Ochsner Health is a system that delivers health to the people of Louisiana, Mississippi and the Gulf South with a mission to Serve, Heal, Lead, Educate and Innovate.
Leadership & Faculty - Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program
Dr. Nnedu joined the department in 2013. He serves as the Program Director of the Infectious Diseases fellowship program. He also directs the travel and tropical disease clinic. His interests include tropical medicine, general infectious diseases, and medical education. He has been involved in research projects in Zambia, Jamaica, Sierra Leone, and Kenya. He completed a combined MD/MPH degree at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He went on to do residency at Tulane University and Infectious Diseases fellowship at the University of Washington. Dr. Nnedu is a past Fogarty International Clinical Research Fellow. He is certified in tropical medicine through the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH). Dr. Nnedu is also certified in travel medicine through the International Society of Travel Medicine (ISTM). Dr. Nnedu sat on the exam writing committee for the ASTMH CTropmed exam for 6 years. He serves as the chair of the ASTMH clinical research awards committee. He is an adjunct faculty in the Department of Tropical Medicine at Tulane University where he is the course director for the Medical Helminthology course. He currently sits on the exam writing committee for the ID board exams. He is an associate deputy editor for Open Forum Infectious Diseases journal, one of 3 official journals of IDSA. He is a fellow of IDSA.
Physician Listing | Selected Publications
Dr. Sonya Trinh earned her medical degree from Harvard Medical School and her Master’s in Public Health at the University of California Los Angeles. She completed her Internal Medicine residency and Infectious Diseases fellowship at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, IL. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Medicine at The University of Queensland School of Medicine Ochsner Clinical School. She is a member of the American Society of Transplantation, International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation, and the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Her clinical and research interests include molecular diagnostics, foodborne infections, fungal infections, and infections following solid organ transplantation.
Physician Listing | Selected Publications
Dr. Christopher Blais became Chairman of the Department of Infectious Diseases in 2012. A native of New Orleans, Dr. Blais received his bachelor’s degrees from the University of New Orleans in Chemistry and Biological Sciences. He earned his medical degree from the LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans in 1994 where he was elected to membership in Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. He completed his internship, internal medicine residency, and infectious diseases fellowship at LSU in 1999. While completing his infectious disease training, he earned a Master’s in Public Health in Epidemiology from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. After serving on the faculty at LSUHSC from 1999-2001, he entered private practice in where he remained until joining the Ochsner medical staff in 2010. In 2011, Dr. Blais completed the American Medical Association – Medical College of Wisconsin Fellowship in Physician Ethics and Professionalism. His clinical and professional interests include general infectious diseases, infections of the central nervous system, medical ethics and professionalism, and palliative medicine. Dr. Blais is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in internal medicine, infectious diseases, and palliative medicine. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and the Infectious Diseases Society of America. He is a member of the Louisiana State Medical Society and the American Medical Association.
Physician Listing | Selected Publications
Staci Gordon
Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program Manager
Dr. Baumgarten serves as Ochsner’s Medical Director of Infection Control and Prevention. She earned her medical degree from LSU and completed her internship and residency at the University of California in Fresno. She completed her infectious diseases fellowship at Ochsner and has been on staff at Ochsner since the summer of 2000. She is board certified in infectious diseases. Dr. Baumgarten is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and a fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Her professional interests include preventing infections in hospitalized patients.
Physician Listing | Selected Publications
Dr. Ehrensing received a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA. He completed an Internal Medicine Residency, followed by fellowships in Infectious Disease and Critical Care at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is also certified in wound management and hyperbaric medicine. Dr. Ehrensing is a fellow of both the American College of Physicians and Infectious Disease Society of America.
Physician Listing
Associate Medical Director of Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency
Associate Medical Director of Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency
Dr. Jonathan Hand earned his medical degree from Louisiana State University School of Medicine, New Orleans and completed his internship, residency, and infectious diseases fellowship at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Medicine at The University of Queensland School of Medicine Ochsner Clinical School. Dr. Hand specializes in the treatment of infections in immunocompromised patients who anticipate or undergo solid organ or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation as well as patients treated with other immunosuppressive therapies. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Transplantation and has served on the executive committee of the Infectious Diseases community of practice. He is also a member of The Transplantation Society, International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation, and Fellow of The Infectious Diseases Society of America. Dr. Hand is the Section Head of Transplant Infectious Diseases and the Medical Director of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at Ochsner Medical Center. He also serves as co-chair of the Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency's Advisory Board and Associate Medical Director providing guidance on infectious diseases-related concerns in organ donors and recipients. Dr. Hand leads the Infectious Disease clinical trials as Associate Research Medical Director of Infectious Diseases. His practice and research interests include infectious complications of transplant donors and recipients, vaccine and antimicrobial clinical trials, and antimicrobial stewardship.
Physician Listing | Selected Publications
Sandra A. Kemmerly, MD, MACP, FIDSA is the System Medical Director of Hospital Quality for Ochsner Health. In addition to her administrative role, Dr. Kemmerly maintains an active practice at Ochsner Medical Center – New Orleans as an infectious disease physician in the clinic and hospital and serves as physician chair of the System Antimicrobial Stewardship Subcommittee. She is board certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases.
She joined the Ochsner Health staff in 1988 and is a past president of the Medical Staff Executive Committee of Ochsner Medical Center.
Dr. Kemmerly is a Fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (ISDA) and has served on several committees of the ISDA of America and served on the Board of Directors of IDSA from 2007-2010.
