FIU doctor named to Presidential Advisory Council

FIU’s Dr. Aileen Marty is one of 15 nationally recognized experts appointed to the newly created Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria.

The announcement was made jointly yesterday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), almost a year to the day when President Barack Obama signed an executive order (Sept. 18, 2014) directing key federal departments and agencies to take action to combat the alarming rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. As part of a national strategy to combat the growing problem, his order called for establishing the Advisory Council.

Marty, professor in the Department of Medicine, Family Medicine and Community Health at the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, is an infectious disease physician with more than 30 years of experience in clinical medicine and pathology. She is an expert in tropical and travel medicine with expertise in the use and development of antimicrobials, new vaccines research, antibiotics and diagnostic tools.

“The growing threat of antimicrobial resistance, and specifically, the threat of antibiotic-resistance, is among the most critical, expanding, daunting and time-urgent public health issues of our times with far reaching economic, social and national security implications,” said Marty, who will travel to Washington, D.C. later this month for the Advisory Council’s first meeting.

“The threat from antibiotic resistant bacteria is not just a health issue – it is a threat to the safety of all Americans and their trust in our institutions providing health care,” said Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Dr. Jonathan Woodson in a press release. “The Defense Department is excited about this opportunity to work with leading scientists and researchers in the field to improve our national and international strategies for combating antibiotic-resistant bacteria.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, antibiotic-resistant infections are associated with 23,000 deaths and 2 million illnesses in the United States each year. And the annual economic impact of antibiotic-resistant infections may be as high as $20 billion in direct health care costs, and $35 billion in lost productivity from hospitalizations and sick days.