Amy Y Vittor, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department:
MD-INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Business Phone:
(352) 294-5481
Business Email:
amy.vittor@medicine.ufl.edu
About Amy Y Vittor
Dr. Amy Vittor is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Medicine at the University of Florida, where she studies the interface between vector-borne disease, land use and host immunity. Interested in understanding linkages between ecology and global health, she conducted her doctorate in public health in the Peruvian Amazon studying malaria and deforestation. She continued to work in global health during her medical training, treating patients with HIV and tuberculosis in Botswana, Kenya and Panama. While completing her clinical training, she studied dengue epidemiology in Kenya with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Nairobi as a Fogarty International Clinical and Research Fellow, and embarked on collaborations with public health officials in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam on dengue and climate change. Following a novel outbreak of Madariaga virus in the Darien region of Panama, she spent a year with the Gorgas Memorial Institute investigating potential animal hosts and human epidemiology. At present, she continues to study ecological and immunological drivers of arboviral emergence in the Darien region of Panama, and attends on the Infectious Diseases consultation service at Shands hospital at UF and the Malcolm Randall VA.
Dr. Vittor received her BA from the University of California, Berkeley in 1997, her PhD in public health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2003, her MD from Stanford University in 2007, and completed her internal medicine residency and infectious disease fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania in 2009 and 2013, respectively. She is board certified in both internal medicine and infectious diseases.
Additional Positions:
Deputy Hospital Epidemiologist
2021 – Current
·
Veterans Affairs Health System
Accomplishments
Member
2020
·
Sigma Xi Scientific Honor Society
Awardee
2018
·
NIH Loan Repayment Program Award
Awardee
2015
·
NIH Loan Repayment Program Award
Nomination for Customer Service is Key
2014
·
UF Health Shands Hospital
Clinical Research Fellowship
2011
·
Fogarty International
Teaching Profile
Courses Taught
2019-2022
PHC7980 Research for Doctoral Dissertation
2020
PHC6937 Special Topics in Public Health
2018
PHC6722 Environmental and Global Health Research Methods Rotation
2018
MDT7090 Elective Topics
2018
VME7979 Advanced Research
2018
PHC7979 Advanced Research
2018
BMS6300 Fund Micro and Immuno
2022-2024
PAS5020 Intro to Medicine 2
Board Certifications
-
Infectious DiseaseAmerican Board of Internal Medicine
-
Internal MedicineAmerican Board of Internal Medicine
Clinical Profile
Specialties
- General Internal Medicine
- Infectious Disease
Areas of Interest
- Dengue fever
- Encephalitis
- Malaria
- West Nile virus infection
- Zika virus disease
Research Profile
Arboviral disease (eastern equine encephalitis, chikungunya fever, dengue fever, and others)
Developing world diagnostics (Microscopically Observed Drug Susceptibility (MODS) Testing, Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP)
Malaria
Ecological associations with vector-borne disease
Grants
2022 – Multigenerational prospective study: a hybrid cohort study to evaluate the transmission cycle and exposures to multiple emerging alphaviruses. Senacyt (Panama). Role: Co-investigator.
2021 – Biomarkers of neurological injury for the encephalitic alphaviruses. Navy Medical Research Center. Role: Site PI.
2019 – Examining how blood meals from different vertebrate species influence the midgut microbiome of the mosquito vector Aedes aegypti, and its susceptibility to arboviral infections. University of Florida Seed Fund. Role: Co-investigator.
2016 – Heterologus immunity and host susceptibility to emerging alphaviral infections. NIH 1K08AI116980-01A1. Role: PI.
2014 – University of Florida Seed Fund. Hydroelectric dams and health effects. Prinicipal Investigator: Denis Valle. Role: Co-investigator.
Areas of Interest
- Arboviral Disease
- Conservation Medicine
- Dengue Virus
- Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus
- Ecological Links to Zoonotic Infections
- Emerging infectious disease
- Long-term Neurological Impacts of Viral Infection
- Mayaro Virus
- Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus
- West Nile Virus
Publications
Academic Articles
2024
Amazon Wildfires and Respiratory Health: Impacts during the Forest Fire Season from 2009 to 2019.
International journal of environmental research and public health.
21(6)
[DOI] 10.3390/ijerph21060675.
[PMID] 38928922.
2024
Characteristics of Madariaga and Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus Infections, Panama.
Emerging infectious diseases.
30(14):94-104
[DOI] 10.3201/eid3014.240182.
[PMID] 39530903.
2024
Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of Madariaga and Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus infections.
medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences.
[DOI] 10.1101/2024.02.02.24302220.
[PMID] 38352566.
2024
Retrospective Analysis of Blood Biomarkers of Neurological Injury in Human Cases of Viral Infection and Bacterial Sepsis.
