedule for years 1-2 as an Infectious Diseases Fellow.

Inpatient Consults Year 1 Year 2
University Hospital 16 weeks 10 weeks
VA Hospital 10 weeks 16 weeks
Transplant Consults & Antimicrobial Stewardship 6 weeks 4 weeks
University ID Clinic 26 clinics 26 clinics
VA ID Clinic 10 clinics 16 clinics
One Community Health (HIV Clinic) Once weekly Once weekly
Travel Medicine Clinic 8 clinics 8 clinics
Clinical Microbiology Lab 4 weeks If desired
Research 11 weeks 15 weeks
Education Days (Conferences, etc.) 4 days 4 days
Vacation 20 days 20 days
Wellness Days  2 Half Days 2 Half Days

*A third year of fellowship is available for those desiring additional training for the development of an academic/research career.

Key Information Regarding California GME Licensure Requirements

Changes effective January 1, 2020

  • A Postgraduate Training License (PTL) will be required for ALL RESIDENTS participating in a California ACGME program for the first 36 months of any ACGME training
    • A trainee must obtain a PTL within 180 days after enrollment in the program
    • After the first 36 months of any ACGME training Residents/Fellows MUST obtain a full and unrestricted California medical license.
    • The PTL will be valid until 90 days after completion of the first 36 months of any ACGME training (to allow an applicant time to obtain a full and unrestricted license)
    • A PTAL will no longer be required for International Medical Graduates (IMG)
  • All residents and fellows are REQUIRED to have a full and unrestricted California Medical License after they complete 36 months of any ACGME (or RCPSC, CFPC) program training
  • California Licensure Requirements:
    • 36 months of ACGME training (ACGME-International Training is not applicable)
    • At least 24 consecutive months of ACGME training
      • in the same ACGME program
      • within the first 36 months of training
    • If a candidate does not meet this criterion, they may not train in California beyond 36 total months under any circumstances
    • ACGME-International Training is not applicable for a California Medical License
  • Applicants may (should) submit the PTL application and supporting documents soon as they have confirmation of acceptance into the ACGME program

Sacramento, Davis, and the Central Valley

Sacramento

Sacramento and Davis are located in the heart of the Central Valley between the Coast Range to the west and the towering Sierra Nevada to the east. It takes about two hours to drive either to the San Francisco Bay Area or the ski slopes above beautiful Lake Tahoe. Napa Valley is an easy 90-minute drive from the medical center. Lodi and Amador County are each about a 60-minute drive and home to additional wine country and beautiful topography. Folsom lake, a reservoir on the American River in the Sierra Nevada foothills, is a 30-minute drive from Sacramento and offers activities including swimming, kayaking, overnight camping, horseback riding or just a fun spot for a picnic.

Sacramento, California's capital, boasts large parks, a 26-mile river parkway and bike trail, historic neighborhoods, and a range of cultural attractions. Sacramento’s “farm to fork” scene has grown into a national attraction, highlighted by the yearly festival in mid-September. A number of microbreweries have recently opened with >25 now present within the city. Farmers markets are plentiful and open every weekend throughout Sacramento and Davis. For those with pets, Sacramento is pet-friendly with multiple establishments allowing the company of your furry friend(s).

Davis has a friendly, college-town feel. Its thriving downtown offers small shops, art galleries, a farmer's market, and international restaurants. It’s the city that fell in love with the bicycle, with an average modal share of 20%! It is also home to the California Raptor Center, and the University's Mondovi Center for the Performing Arts which provides a world-class venue for the community.

Central valley winters are mild and rainy. Summers are sunny, hot, and dry. Although on some days the thermometer can exceed 100oF degrees, summer days are usually in the low 90s with low humidity, and a reliable sea breeze cools overnight temperatures to the 60s. Spring and fall temperatures are among the most pleasant in the state.

UC Davis Medical Center      Lake Tahoe