At the Center of it All: New York University’s Expansive Infectious Diseases Footprint

We are continuing our new series, Media Day, where we spotlight individual medical institutions and their infectious disease (ID) programs. This episode profiles New York University.

New York City is an epicenter for infectious diseases, respiratory viruses, and bacterial infections. It is a gateway to the US and has a large population that travels in and out of the city from countries all over the world bringing with it a wide variety of pathogens.

“Being an infectious disease doctor in New York City is probably the best place for you to be. We see patients with infections from everywhere,” said Angelica Cifuentes Kottkamp, MD, associate director for Research and Diversity, New York University (NYU) Vaccine Center.

There is always concern and potential peril practicing medicine in New York, and during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, it saw a large number of infections and mortality for both the general public as well as some clinicians and support staff at hospitals within the city. 

Despite this, one of the city’s health systems, NYU, has been involved in all aspects of infectious disease. For example, it has a major footprint in translational research, especially as it relates to vaccines. NYU Langone Health’s Vaccine Center, which was founded in 2018, is at the forefront of immunization research, having helped pioneer COVID-19 vaccines during their development in 2020. In May 2020, the center vaccinated the first human participant in a clinical trial for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

Kottkamp serve as a principal investigator at the vaccine center, and has been involved in clinical trials for COVID-19, shingles, influenza, and mpox vaccines. She believes inclusivity in trials and community engagement is essential.

She says NYU’s close relationship with renown New York City medical institution, Bellevue Hospital, is key for them. Her work includes working with patients with HIV and she has a special interest in helping the Hispanic and Latinx communities at the virology clinic at that hospital. “We have a very close association with one of the largest public hospitals in the US, Bellevue Hospital,” Kottkamp said. “We work very closely with that patient population, and seeing patients there is also something that enriches your perspective as an ID doctor.”

Look for tomorrow’s episode of this series and Kottkamp discusses the vaccine center’s involvement in COVID-19, influenza, and mpox vaccines, as well as its work in the Infectious Diseases Clinical Research Consortium.

Video photo credit: Alan Barnett, NYU