Department of Medicine
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Department of Medicine

Faculty Profiles
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photo Lee H. Harrison, MD

Infectious Diseases

Associate Chief of Epidemiology and Microbial Genomics

Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology

Director, Center for Genomic Epidemiology

Email: lharriso@edc.pitt.edu

Phone: 412-624-1599
Contact
Office: A530 Public Heath
130 DeSoto Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15261
 
Phone: 412-624-1599
Fax: 412-624-7397
E-mail: lharriso@edc.pitt.edu
Administrative Assistant:
Havannah Tung
Address: A532 Public Health
130 DeSoto Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15261
Phone: 412-624-1599
Fax: 412-624-7397
Education and Training
Education
BA, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 1978
MD, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 1982
Training
Internship, University of Virginia Hospital, VA, 1985
Residency, University of Virginia Hospital, VA, 1985
Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Meningitis and Special Pathogens Branch, 1987
Infectious Diseases Fellowship, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 1989
Research Interest
Dr. Harrison is a Professor in the Infectious Disease Division and Director of the Center for Genomic Epidemiology (https://dom.pitt.edu/id/centers-institutes/genomic-epidemiology/). His research has focused on the epidemiology and genomic epidemiology of important pathogens, including Streptococcus pneumoniae, group B Streptococcus, Neisseria meningitidis, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium difficile, SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses. A major focus of his research is methods for enhanced detection of hospital-acquired transmission of bacterial and viral pathogens using whole genomic sequencing surveillance and data mining of the electronic health record. Dr. Harrison is also the Program Director of three NIH training grants: 1) A T32 program on antimicrobial resistance 2) a D43 international training grant on HIV infection in Mozambique, and 3) a D43 international training grant on public health genomics in South Africa.
Clinical Interest
Dr. Harrison attends on the inpatient general infectious diseases consultation service at UPMC-Presbyterian Hospital. The service is commonly consulted for advice on diagnosis and treatment of infections including skin and soft-tissue infection; bacteremia and sepsis; central nervous system infections, such as bacterial meningitis, viral encephalitis, and brain abscess; osteomyelitis; necrotizing fasciitis; endocarditis and other cardiovascular infections; device-related and prosthetic infections; C. difficile infection; multidrug-resistant infections, and healthcare-associated infections.
Educational Interest
Dr. Harrison teaches a course entitled "Methods in Infectious Diseases Epidemiology" (EPIDEM/IDM 2161) in the School of Public Health. Topics that are covered include outbreak investigation, genomic/molecular epidemiology, new vaccines and vaccine prevention, study designs in infectious diseases epidemiology, drug-resistant bacteria, public health surveillance, and emerging infectious diseases. He also lectures on these and other topics in variety of other fora at the University of Pittsburgh, nationally, and internationally. Dr. Harrison has mentored numerous infectious diseases fellows, as well as MPH, DrPH, and PhD students.
Publications
For my complete bibliography, Click Here.
Selected Publications:
Harrison L. H., Stephens D.S. Good News and Bad News: 4CMenB Vaccine for Group B Neisseria meningitidis. The New England Journal of Medicine. 2020.
Srinivasa V. R., Griffith M. P., Waggle K. D., Johnson M., Zhu L., Williams J. V., Marsh J. W., Van Tyne D., Harrison L. H., Martin E. Genomic Epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 Transmission among University Students in Western Pennsylvania. The Journal of Infectious Diseases. 2023.
Sundermann A. J., Chen J., Miller J. K., Martin E. M., Snyder G. M., Van Tyne D., Marsh J. W., Dubrawski A., Harrison L. H. Whole-genome sequencing surveillance and machine learning for healthcare outbreak detection and investigation: A systematic review and summary. Antimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare Epidemiology. 2022; 2(1).
Sundermann A. J., Chen J., Kumar P., Ayres A. M., Cho S. T., Ezeonwuka C., Griffith M. P., Miller J. K., Mustapha M. M., Pasculle A. W., Saul M. I., Shutt K. A., Srinivasa V., Waggle K., Snyder D.J., Cooper V. S., Van Tyne D., Snyder G. M., Marsh J. W., Harrison L. H. Genome Sequencing and Machine Learning of the Electronic Health Record for Enhanced Healthcare Outbreak Detection. Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2022.
Retchless A. C., Chen A., Chang H. Y., Blain A. E., McNamara L. A., Mustapha M. M., Harrison L. H., Wang X. Using Neisseria meningitidis genomic diversity to inform outbreak strain identification. Public Library of Science Pathogens. 2021; 17(5).
Sundermann A. J., Chen J., Miller J. K., Saul M. I., Shutt K. A., Griffith M. P., Mustapha M. M., Ezeonwuka C., Waggle K., Srinivasa V., Kumar P., Pasculle A. W., Ayres A. M., Snyder G. M., Cooper V. S., Van Tyne D., Marsh J. W., Dubrawski A. W., Harrison L. H. Outbreak of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections from a contaminated gastroscope detected by whole genome sequencing surveillance. Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2021; 73(3).
Mustapha M. M., Marsh J. W., Shutt K. A., Schlackman J., Ezeonwuka C., Farley M. M., Stephens D. S., Wang X., Van Tyne D., Harrison L. H. Transmission dynamics and microevolution of Neisseria meningitidis during carriage and invasive disease in high school students, Maryland and Georgia, USA, 2006-2007. The Journal of Infectious Diseases. 2021; 223(12).
Sundermann A. J., Babiker A., Marsh J. W., Shutt K. A., Mustapha M. M., Pasculle A. W., Ezeonwuka C., Saul M. I., Pacey M. P., Van Tyne D., Ayres A. M., Cooper V. S., Snyder G. M., Harrison L. H. Outbreak of Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium in Interventional Radiology: Detection Through Whole Genome Sequencing-Based Surveillance. Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2020.
Sundermann A. J., Miller J. K., Marsh J. W., Saul M. I., Shutt K. A., Pacey M., Mustapha M. M., Ayres A., Pasculle A. W., Chen J., Snyder G. M., Dubrawski A. W., Harrison L. H. Automated data mining of the electronic health record for investigation of healthcare-associated outbreaks. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. 2019; 40(3).
Sponsored Research/Activities
Title: University of Pittsburgh Training Program in Antimicrobial Resistance
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding Agency: National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases
Grant Number: AI138954
Start Year: 2019
End Year: 2024
Title: Enhanced Detection System for Healthcare-Associated Transmission of Infection
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding Agency: National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases
Grant Number: R01 AI127472
Start Year: 2016
End Year: 2021
Title: Analyzing Adult Pneumococcal Vaccination Implementation in the Underserved
Role: Co-Investigator
Funding Agency: National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases
Grant Number: R01 AI11657505
Start Year: 2020
End Year: 2024
Notable Achievements
Voting Member, Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, CDC, 2012-2016
Elected member, Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society
Elected member, American Society for Clinical Investigation
Elected member, American Epidemiological Society
Associate Editor, Vaccine, 2023

Division Websites

Cardiology

Endocrinology and Metabolism

Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition

General Internal Medicine

Geriatric Medicine
Hematology/Oncology

Infectious Diseases

Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine

Renal-Electrolyte

Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology

Contact

Department of Medicine
1218 Scaife Hall
3550 Terrace Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15261
Email:  chairoff@pitt.edu
Phone:  412-648-9636
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