Vice Chair of Research, Department of Pediatrics
Duke University
Disclosure: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.
William J. Steinbach, MD is the Samuel L. Katz Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics at Duke University, Professor in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Vice Chair of Research for Pediatrics, Co-Director of Basic Research for the Duke Transplant Center, and former Chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Medical Director of the Children’s Clinical Research Unit.
Dr. Steinbach founded the Duke Pediatric Immunocompromised Host Program, a multi-disciplinary clinical care and research program supporting immunosuppressed children. His molecular, translational, and clinical research focuses on the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of invasive fungal infections and spans broader efforts with all infections in immunocompromised patients. His laboratory centers on the fungus Aspergillus fumigatus to understand cellular signal transduction in disease, develop novel fungal-specific molecular targets as therapeutics, devise new diagnostic assays, and conduct phase I-IV clinical trials in children. Dr. Steinbach founded and is the Director of the International Pediatric Fungal Network, an NIH-funded global consortium of 55 sites dedicated to investigating pediatric invasive fungal infections through multi-center cooperative studies. He also co-founded and co-Chairs the biennial (2004-2020 to date) international Advances Against Aspergillosis conference. He has co-edited four textbooks, including Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillosis, Feigin & Cherry's Textbook of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, the American Academy of Pediatrics Nelson's Pediatric Antimicrobial Therapy, and most recently the first textbook in a new subfield: Pediatric Transplant and Oncology Infectious Diseases.
Dr. Steinbach led the Duke pediatric ID fellowship program for a decade, and has co-led two different T32 training grants for both pediatric ID and molecular mycology. He is a founding Executive Committee member of the Duke Office of Physician Scientist Development and serves as a departmental Master Mentor, mentoring over three dozen fellows, residents, medical students, post-doctoral fellows, PhD students, and undergraduates. He serves on the AAP Committee on Infectious Diseases (Red Book Committee) and recently completed a Board of Directors tenure for the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, where he also leads the national Pediatric ID Division Chief working group. He has been elected into several honor societies, including the American Pediatric Society and Alpha Omega Alpha, and is a fellow of several other societies, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Academy of Microbiology. He was elected into the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians, for which he currently serves on the national Council. In 2016, he was the recipient of the American Federation for Medical Research Outstanding Investigator Award and in 2017 he was awarded the Oswald Avery Award from the Infectious Diseases Society of America. He spends most of his free time playing tennis, running, road biking or traveling to find great food.