The Journal of infectious diseases.
[DOI] 10.1093/infdis/jiae445.
[PMID] 39255068.
2023
Everglades virus: an underrecognized disease-causing subtype of Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus endemic to Florida, USA.
Journal of medical entomology.
60(6):1149-1164
[DOI] 10.1093/jme/tjad070.
[PMID] 37862065.
2023
Infectivity of three Mayaro Virus geographic isolates in human cell lines
Acta Tropica.
242
[DOI] 10.1016/j.actatropica.2023.106894.
2023
Madariaga and Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus seroprevalence in rodent enzootic hosts in Eastern and Western Panama.
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology.
[DOI] 10.1101/2023.08.28.555226.
[PMID] 37693579.
2022
Evaluating sampling strategies for enzootic Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus vectors in Florida and Panama.
PLoS neglected tropical diseases.
16(4)
[DOI] 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010329.
[PMID] 35417476.
2022
Everglades virus evolution: Genome sequence analysis of the envelope 1 protein reveals recent mutation and divergence in South Florida wetlands.
Virus evolution.
8(2)
[DOI] 10.1093/ve/veac111.
[PMID] 36582503.
2022
Infectious diseases compensation in the USA: the relative value.
The Lancet. Infectious diseases.
22(8):1106-1108
[DOI] 10.1016/S1473-3099(22)00360-7.
[PMID] 35716701.
2022
Lobomycosis Epidemiology and Management: The Quest for a Cure for the Most Neglected of Neglected Tropical Diseases.
Journal of fungi (Basel, Switzerland).
8(5)
[DOI] 10.3390/jof8050494.
[PMID] 35628750.
2021
Blood Biomarkers for Detection of Brain Injury in COVID-19 Patients.
Journal of neurotrauma.
38(1):1-43
[DOI] 10.1089/neu.2020.7332.
[PMID] 33115334.
2021
Comparison of SARS-CoV-2 Receptors Expression in Primary Endothelial Cells and Retinoic Acid-Differentiated Human Neuronal Cells.
Viruses.
13(11)
[DOI] 10.3390/v13112193.
[PMID] 34834998.
2021
Concurrent Pulmonary and Cerebellar Cryptococcus Gattii Cryptococcoma in an Apparently Immunocompetent Patient in Florida
Case Reports in Infectious Diseases.
2021:1-4
[DOI] 10.1155/2021/5564520.
2021
Microscopic Polyangiitis With Diffuse Alveolar Hemorrhage and Glomerulonephritis Complicating Acute Influenza Infection.
Journal of clinical rheumatology : practical reports on rheumatic & musculoskeletal diseases.
27(8S):S618-S619
[DOI] 10.1097/RHU.0000000000001730.
[PMID] 33843777.
2021
The COVID-19 crisis and Amazonia’s indigenous people: Implications for conservation and global health.
World development.
145
[DOI] 10.1016/j.worlddev.2021.105533.
[PMID] 36570383.
2020
Clinical and Serological Findings of Madariaga and Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Viral Infections: A Follow-up Study 5 Years After an Outbreak in Panama.
Open forum infectious diseases.
7(9)
[DOI] 10.1093/ofid/ofaa359.
[PMID] 33005697.
2020
Endemic and Epidemic Human Alphavirus Infections in Eastern Panama: An Analysis of Population-Based Cross-Sectional Surveys.
The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene.
103(6):2429-2437
[DOI] 10.4269/ajtmh.20-0408.
[PMID] 33124532.
2020
Evaluation of the malaria elimination policy in Brazil: a systematic review and epidemiological analysis study.
Tropical biomedicine.
37(2):513-535
[PMID] 33235398.
2020
Multidrug Therapy for Leprosy Can Cure Patients with Lobomycosis in Acre State, Brazil: A Proof of Therapy Study.
The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene.
104(2):634-639
[DOI] 10.4269/ajtmh.20-0090.
[PMID] 33200722.
2020
West Nile Virus-Induced Neurologic Sequelae-Relationship to Neurodegenerative Cascades and Dementias.
Current tropical medicine reports.
7(1):25-36
[DOI] 10.1007/s40475-020-00200-7.
[PMID] 32775145.
2018
Deforestation and vector-borne disease: Forest conversion favors important mosquito vectors of human pathogens.
Basic and applied ecology.
26:101-110
[DOI] 10.1016/j.baae.2017.09.012.
[PMID] 34290566.
2018
Human and Equine Infection with Alphaviruses and Flaviviruses in Panamá during 2010: A Cross-Sectional Study of Household Contacts during an Encephalitis Outbreak.
The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene.