A former American College of Physicians (ACP) Governor for Louisiana and member of the ACP Board of Governors for seven years, Dr. Kemmerly was recognized as a Master of the College in 2009 and received the Louisiana Chapter Laureate Award in 2011.
Dr. Kemmerly completed the Intermountain Healthcare Advanced Training Program in Healthcare Delivery, a comprehensive course covering quality improvement theory, analytic methods and implementation techniques, in addition to obtaining a Patient Safety Practitioner Certificate from the Johns Hopkins Patient Safety Practitioner Workshop at the Armstrong Institute for Safety and Quality.
Dr. Kemmerly has been involved in quality improvement and leadership roles at Ochsner throughout her career, and she recently served as the clinical lead for Ochsner Health’s COVID-19 response.
Physician Listing | Selected Publications
Dr. Andrea Linscott earned her PhD from University of North Texas in Denton. She completed her fellowship training in Clinical and Public Health Laboratory Microbiology at UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, California. Dr. Linscott is board certified by the American Board of Medical Microbiology and has been on staff since 2008.
Selected Publications
Dr. Pankey earned his medical degree from Tulane and completed his internship and residency at the University of Minnesota where he also earned a Master’s degree in microbiology and immunology. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases and has been on staff at Ochsner since 1963, and Director of Infectious Diseases Research since 1999. He is a fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and in 1996 received their Clinician of the Year award. In 2002 he was elected a Master of the American College of Physicians. Dr. Pankey is an internationally recognized and honored expert in the field of infectious diseases.
Physician Listing | Selected Publications
Dr. Cocco joined the Ochsner Clinic Foundation Department of Infectious Diseases in 2020. She received her medical degree from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2014. She completed her Internal Medicine residency training at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in 2018 and Infectious Diseases fellowship training at Ochsner Clinic Foundation in 2020. During her fellowship training, she received the Gerald P. Bodey Immunocompromised Host Fellowship Training Award at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. She is an active member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, and American Society of Transplantation. Her clinical and research interests include infections in the immunocompromised host and medical education.
Dr. Markwell joined the Ochsner Clinic Foundation Infectious Disease faculty in 2018. She earned her medical degree from the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston and completed her public health, residency and fellowship training at Tulane University School of Medicine. Her clinical and research interests include mycobacterium infections, travel and tropical medicine and public health. She is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in Internal Medicine and Infectious Disease and is also certified in travel medicine through the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. While Dr Markwell’s main clinical practice is at the Ochsner Medical Center on Jefferson Highway in New Orleans, she also provides infectious disease consultation at the OMC-Baptist and OMC-Westbank campuses.
Dr. Rivera Rivera earned her Medical Doctor degree from Ponce School of Medicine in Ponce, Puerto Rico. She completed her Internal Medicine Residency at Hospital de la Concepcion in San German, Puerto Rico. She completed her Infectious Diseases fellowship and her Transplant-Immunocompromised Host Infectious Disease fellowship at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans, LA. Her interests include academics, infections following solid organ transplantation, antimicrobial stewardship, and prosthetic joint infections. Dr. Rivera Rivera is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases. She is a member of the Louisiana State Medical Society and the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
Dr. Theppote joined the Ochsner Clinic Foundation Infectious Disease faculty in 2020. She earned her medical degree from University of Queensland-Ochsner Clinical School and completed her internship and residency at Ochsner. She completed her infectious disease fellowship at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. Her clinical and research interests include general infectious disease, tropical medicine, and medical education. She is chair of Clinical Competency Committee and a Core Faculty for the Internal Medicine Residency Program. In addition to providing care at Ochsner Medical Center, she also provides infectious disease consultation at Ochsner-West Bank.
Selected Publications
Travis King, PharmD, BCPS-AQ ID
Dr. Theppote joined the Ochsner Clinic Foundation Infectious Disease faculty in 2020. She earned her medical degree from University of Queensland-Ochsner Clinical School and completed her internship and residency at Ochsner. She completed her infectious disease fellowship at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. Her clinical and research interests include general infectious disease, tropical medicine, and medical education. She is chair of Clinical Competency Committee and a Core Faculty for the Internal Medicine Residency Program. In addition to providing care at Ochsner Medical Center, she also provides infectious disease consultation at Ochsner-West Bank.
Selected Publications
Yewande Dayo, PharmD
Dr. Yewande Dayo joined Ochsner Health in 2021, and currently serves as the System Antimicrobial Stewardship Clinical Pharmacist working closely with Ochsner’s Department of Infectious Diseases. Dr. Dayo works alongside Dr. Blais to lead Ochsner Health’s Antimicrobial Stewardship Program and support local infectious diseases and antimicrobial stewardship clinicians with programs and initiatives. She earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Howard University, completed her PGY1 Pharmacy residency at the Washington DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center and her PGY2 Infectious Diseases Pharmacy residency at the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Houston, Texas.
Dr. Dayo is passionate about antimicrobial stewardship and its impact on public health. She believes that it is very important to empower patients by educating them and helping them to be meaningful participants in their health. She is a member of several pharmacy organizations including the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) and Making a Difference in Infectious Diseases (MAD-ID), she has served as a member of the newsletter committee in the American College of Clinical Pharmacy ID PRN committee (ACCP ID-PRN) and currently serves as a member of the antimicrobial stewardship committee in the Society of Infectious Disease Pharmacists (SIDP).
Selected Publications
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