Center for Global Health Faculty

Professor

Academic Degrees

• MD
• MPH

Departmental Affiliation

• Name:

  International Health

  Affiliation Type:

  Primary

  Division:

  Pediatrics

• Name:

  Epidemiology

  Affiliation Type:

  Joint

Departmental Address

Contact Information

Email:

klobrien+jhsph.edu

Phone:

410-955-6931

Fax:

410-955-2010

Link:

SciVal Experts Research Profile

Research and Professional Experience

My research interests center around the clinical and epidemiological aspects of vaccine preventable bacterial and viral infections of children. My primary research focuses on nasopharyngeal colonization, disease rates, serotype distribution and vaccine effects of Streptococcus pneumoniae both domestically and internationally, including the evaluation and introduction of pneumococcal vaccines in the developing world. In addition to my focus on pneumococcal disease control, is an interest in the epidemiology and control efforts through vaccines, biologics and risk factor reduction for acute lower respiratory infections, RSV, influenza, group A Streptococcus and group B Streptococcus as well as judicious antimicrobial use and general issues of neonatal sepsis.

My work has been mostly in the area of conducting large phase III IND trials of novel vaccines to control the above mentioned diseases, as well as phase IV studies of vaccine impact.  I also work on modeling of global burden of disease for these pathogens, strategic analyses that move research findings into the policy arena on the optimal use of vaccines, and more basic epidemiologic work on the role of pathogen factors in the development of disease.  I serve as the Associate Director of the Center for American Indian Health, the Deputy Director of the International Vaccine Access Center and previously I served as the Deputy Director for the PneumoADIP.  

Keywords

pneumococcus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, clinical trials, American Indian, vaccines, RSV, respiratory syncytial virus, Hib, Haemophilus influenzae, pediatric infectious disease, child survival

Honors and Awards

2008: Sabin Vaccine Institute, Young Investigator Award. 2003: Nominee, Outstanding Scientific Contribution to Public Health Award, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2001: CDC, Honor Award for outstanding scientific contributions to public health, Group B Streptococcal Prevention Team 1999: CDC, 1999 Nakano Citation, for the Haiti diethylene glycol poisoning investigation. 1998: Secretary’s Distinguished Service Award, Department of Health and Human Services 1997: CDC Mackel Award epidemic investigation which best combines epidemiology and laboratory work. 1997: CDC Group Honor Award for The Haiti Emergency Response Team 1997: Food and Drug Administration Group Recognition Award.For meritorious service in the investigation of an international public health crisis which was associated with the contamination of pharmaceuticals by diethylene glycol.

