Burnham receives young investigator award

Burnham

Carey-Ann Burnham, PhD, assistant professor of pathology and immunology and of pediatrics, has been awarded the American Society for Microbiology/Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics Young Investigator Award.
Burnham, who is also medical director of the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory for Barnes-Jewish Hospital, studies the spread and health impact of two bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium difficile, both of which are common causes of secondary infections in hospitals.

S. aureus infections are often symptom-free but can cause skin and soft-tissue infections, as well as life-threatening conditions such as pneumonia and sepsis. C. difficile is a significant cause of diarrhea acquired or occurring in hospital settings.

Another component of Burnham’s research focuses on developing and testing new approaches for identifying the microorganisms that cause patient infections.

Burnham earned her PhD in medical sciences at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada.