Danielle Alfano, MD

Dr. Alfano is an attending neonatologist at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and an instructor in Pediatrics at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine. As a physician scientist she investigates mechanisms of pathogen-specific molecular determinants of sepsis and endothelial dysfunction. The goal of her research is to determine the factors that confer increased risk of life-threatening sepsis to certain populations and provide novel insights in future therapeutic developments. Dr. Alfano’s current focus is on understanding how ADAM10, a ubiquitously expressed host protein, is a specific target of a discrete subset of pathogens leading to the dysregulated endothelial and host response in sepsis. Her work with endothelial-specific ADAM10 knockout mice demonstrated a significant reduction in microvascular thrombi formation as well as mortality against lethal sepsis from S. aureus as well as P. aeruginosa and S. pneumoniae, but not GBS or Candida albicans. These studies illustrate the role of ADAM10 as a molecular specifier of sepsis and that ADAM10-mediated endothelial injury appears to initiate a cascade of intravascular events that amplify platelet thrombus formation and result in lethal injury. Further understanding the molecular mechanism of how specific pathogens harness ADAM10 in sepsis is the basis of her K08 award funded by NIAID. Dr. Alfano received her MD from Washington University School of Medicine. Following graduation, she completed her pediatric residency with the Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals followed by Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center before joining the faculty at WashU.