Selected Publications

1. Said M, O’Brien KL, Nuorti JP, Singleton R, Whitney CG, Hennessy TW.  The epidemiologic evidence underlying recommendations for use of pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine among American Indian and Alaska Native populations. Vaccine 2011 Jul 26;29(33):5355-62. Epub 2011 Jun 12. PMID: 21664217
2. Grant LR, Gentsch JR, Esona MD,Watt J, Reid R, Santosham M, Parashar UD, O’Brien KL Detection of G3P[3] and G3P[9] rotavirus strains in Navajo and White Mountain Apache children with evidence of gene reassortment between human and animal rotaviruses.  J Med Virol 2011;83:1288-99
3. Levine OS, Hajjeh R, Wecker J, Cherian R, O’Brien KL, Knoll MD, Privor-Dumm L, Nanni A, Bear AP, Santosham M. A policy framework for accelerating adoption of new vaccines.  Human Vaccines 2010 Dec 1;6(12)PMID: 21150269  
4. Johnson HL, Deloria-Knoll M, Levine OS, Stoszek S, Freimanis L, Reithinger R, Muenz L, O’Brien KL.  Serotype distribution of invasive pneumococcal disease among children globally: Pneumococcal Global Serotype Project. PLosMed 2010 Oct 5; 7(10). pii: e1000348.PMID: 20957191.
5. Eick AA, Uyeki TM, Klimov A, Hall H, Reid R, Santosham M, O’Brien KL. Maternal influenza vaccination and impact upon influenza infection among young infants. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2010 Oct 5. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 20921345.  
6. Millar EV, Pimenta FC, Roundtree A, Jackson D, Carvalho MG, Perilla MJ, Reid R, Santosham M, Whitney CG, Beall BW, O’Brien KL.  Pre- and post-conjugate vaccine epidemiology of pneumococcal serotype 6C invasive disease and carriage within Navajo and White Mountain Apache communities.  Clin Infect Dis. 2010; Dec 1 PMID: 21034194
7. Weinberger DM, Harboe Z, Ndiritu M, Ruckinger S, Dagan R, Cutts F, Adegbola R, Johnson H, O’Brien KL, Scott JA, Lipsitch M.  Risk of death from pneumococcal pneumonia is a stable serotype-associated property: a meta-analysis.  Clin Infect Dis. 2010; 51(6):692-9.PMID: 20715907.
8. Carvalho MDG, Pimenta FC, Jackson D, Roundtree A, Ahmad Y, Cohen AL, Millar EV, O’Brien KL, Beall BW.  Revisiting a pneumococcal carriage study using broth enrichment and PCR techniques for enhanced detection of pneumococcal carriage and serotypes.  J Clin Microbiol 2010; Mar 10 e-pub.  PMID: 20220175
9. Bellos A, Mulholland K, O’Brien KL, Qazi SA, Gayer M, Checchi F.  The burden of acute respiratory infections in crisis-affected populations: a systematic review. Confl Health 2010; 4(1):3. PMID: 20181220
10. Nair H, Nokes DJ, Gessner BD, Dherani M, Madhi SA, Singleton RJ, O'Brien KL,  Roca A, Wright PF, Bruce N, Chandran C, Theodoratou E, Sutanto A, Sedyaningsih ER, Holtzman D, Ngama M, Munywoki PK, Rudan I, Weber MW, Campbell H.  Global burden of acute lower respiratory infections due to respiratory syncytial virus in young children. Lancet 2010 Apr 15 (e-pub).  PMID: 20399493
11. Watt JP, Moisi JC, Abboud-Donaldson R, Reid R, Ferro S, Whitney CG, Santosham M, O’Brien KL. Use of serology and urine antigen detection to estimate the proportion of adult pneumonia attributable to S. pneumoniae.  Epidemiol Infect 2010;Mar 25 (e-pub):1-8. PMID: 20334727  
12. Weatherholtz R, Millar EV, Moulton LH, Reid R, Rudolph K, Santosham M, O’Brien KL.  Invasive pneumococcal disease a decade after pneumococcal conjugate vaccine use in an American Indian population at high risk for disease.  Clin Infect Dis 2010; 50(9):1238-46.  PMID: 20367225 
13. Watt JP, Moisi JC, Abboud-Donaldson R, Reid R, Ferro S, Whitney CG, Santosham M, O’Brien KL.  Measuring the incidence of community acquired pneumonia in a Native American community.  Epidemiol Infect 2010 Jan 8:1-9.  PMID: 20056013  
14. O’Brien KL, Wolfson LJ, Watt JP, Henkle E, Knoll MD, McCall N, Lee E, Mulholland K, Levine OS, Cherian T, for the Hib and Pneumococcal Global Disease Burden Study Team. The global burden of disease due to Streptococcus pneumoniae in children less than 5 years of age.  Lancet 2009; 374:893-902.
15. Watt JP, Wolfson LJ, O’Brien KL, Henkle E, Knoll MD, McCall N, Lee E, Levine O, Hajjeh R, Mulholland K, Cherian T, for the Hib and Pneumococcal Global Disease Burden Study Team. The global burden of disease due to Haemophilus influenzae, type b in children less than 5 years of age.  Lancet 2009; 374:903-11.
16. Millar EV, Zell ER, Bronsdon MA, Reid R, Santosham M, O’Brien KL.  Nasopharyngeal carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae in Navajo and White Mountain Apache children prior to the introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.  Pediatr Infect Dis J 2009;28(8):711-16.
17. Singleton R, Holve S, Groom A, McMahon B, Santosham M, Brenneman G, O’Brien KL. Impact of immunizations on disease burden of American Indian and Alaska Native children.  Arch Pediatr Adol Med. 2009 May;163(5):446-53.
18. Knoll MD, O’Brien KL, Henkle E, Lee E, Watt J, McCall N, Mangtani P, Wolfson L, Cherian T, for the Hib and Pneumococcal Global Disease Burden Study Team. Literature review of Haemophilus influenzae type b and Streptococcus pneumoniae invasive disease among children less than five years of age 1980–2005.  World Health Organization document. http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2009/WHO_IVB_09.02_eng.pdf
19. O’Brien KL, Moisi J, Romero-Steiner S, Holder P, Carlone GM, Reid R, Santosham M.  Pneumococcal antibody evaluation in a child with type 14 breakthrough invasive pneumococcal disease following pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.  Vaccine 2009; 27:1863-8.
20. Deloria-Knoll M, Moïsi JC, Muhib FB, Wonodi CB, Lee EH, Grant L, Gilani Z, Anude CJ, O’Brien KL, Cherian T, Levine OS and the PneumoADIP-Sponsored Surveillance Investigators.  Standardizing surveillance for pneumococcal disease.  Clin Infect Dis; 2009: 48 Suppl 2:S37-48.