Professor in the Department of Pathology, School of Medicine
Joint appointments: Department of Dermatology, Department of Epidemiology and Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology
Director Mycology Laboratory
Co-director of Molecular Epidemiology
The Johns Hopkins Hospital
Department of Pathology
Division of Microbiology
Meyer B1-193
600 North Wolfe Street
Baltimore, MD 21287-7093
Phone: (410) 955-5077
Fax: (410) 614-8087
Email: wmerz@jhmi.edu
Education and Training:
- BA, cum laude in Botany, Drew University
- MS, Microbiology, West Virginia University
- PhD, Microbiology, West Virginia University
- Postdoctoral Fellowship, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
- Sabbatical, Molecular Microbiology, The Johns Hopkins University
Professional Interests:
Medical Mycology and Molecular Epidemiology
Notable Accomplishments:
My accomplishments have been in developing a first rate clinical laboratory and applied research program in the fields of medical mycology and on the emerging area of molecular epidemiology. My medical mycology interests encompass molecular detection and identification of pathogenic fungi, drug resistance and in vitro susceptibility testing. My molecular epidemiology efforts encompass validation of new methodologies, outbreak analysis and epidemiology of virulence factors.
Major Professional Leadership:
- Past Editor, The Journal of Clinical Mycology
- Co-editor of Topley and Wilson’s Text, Medical Mycology
- Chapter author for 4 volumes of ASM Manual of Clinical Microbiology
- Ad hoc reviewer for 7 journals
- Past-President of Maryland Branch, ASM
- Past-Secretary/Treasurer, Medical Mycological Society of the Americas
- Billy Cooper Award recipient, MMSA
- Max Littman Award recipient, MMSNY
- American Academy for Microbiology (Elected), ASM
- Pathology House Staff, CP Teaching Award, 3 years
- Pathobiology Graduate Student Teaching Award, 1 year
Recent Publications:
Magill, S.S., S.M. Swoboda, E.A. Johnson, W.G. Merz, R.K. Pelz, P.A. Lipsett and C.W. Hendrix. 2006. The association between anatomic site of Candida colonization, invasive candidiasis, and mortality in critically ill surgical patients. Diagn. Microbiol. Infect. Dis.55: 293-301.
Antachopoulos, C., J. Meletiadia, T. Sein, D.A. Sutton, B.L. Wickes, M.G. Rinaldi, W.G. Merz, Y..R. Shea and T.J. Walsh, 2006. Relationship between metabolism and biomass of medically important zygomycetes. Med. Mycol. 44: 429-438.
Page, B.T., C.E. Shields, W.G. Merz and C.P. Kurtzman. 2006. Rapid identification of ascomycetous yeasts from clinical specimens by a molecularly-based flow cytometry method and comparision with identifications from phenotypic assays. J. Clin. Microbiol. 44:3167-3171.
Magill, S.S., L. Manfredi, A. Swiderski, B. Cohen and W.G. Merz. 2007. Trichophyton violaceum and Trichophyton violaceum as causes of dermatophytosis in Baltimore, Maryland. J. Clin. Microbiol. 45: 461-465
McDevitt, J.J., P.S.J. Lees, W.G. Merz and K.J. Schwab. 2007. Inhibition of quantitative PCR analysis of fungal conidia associated with indoor air particulate matter. Aerobiologia.23: 35-45.
Johnson, K.E., K. Leahy, C. Owens, W.G. Merz and B.J. Goldstein. 2007. Cutaneous and laryngeal zygomycosis in a solid-tumor patient: a case report. Accepted for publication in ENT J
