James B. Doub, MD

Undergrad: Miami University 2005

Medical school: Marshall University School of Medicine 2010

Clinical training: Marshall University Internal Medicine Residency 2013

University of Maryland Infectious Disease Fellowship 2016

My research interest is focused on clinical and translational surgical infectious diseases research with specific interest in Musculoskeletal infectious diseases (MSK ID).  My interest in this aspect of infectious disease started when I was in fellowship at the University of Maryland.  During that time, I helped conduct a longitudinal prospective study evaluating the use of adjuvant intraarticular antibiotics in the treatment of recalcitrant prosthetic joint infections.  This allowed me to gain knowledge in prosthetic joint infection treatments and in surgical infectious disease in general.  I subsequently joined as faculty at the University of Maryland to further conduct clinical and translational research in surgical infections.  Over the past six years I have started to test novel therapeutics in the treatment of prosthetic joint infections.  These include the use of bacteriophages to treat recalcitrant prosthetic joint infections as well as other novel therapeutics.  I have devised novel protocols to apply these agents clinically and have a patent pending for a protocol to use bacteriophages in the treatment of prosthetic joint infections. Moreover, I am the PI on a multicenter prosthetic joint infection clinical trial using adjuvant phage therapy that will start in 2022. 

As well, I have spearheaded a novel study evaluating the use of calcium sulfate biodegradable antibiotic beads in the treatment of vascular graft infections and I am currently leading a project to test a novel diagnostic alpha defensins in the diagnosis of nosocomial ventriculitis.  Beyond these research projects, I have treated numerous patients in novel ways to reduce morbidity and prevent mortality in these patients and have published some of these case reports.  In addition,  I am developing a MSK ID multidisciplinary team/approach here at the University of Maryland with the orthopedic department to reduce moribidiy and moratlity in MSK ID patients. Lastly, I have formed strong collaborations Dr. Ken Urish at University of Pittsburgh and Dr. Ben Chan at Yale University as well as other investigators in the USA and in Europe.    

Bacteriophage therapy; Periprosthetic joint infections; Musculoskeletal infections; Vascular graft infections; Neurosurgical infections; Surgical infections

1. Doub JB, Urish K, Lee M, Fackler J. Impact of Bacterial Phenotypic Variation with Bacteriophage therapy: A Pilot Study with Prosthetic Joint Infection Isolates [published online ahead of print, 2022 Mar 21]. Int J Infect Dis. 2022;S1201-9712(22)00161-8. doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2022.03.022

2. Doub JB, Wilson E. Observed transaminitis with a unique bacteriophage therapy protocol to treat recalcitrant Staphylococcal biofilm infections. Infection. 2022;50(1):281-283. doi:10.1007/s15010-021-01675-w

3. DePalma BJ, Nandi S, Chaudhry W, Lee M, Johnson AJ, Doub JB. Assessment of Staphylococcal Clinical Isolates from Periprosthetic Joint Infections for Potential Bacteriophage Therapy. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2022 Feb 15. doi: 10.2106/JBJS.21.00958. Epub ahead of print. 

4. Doub JB, Ng VY, Johnson AJ, Slomka M, Fackler J, Horne B, Brownstein MJ, Henry M, Malagon F, Biswas B. Salvage Bacteriophage Therapy for a Chronic MRSA Prosthetic Joint Infection. Antibiotics (Basel). 2020 May 9;9(5):241. 

5. Doub JB. Risk of Bacteriophage Therapeutics to Transfer Genetic Material and Contain Contaminants Beyond Endotoxins with Clinically Relevant Mitigation Strategies. Infect Drug Resist. 2021 Dec 23;14:5629-5637. 

6. Doub JB, Bork JT, Heil E, Stafford K, Banoub M, Karwowski JK, Toursavadkohi S. Effectiveness and Safety of Biodegradable Calcium Sulfate Antibiotic Beads as Adjuvant Therapy in Vascular Graft Infections. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2021 Jan 4;8(2):ofaa650.

7. Doub JB, Ng VY, Johnson A, Amoroso A, Kottilil S, Wilson E. Potential Use of Adjuvant Bacteriophage Therapy With Debridement, Antibiotics, and Implant Retention Surgery to Treat Chronic Prosthetic Joint Infections. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2021 May 26;8(6):ofab277. 

8. Doub JB. Bacteriophage Therapy for Clinical Biofilm Infections: Parameters That Influence Treatment Protocols and Current Treatment Approaches. Antibiotics (Basel). 2020;9(11):799. Published 2020 Nov 12. doi:10.3390/antibiotics9110799