Trautner to co-lead Division of Infectious Diseases
Physician-scientist specializes in UTIs and antibiotic stewardship
Courtest Barbara TrautnerBarbara W. Trautner, MD, PhD, a leader in the research and treatment of urinary tract infections (UTIs) and of microbrial resistance, has been named the co-chief of the Infectious Diseases Division in the Department of Medicine at WashU Medicine.
Barbara W. Trautner, MD, PhD, an internationally recognized physician-scientist, has been named the new co-director of the Infectious Diseases (ID) Division in the Department of Medicine of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Trautner is joining WashU Medicine from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, where she is a professor of medicine. She begins her new role on July 1.
Trautner will lead the clinical and translational components of the division, working with Jennifer Philips, MD, PhD, the Theodore and Bertha Bryan Professor of Medicine, who has been co-director of the basic science research side of the Infectious Diseases Division since 2019.
“Dr. Trautner is an extremely successful clinical and translational investigator whose research focuses on the prevention and treatment of urinary tract infections (UTIs),” said Victoria Fraser, MD, Adolphus Busch Professor of Medicine and head of the Department of Medicine “She is an outstanding clinician and a passionate educator who has been an inspiring mentor to many medical students, residents and fellows and it is my great pleasure to welcome her here. She has a demonstrated track record of building teams and growing clinical and translational research and encouraging faculty development. She will continue to advance the success of the division going forward.”
Trautner is a physician at the Houston Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center and an investigator for the Houston Veterans Affairs Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety. She is also the deputy associate chief of staff for clinical research and the director of the Houston VA NODES Cooperative Studies Program. Trautner has led several multisite trials to improve UTI diagnosis and treatment and to disseminate best practices for antibiotic stewardship. She participates in multiple professional initiatives to improve guidelines for antimicrobial stewardship and UTI treatment, including serving as co-chair of the Infectious Diseases Society of America’s guidelines committee for UTIs.
Trautner studied ecology and evolutionary biology for her undergraduate degree at Princeton University before earning her medical degree at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va. She completed both a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in infectious diseases at Baylor College of Medicine, as well as a PhD in biomedical sciences with a focus on clinical investigation. Trautner has received numerous awards for her contributions to medical education and research, including the Barbara and Corbin J. Robertson Jr. Presidential Award for Excellence in Education, the Norton Rose Fulbright Faculty Excellence Award for Enduring Educational Materials, the Baylor College of Medicine Women of Excellence Award and the Ben and Margaret Love Foundation Bobby Alford Award for Academic Clinical Professionalism. She is also an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation.
“I am so excited to join the Division of Infectious Diseases team,” Trautner said. “WashU Medicine is one of the best departments of academic medicine in the country, and we are poised to address some of the most urgent health care challenges we face today, both in the United States and beyond. The clinicians and researchers at WashU are clearly committed to bringing meaningful improvements to the practice of medicine and patient outcomes through clinical care, research and education.”
Trautner will be stepping into the role held since 2013 by William G. Powderly, MD, the Dr. J. William Campbell Professor of Medicine and the Larry J. Shapiro Director of the Institute for Public Health. During his tenure, Powderly expanded both the clinical team and the clinical trial initiatives of the division. He is a specialist in opportunistic infections in HIV patients and will continue to work in the department.
