Current Projects
Funding: University of Arizona One Health Research Initiative Pilot Grant (2024–2025)
Animal shelters are often left out of antibiotic stewardship guidelines. This mixed-methods pilot, led by the Colleges of Public Health and Veterinary Medicine, combines interviews with shelter staff and reviews of shelter health records to understand when and why antibiotics are prescribed. The goal is practical stewardship guidance that limits the spread of antimicrobial resistance among animals, people, and the environment.
Team: Ellingson (PI), Wishnie (Co-PI), Colombo (GRA), Ojodare (Student)
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Team: Ellingson (PI), Sidhu (GRA)
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Team: Ellingson (PI),
WHI-Medicare Project
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Team: Ellingson (PI), Sidhu (GRA)
MDRO/Stewardship in SNFs
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Team: Ellingson (PI), Sidhu (GRA)
Past Projects
Funding: CDC COVID-19 Disparities grant, through the Arizona Department of Health Services and the Arizona Center for Rural Health
AZ-FEPS produces current, county-specific estimates of farmworkers and their families in Arizona using quantitative and community-engaged methods. These data fill a knowledge gap needed to improve public health services for this workforce. Partners include the Yuma County Public Health Services District, Campesinos Sin Fronteras, and farmworker consultant Dr. Alice Larson.
Team: Ellingson (PI), Rudas, Hawkes (GRAs)
Funding: CDC (2021–2023)
We study household transmission of respiratory viruses to estimate infection rates among household members. We compare rates between vaccinated and unvaccinated members and assess risk factors for infection. Southern Arizona serves as a sentinel site for this national study.
Team: Ellingson (Co-PI with Lutrick), Ramadan (Coordinator)
Funding: CDC (2021–2023)
We study household transmission of respiratory viruses to estimate infection rates among household members. We compare rates between vaccinated and unvaccinated members and assess risk factors for infection. Southern Arizona serves as a sentinel site for this national study.
Team: Ellingson (Co-PI with Lutrick), Ramadan (Coordinator)
Funding: NACCHO through the Pima County Department of Health (BLOC COVID-19 funds)
We implement Infection Control Assessment and Response (ICAR) tools in high-risk congregate settings. We also work with health departments and congregate settings in other US–Mexico border counties.
Team: Ellingson (PI), Ramadan (Coordinator), Romine, Hawkes, Woodson (GRAs)
Funding: Arizona Biomedical Research Commission (2018–2022)
Using mixed methods, we study barriers and facilitators to antibiotic stewardship in Arizona nursing homes. Building on a successful pilot, we scaled up and evaluated stewardship in a range of facilities, including rural and border sites. Outcomes include changes in inappropriate antibiotic use, C. difficile, and cost.
Team: Ellingson (PI), Ramadan (Coordinator), Kelley, LeGros, Romine (GRAs)
Funding: Arizona Area Health Education Centers (domestic work); University of Arizona (binational work)
We study how residents of the US–Mexico border region use and seek antibiotics, and we are building a database of resistance patterns from clinical labs along the Arizona–Sonora border. This work includes binational surveys and partnerships with the University of Sonora-Hermosillo and local clinics and labs.
Team: Ellingson (PI), Villanueva (Co-I), Catalfamo, Hawkes, Khan (GRAs), Parra (Undergraduate RA)
Funding: Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)
We are systematically reviewing studies on the added cost of device- and procedure-associated infections acquired in hospitals in Latin American countries.
Team: Ellingson (PI), Kaur, Khan (GRAs)
Funding: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Delays in diagnosing Valley Fever (coccidioidomycosis) often lead to repeated courses of broad-spectrum antibiotics. We study a cohort of inpatients and outpatients who sought care for upper-respiratory symptoms in 2019. In collaboration with the Valley Fever Center of Excellence, our lab leads study design, data management, and analysis.
Team: Ellingson (Co-I), Ramadan (Coordinator)