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Columbia University Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric Infectious Disease Divisionan image of Bacteria

Philip LaRussa, MD

EDUCATION

State University of New York at Stony Brook, BS, 1970
Universita degli Studi di Bologna, Italy, MD, 1978

ACADEMIC TITLE

Professor of Clinical Pediatrics

SPECIALITY

Pediatric HIV infection
Herpes viruses
Immunization safety

RESEARCH AND CLINICAL SUMMARY

Pediatric HIV infection: Dr. LaRussa is the Principal Investigator for the NIH-funded Women's & Infants' Transmission study which investigates transmission of HIV from mother to infant and outcomes in infected infants, and the International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trial Center which is the clinical trials site for Pediatric HIV treatment studies at Columbia University. His research interests in this area include development of resistance to antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected women and children, factors associated with increased risk of transmission from mother to infant, and adherence to antiretroviral therapy in infected children. In addition, he leads a team of physicians and nurse practitioners to conduct training and provide clinical care to HIV-infected children in Vietnam, Ethiopia, South Africa, and China.

Herpes virus infections: Use of PCR-based assays that exploit restriction fragment polymorphisms in varicella-zoster virus to determine whether adverse events that are temporally associated with varicella and zoster vaccine administration are caused by vaccine or wild-type viruses. Other studies, in collaboration with Dr. Anne Gershon, have investigated the immunogenicity of varicella vaccine in healthy and immunocompromised children.

Immunization safety: Dr. LaRussa is the Principal Investigator of the CDC-funded Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment Center at Columbia University that conducts multi-centered investigations to determine the causality, pathogenesis, management and prevention of potential vaccine-associated adverse events. Examples of these studies include safety of live-virus vaccines in children with DiGeorge syndrome, shedding and transmission of rotavirus vaccine virus to immunocompromised children, and safety of zoster vaccine.

OFFICE INFORMATION:

Philip LaRussa, MD
Professor of Clinical Pediatrics
Columbia University
College of Physicians & Surgeons
Black Building 4-433
650 West 168th St
New York, NY 10032
Tel: (212)305-0898
Fax: (212) 342-5218
Email: plarussa@columbia.edu

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

  • P. LaRussa, S Steinberg, M. Seeman, A. Gershon. Determination of immunity to varicella - zoster virus by means of an intradermal skin test. J. Infectious Diseases. 152:869-875, 1985.
  • P. LaRussa, A. Gershon, S Steinberg, S. Chartrand. Antibodies to varicella-zoster virus viral glycoproteins I, II, & III in leukemic and healthy children. J. Infectious Diseases. 162:627-633, 1990.
  • P. LaRussa, O. Lungu, I. Hardy, A. Gershon, S. Steinberg, and S. Silverstein. Restriction fragment length polymorphism of polymerase chain reaction products from vaccine and wild-type varicella-zoster virus isolates. J. Virology. 66:1016-1020, 1992.
  • W. Shearer, T. Quinn, P. LaRussa, J. Lew, L. Mofenson, S. Almy, K. Rich, E. Handelsman, C. Diaz, M. Pagano, V. Smergiglio, L. Kalish for the Women and Infants Transmission Study Group. Viral load and disease progression in infants infected with human immunodeficiency virus type I. New England Journal of Medicine 336:1337-1342, 1997.
  • A. Derryck, P. LaRussa, S. Steinberg, M. Capasso, J. Pitt, A. Gershon. Varicella and zoster in children with Human Immunodeficiency virus infection. The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal 17: 931-933, 1998.
  • P. LaRussa, S. Steinberg, A. Arvin, D. Dwyer, M. Burgess, M. Menegus, K. Rekrut, K. Yamanishi and A. Gershon. Polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment polymorphism analysis of Varicella-zoster virus isolates from the United States and other parts of the world. Journal of Infectious Diseases 178(Suppl 1): S64-66, 1998.
  • P. Annunziato, P. LaRussa, P. Lee, S. Steinberg, O. Lungu, A. Gershon, S. Silverstein. Evidence of latent varicella-zoster virus (VZV) in rat dorsal root ganglia. Journal of Infectious Diseases 178(Suppl 1): S48-51, 1998.
  • R. Sharrar, P. LaRussa, S. Galea, S. Steinberg, R. Keatley, M. Wells, W. Stephenson, A. Gershon. An analysis of the first three years of reported adverse events associated with the administration of varicella vaccine. Vaccine 19(7/8): 915-923, 2000.
  • P. LaRussa, A. Gershon. Biologic and Geographic Differences between vaccine and clinical varicella-zoster virus isolates. Archives of Virology 17 [Suppl]: 41-48, 2001.
  • M. Vazquez, P. LaRussa, A. Gershon, S. Steinberg, K. Freudigman, E. Shapiro. Effectiveness of Varicella Vaccine in Clinical Practice. New England Journal of Medicine 344(13): 955-960, 2001.
  • P. LaRussa, L. Magder, J. Pitt, A. Sill, G. Hillyer, B. Hollinger, J. Lew, K. McIntosh, J. Kufera, J. Bremer, and W. Blattner for the Women and Infants Transmission Study (WITS). Association of HIV-1 Viral Phenotype in the MT-2 Assay with Perinatal HIV Transmission. J. Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes 30(1): 88-94, 2002.
  • M. Vazquez, P. LaRussa, A. Gershon, L. Niccolai, C. Muehlenbein, S. Steinberg, E. Shapiro. Effectiveness over time of varicella vaccine. JAMA 291(7): 851-855, 2004.
  • G. Bauer, R. Colgrove, S. Welles, J. Pitt, P. LaRussa, for the Women and Infants Transmission Study Team. Antiretroviral resistance mutations in 32 HIV-1 transmitting mothers and their infants: The Women and Infants Transmission study, 1994-1999. AIDS 20(13):1707-1712, 2006.
  • S. Welles, G. Bauer, P. LaRussa, R. Colgrove, J. Pitt, for the Women and Infants Transmission Study. Time trends for HIV-1 antiretroviral resistance among antiretroviral- experienced and naive pregnant women in New York City during early 1991 to early 2001. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr Mar 1;44(3):329-35, 2007.
  • P. Graham, P. LaRussa, K. Kohl: The Brighton Collaboration Vaccinia Virus Adverse Event Working Group for Robust Take. Robust take following exposure to vaccinia virus: Case definition and guidelines of data collection, analysis, and presentation of immunization safety data. Vaccine Aug 1;25(31):5763-70, 2007.
  • K. Chen, R. Tuomala, C. Chu, M.L. Huang, H. Watts, C. Zorrilla, M. Paul, R. Hershow, P. LaRussa. No association between antepartum serologic and genital tract evidence of herpes simplex virus-2 co-infection and perinatal HIV-1 transmission. Accepted for publication, American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, in press 2008.
  • C. Mellins, C. Chu, K. Malee, S. Allison, R. Smith, L. Harris, N. Borek, A. Higgins, S. Yawetz, C. Zorilla, S. Landesman, L. Serchuck, and P. LaRussa for the Women and Infants Transmission Study. Adherence to Antiretroviral Treatment among pregnant and postpartum HIV-infected women. Accepted for publication, AIDS Care, 2007.