Surbhi Leekha, MBBS, MPH

Surbhi Leekha received her medical degree from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, followed by a Masters of Public Health in Epidemiology from the University of Massachusetts. She completed her Internal Medicine residency and Infectious Diseases fellowship at Mayo Clinic, Rochester.  

Dr. Leekha is an infectious diseases physician and serves as the Medical Director for Infection Prevention and Hospital Epidemiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center. She devotes most of her professional effort to day-to-day hospital epidemiology practice. She conducts research on surveillance and prevention of healthcare associated infections, with particular interests in surveillance methodology and implementation of practices to prevent infections. She is also interested in the appropriate use and application of infectious disease diagnostics as a means to antimicrobial stewardship.

healthcare associated infections, infection prevention, antimicrobial stewardship, surveillance, risk adjustment, Clostridium difficile

1. Leekha S, Li, S, Thom KA, Preas MA, Caffo BS, Morgan DJ, Harris AD. Comparison of total hospital-acquired bacteremia to central line-associated bloodstream infections and implications for outcome measures in infection control. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2013;34:984-6

2. Bork JT, Leekha S, Heil E, Zhao L, Badamas R, Johnson JK. Rapid Testing Using Verigene® BC-GN Microarray in Combination with Antimicrobial Stewardship Intervention in Gram-negative Bacteremia. Antimicrob Agents Chemother.  2015;59:1588-95

3. Rock C, Thom KA, Harris AD, Li S, Morgan DJ, Milstone A, Caffo B, Joshi M, Leekha S. A Multi-center longitudinal Study of Hospital-Onset Bacteremia: time for a New Quality Outcome Measure? Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2016;37:143-8

4. Sarg M, Waldrop GE, Beier MA, Heil EL, Thom KA, Preas MA, Johnson JK, Harris AD, Leekha S. Impact of Changes in Urine Culture Ordering Practice on Antimicrobial Utilization in Intensive Care Units at an Academic Medical Center. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2016;37:448-54

5. Alserehi H, Filippell M, Emerick M, Cabunoc MK, Preas MA, Sparkes C, Johnson JK, Leekha S. Chlorhexidine gluconate bathing practices and skin concentrations in intensive care unit patients. Am J Infect Control. 2017 Oct