Infectious Diseases Fellow
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Disclosure: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.
Karen Volpe, M.D. is a second year clinical infectious diseases fellow at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Her fellowship research has focused on understanding the role of genetics, specifically mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroups, on the development of neurocognitive impairment (NCI) in patients living with HIV. Neurocognitive impairment disproportionately affects patients with HIV, increases morbidity, and affects quality of life and functional status; and understanding biologic risk factors is important to understand pathogenesis and ultimately guide targeted prevention and intervention techniques. A manuscript is in review, and she is expanding on the project this year to look more specifically at these associations between mtDNA haplogroups and NCI among African American and Hispanic women with HIV. Other research interests include infection prevention; and clinical areas of interest include general infectious disease, HIV care, and hepatitis C. Her goal is to continue work in general infectious diseases and HIV care as a clinician-educator. She is looking forward to her first ID Week!
