Dr. Susan P. Fisher-Hoch

Regular Member

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
School of Public Health
Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences

My laboratory is located in Brownsville, Texas, at the Regional Campus of the School of Public Health.

Research Interests:

• Epidemiology and pathophysiology of infectious diseases, particularly those diseases most important in developing countries with special interest in the genetics and pathophysiology of disease on the US/Mexico Border

Research in my laboratory is focused on diabetes and the association of diabetes with susceptibility to infectious diseases using epidemiological, genetic and molecular approaches to the study of disease in minority groups. Studies are mostly in collaboration with field surveys and patient studies, and include molecular studies of infectious agents, immunology, and human and population genetics in several NIH funded projects. Opportunities for working in the field locally and in Mexico include both patient studies and participation of the community which is very supportive of our research. Our major tuberculosis program in Mexico and South Texas gives ample opportunities for exploring the dynamics of infection in patients with type 2 diabetes, particularly with regard to immune impairment. Our Clinical Research Center in Brownsville supports a major randomized cohort of Mexican Americans being studied for diabetes and other chronic diseases, and several other ongoing research studies, including dengue and West Nile Virus. The laboratory in Brownsville is less than a mile from the border, and close to the clinics in Mexico and Texas where patients are seen regularly by trained field staff who collect both data and specimens. The Brownsville laboratory is extensively equipped with for instance, real time PCR (ABI 7900), FACS analysis, tissue culture, microscopy and BSL3 facilities for work with infectious agents. Close collaboration with the University of Texas, Brownsville laboratories on a shared campus and the Texas State Health Department tuberculosis service laboratory a few miles north of the border, gives extensive access to additional equipment and large collections of well-documented specimens. If we need further techniques or support, our students travel to expert centers where our collaborators help them to acquire the necessary special skills. Weekly seminars, involve internationally recognized invited speakers interspersed with our own research reports. We also have smaller weekly journal clubs and laboratory meetings which provide a solid scientific focus.

A tutorial in our laboratory would give experience in the application of modern molecular techniques to field studies of infectious disease, immunology and genetics, and use of these techniques to answer questions of critical public health importance. This laboratory also gives experience in the application of modern science to efforts to reduce health disparities. The multidisciplinary nature of our faculty gives exposure to a wide range of scientific approaches to health problems, including behavioral and environmental sciences and a strong biostatistical program. We are a small but active and lively group with a very productive program combining population studies with cutting edge laboratory research focused on real public health problems. We are only 25 minutes from the beach at South Padre Island and ten minutes on foot to Mexico.

Selected Publications:

Additional Publications

Fisher-Hoch SP (2005). Lessons from nosocomial viral haemorrhagic fever outbreaks. Br. Med Bull. 73-74, 123-137.

Restrepo BI, Fisher-Hoch SP, Crespo JG, Whitney E, Perez A, Smith B, McCormick JB (2006). Type 2 diabetes and tuberculosis in a dynamic bi-national border population. Epidemiol. Infect. 1-9.

Restrepo BI, Gomez DI, Shipley GL, McCormick JB, Fisher-Hoch SP (2006). Selective enrichment and detection of mycobacterial DNA in paucibacillary specimens. J Microbiol. Methods 67, 220-229.

Fisher-Hoch SP, McCormick JB (2003) Arenaviruses, Oxford Textbook of Medicine, 4^{th. edition. EdsWarrell DA, Cox, Firth JD and Benz EJ. 396-403.}

Fisher-Hoch SP, McCormick JB (2008) Filoviruses. In Principles and Practices of Clinical Virology, Ed. Zuckerman,A.J., Banatvala,J.E. & Pattison, J.R. 6th. edition.

Baise S, Eric M, Leroy E, Georges-Coubot MC, Fisher-Hoch SP, Debre P, Capron M, Lansoud- Soukate J, Georges AJ (1999) Defective humoral responses and extensive intravascular apoptosis are associated with fatal outcome in Ebola virus-infected patients. Nature Medicine 5:423-426.

Fisher-Hoch SP, McCormick JB (1999) Experimental filovirus infections. Curr Top Microbiol Immunol 235:117-143.