98(6):1798-1804
[DOI] 10.4269/ajtmh.17-0679.
[PMID] 29737271.
2018
Islands as Hotspots for Emerging Mosquito-Borne Viruses: A One-Health Perspective
Viruses.
11(1)
[DOI] 10.3390/v11010011.
[PMID] 30585228.
2017
Does deforestation promote or inhibit malaria transmission in the Amazon? A systematic literature review and critical appraisal of current evidence.
Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences.
372(1722)
[DOI] 10.1098/rstb.2016.0125.
[PMID] 28438914.
2016
Epidemiology of Emergent Madariaga Encephalitis in a Region with Endemic Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis: Initial Host Studies and Human Cross-Sectional Study in Darien, Panama.
PLoS neglected tropical diseases.
10(4)
[DOI] 10.1371/journal.pntd.0004554.
[PMID] 27101567.
2016
Serologic Evidence of the Geographic Distribution of Bacterial Zoonotic Agents in Kenya, 2007.
The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene.
94(1):43-51
[DOI] 10.4269/ajtmh.15-0320.
[PMID] 26598574.
2015
Seroprevalence of Infections with Dengue, Rift Valley Fever and Chikungunya Viruses in Kenya, 2007.
PloS one.
10(7)
[DOI] 10.1371/journal.pone.0132645.
[PMID] 26177451.
2014
Conservation efforts and malaria in the Brazilian Amazon.
The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene.
90(4):591-4
[DOI] 10.4269/ajtmh.13-0323.
[PMID] 24277787.
2014
Molecular Diagnosis of TB in the HIV Positive Population.
Annals of global health.
80(6):476-85
[DOI] 10.1016/j.aogh.2015.01.001.
[PMID] 25960097.
2013
Eastern equine encephalitis in Latin America.
The New England journal of medicine.
369(8):732-44
[DOI] 10.1056/NEJMoa1212628.
[PMID] 23964935.
2011
Improving the diagnosis of tuberculosis: From QuantiFERON to new techniques to diagnose tuberculosis infections.
Current HIV/AIDS reports.
8(3):153-63
[DOI] 10.1007/s11904-011-0083-7.
[PMID] 21660459.
2009
Linking deforestation to malaria in the Amazon: characterization of the breeding habitat of the principal malaria vector, Anopheles darlingi.
The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene.
81(1):5-12
[PMID] 19556558.
2006
Limited diversity of Anopheles darlingi in the Peruvian Amazon region of Iquitos.
The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene.
75(2):238-45
[PMID] 16896125.
2006
The effect of deforestation on the human-biting rate of Anopheles darlingi, the primary vector of Falciparum malaria in the Peruvian Amazon.
The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene.
74(1):3-11
[PMID] 16407338.
2000
Effects of environmental change on emerging parasitic diseases.
International journal for parasitology.
30(12-13):1395-405
[PMID] 11113264.
Grants
Mar 2024
ACTIVE
Aligning climate and health: assessing zoonotic arboviral risks in agroforestry as a climate mitigation strategy
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: NATL INST OF HLTH NIAID
Jun 2021
ACTIVE
Biomarkers of Neurological Injury for the Encephalitic Alphaviruses
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: NAVAL MEDICAL RESEARCH COMMAND
Jan 2021
– Dec 2021
COVID-19 Rapid Assay
Role: Co-Investigator
Funding: KAOHSIUNG MEDICAL UNIVERSITY
Jun 2019
– Aug 2022
Examining how blood meals from different vertebrate species influence the midgut microbiome of the mosquito vector Aedes aegypti, and its susceptibility to arboviral infections
Role: Consultant
Funding: UF RESEARCH
Apr 2016
– Jun 2021
Heterologous immunity and host susceptibility to emerging alphaviral infections
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: NATL INST OF HLTH NIAID
Education
Postdoctoral Global Health Fellowship
2012-2013
·
University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas
Clinical Research Fellow
2011-2012
·
Fogarty International
Infectious Disease Fellowship
2009-2013
·
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Internal Medicine Residency
2007-2009
·
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Medical Degree
2002-2007
·
Stanford University School of Medicine
PhD
1999-2003
·
Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health
MHS
1997-1999
·
Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health
BA
1993-1997
·
University of California
Contact Details
Phones:
- Business:
- (352) 294-5481
Emails:
- Business:
- amy.vittor@medicine.ufl.edu
Addresses:
- Business Mailing:
-
2055 Mowry Road, Suite 250
EMERGING PATHOGENS INSTITUTE
GAINESVILLE FL 32611-2079 - Business Street:
-
2055 Mowry Road, Suite 250
EMERGING PATHOGENS INSTITUTE
GAINESVILLE FL 326112079