AMR in South America: The more we look, the more we find

Jose Munita, MD is an Adjunct Assistant Professor and Director of International Research, Center for Antimicrobial Resistance and Microbial Genomics (CARMiG), UTHealth, Houston, TX. His ESI grant supports VENOUS, which is a prospective, multi-site observational cohort study to evaluate the outcomes of patients with bloodstream infections due to vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). In addition, parallel collection of clinical isolates is underway with the idea of identifying genomic microbial determinants of outcomes in this population of patients. The primary goal of VENOUS is to address critical knowledge gaps regarding the clinical and microbial factors that determine the outcomes of VRE bacteremia and the most effective therapeutic approaches for managing these multidrug-resistant organisms. After completing Medical school and Internal Medicine residency in Chile, Dr. Munita moved to the US where he trained in Infectious Diseases at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston and the MD Anderson Cancer Center. During that time, under the mentorship of Barbara Murray and Cesar Arias, he became passionate about the study of AMR. After returning to Chile in 2016, Dr. Munita established a research group dedicated to the investigation of AMR in Latin America, including the study of the molecular epidemiology, mechanisms of resistance, and clinical outcomes of patients infected with both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. Throughout this time, he’s been lucky enough to participate in a number of longstanding and fruitful collaborations, allowing him to access different types of funding that include international agencies such as the CDC, the NIH and the European Union.