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Kara Mitchell, Ph.D.

Kara Mitchell, Ph.D.

Bacteriology Laboratory
Ph.D. Albany Medical College (2010)
EID Research Fellow, New York State Department of Health, Wadsworth Center

Research Interests

Dr. Kara Mitchell joined the Wadsworth Center in 2010 as a Wadsworth Center Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID) fellow.  Her postdoctoral work at the Wadsworth Center included training in the Bloodborne Viruses Laboratory, the Biodefense Laboratory, and the Mycobacteriology Laboratory.

In 2013, Dr. Mitchell joined the Bacteriology Laboratory as a Research Scientist. The Wadsworth Center Bacteriology Laboratory serves as the New York State (NYS) public health reference laboratory providing bacterial identification and characterization. The laboratory’s unique public health services for reference level identification include conventional and molecular microbiological methods. The laboratory uses applied research to investigate the latest technological advances as well as to maintain the capabilities necessary for identifying and characterizing both unusual bacterial pathogens as well as emerging infectious diseases. The laboratory develops new molecular assays for public health purposes including real-time PCR, and DNA sequencing. Also, of interest are molecular diagnostic assays that molecularly serotype or characterize bacteria to determine if genes that confer pathogenicity, express toxins, or determine if antibiotic resistance genes are present.

Select Publications

Prussing C, Snavely E, Singh N, Lapierre P, Lasek-Nesselquist E, Mitchell K, Hass W, Owsiak R, Nazarian E, Musser K.
Nanopore MinION Sequencing Reveals Possible Transfer of blaKPC–2 Plasmid Across Bacterial Species in Two Healthcare Facilities.
Front Microbiol.
(2020)
DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.02007
Passaretti T, Mitchell K, Huth P, Smith G, Davidson A, Dickinson M, Kidney A, Cole J, Nazarian E, Dumas N, Musser K.
Detection of Streptobacillus moniliformis in whole blood by real-time PCR and review of clinical cases 2004-2015 in New York State.
Journal of Microbiology and Infectious Disease.
(2017)
7
(2):
88-92.
Mitchell K, Halse T, Kohlerschmidt D, Bennett T, Vanner C, King E, Musser K, Escuyer V.
A Model of Shared Mycobacteriology Testing Services: Lessons Learned.
Public Health Rep.
(2015)
130
(6):
623-631.
DOI: 10.1177/003335491513000612
Zhu Y, Mitchell K, Nazarian E, Escuyer V, Musser, K.
Rapid prediction of inducible clarithromycin resistance in Mycobacterium abscessus.
Mol Cell Probes.
(2015)
29
(6):
514-516.
DOI: 10.1016/j.mcp.2015.08.007
Kennedy BS, Bedard B, Younge M, Tuttle D, Ammerman E, Ricci J, Doniger AS, Escuyer VE, Mitchell K, Noble-Wang JA, O'Connell HA, Lanier WA, Katz LM, Betts RF, Mercurio MG, Scott GA, Lewis MA, Goldgeier MH.
Outbreak of Mycobacterium chelonae infection associated with tattoo ink.
N Engl J Med.
(2012)
367
(11):
1020-1024.
DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1205114