Jose M. Munita, MD

Jose M. Munita, MD
Associate Professor, Instituto de Ciencias e Innovación en Medicina (ICIM), Facultad de Medicina Clinica Alemana, Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile
Adjunct Assistant Professor and Director of International Research, Center for Antimicrobial Resistance and Microbial Genomics (CARMiG), UTHealth, Houston, TX
Principal Investigator, VENOUS (Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus OUtcomes Study)

 

 

About My Early Stage Investigator (ESI) Grant

My 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 main goal of VENOUS is to answer critical gaps of knowledge regarding the clinical and microbial factors determining the outcomes of VRE bacteremia and the best therapeutic approaches to deal with these multidrug-resistant organisms.

Clinicians have limited options to treat deep-seated VRE infections due to the lack of quality data. Through VENOUS we expect to fill a long-lasting void of good-quality data, providing prospective information about clinical outcomes and their relationship with the genomic bacterial background. This information will help us better understand what determining factors are involved in a patient’s response to antibiotic treatment.

Enterococci is the third most common bacteria responsible for hospital-acquired infections in the United States, and the presence of VRE is strongly associated with worse clinical outcomes when compared with susceptible strains. Moreover, VRE has been highlighted as one of the top antimicrobial resistant organisms by agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. Hence, this study is well aligned with ARLG’s scientific agenda to reduce the public health threat of antibacterial resistance.

Progress to Date

We have enrolled 282 of an expected 300 patients from three large academic centers, including a major cancer center. We speculate that results will show that individuals with VRE bacteremia will have worse outcomes than those infected with susceptible organisms. In addition, we expect to find signals to better understand the best therapeutic approach to deal with VRE infections.

 Impact of ARLG Research Funding to My Career

Receipt of this grant has been an enormous opportunity for me to lead a study as a principal investigator. I work closely with my mentor at University of Texas at Houston, Cesar Arias, who has supported me a great deal. Having Dr. Arias as my mentor has definitely been a tremendous opportunity and a distinct honor. I am also very appreciative for the support and guidance from many others at ARLG has been another highlight of receiving this ESI award. Finally, working with the whole DCRI ARLG Operations Team has taught me many critical aspects about grant management, and I am deeply grateful for their relentless support.

Working on this seed grant has opened other doors for me. I am now the Country PI for Chile on the CRACKLE II study.

Benefits of ARLG

For individuals interested in advancing their career in antimicrobial resistance, I would definitely encourage them to get involved with ARLG or apply for an ESI grant. For me, receipt of the ESI award was an unparalleled opportunity to propel my career. Everyone I have interacted with has been enormously knowledgeable, professional, stimulating, and welcoming. The work ARLG is doing today will have a tremendous impact on the way we approach the study of antimicrobial resistance, and being part of it is definitely very exciting.