William J. Steinbach, MD

My overall clinical and research focus is to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of immunocompromised patients, specifically those with invasive fungal infections.  My research enterprise is divided between my laboratory focusing on the molecular pathogenesis of Aspergillus fumigatus and development of novel antifungal drugs and diagnostic assays, and numerous translational and clinical studies centered on several diagnostic and therapeutic aspects of invasive fungal infections.  

My laboratory (www.steinbachlab.org) work is very translational in nature by design – all of it is performed with the specific goal of directly improving our fundamental understanding of how and why Aspergillus fumigatus, a leading killer in patients with cancer or following transplantation, is so deadly and how to best prevent and treat it. Our laboratory uses molecular genetic tools to knock-out or mutate pathogenesis genes and proteins to analyze their function and role in disease, including various genomic, proteomic, and biochemical approaches. We also perform extensive in vitro and in vivo testing of antifungal compounds . Since we are focused on the pathogenesis, we utilize numerous different animal models specifically designed to mimic the immune system of a cancer patient or transplant recipient.

I am also the Chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases and my clinical research includes my founding and directing the International Pediatric Fungal Network (www.ipfn.org), a 55-site multinational NIH-funded consortium dedicated to the epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of pediatric invasive fungal infections.  This Network is the largest of its kind in the world and is currently leading two global clinical studies that will allow us to generate the first ever pediatric-specific international guidelines for these diseases.

I am the co-founder and continuing co-chair of the past eight Advances Against Aspergillosis international conferences, the leading forum for this deadly disease and most recently at www.AAA2018.org.  I am the co-editor of the largest textbook in the field, Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillosis, and have co-edited eight other pediatric infectious diseases textbooks, including Feigin & Cherry's Textbook of Pediatric Infectious Diseases (nearly 4,000 pages), and the American Academy of Pediatrics Nelson's Pediatric Antimicrobial Therapy textbook.