Alex Sundermann, DrPH
@sundermannaj.bsky.social
Assistant Professor in Epidemiology @ Pitt Public Health | Outbreaks, Genomic Epidemiology, Public Health 🕵🏼♂️ | DrPH, CIC, FAPIC | Hubs & Dad of 2
https://www.publichealth.pitt.edu/directory/alexander-sundermann
https://www.publichealth.pitt.edu/directory/alexander-sundermann
Our new paper out: AI boosted our genomic surveillance investigations by finding 37 missed transmission routes and reaching >90% sensitivity in key scenarios.
AI + WGS can speed outbreak reviews and help IP teams act faster #IDSky
Genomic surveillance is a key must!
📃: doi.org/10.1017/ice....
AI + WGS can speed outbreak reviews and help IP teams act faster #IDSky
Genomic surveillance is a key must!
📃: doi.org/10.1017/ice....
November 14, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Our new paper out: AI boosted our genomic surveillance investigations by finding 37 missed transmission routes and reaching >90% sensitivity in key scenarios.
AI + WGS can speed outbreak reviews and help IP teams act faster #IDSky
Genomic surveillance is a key must!
📃: doi.org/10.1017/ice....
AI + WGS can speed outbreak reviews and help IP teams act faster #IDSky
Genomic surveillance is a key must!
📃: doi.org/10.1017/ice....
This one? 👀 @amandalitman.bsky.social
November 10, 2025 at 9:11 PM
This one? 👀 @amandalitman.bsky.social
Aerosolizing pathogens from sink drains? New study shows it can happen & possibly cause transmission
Drain biofilm bacteria found in droplets and aerosols ▶️ spread into room
Possible sources of HAIs #IDSky
📄: www.ajicjournal.org/article/S019...
Drain biofilm bacteria found in droplets and aerosols ▶️ spread into room
Possible sources of HAIs #IDSky
📄: www.ajicjournal.org/article/S019...
November 6, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Aerosolizing pathogens from sink drains? New study shows it can happen & possibly cause transmission
Drain biofilm bacteria found in droplets and aerosols ▶️ spread into room
Possible sources of HAIs #IDSky
📄: www.ajicjournal.org/article/S019...
Drain biofilm bacteria found in droplets and aerosols ▶️ spread into room
Possible sources of HAIs #IDSky
📄: www.ajicjournal.org/article/S019...
Still got the laptop sticker
October 28, 2025 at 8:12 PM
Still got the laptop sticker
Great to see the CLEEN trial highlighted in the #IDWeek2025 session Influential Publications in Health Care Epidemiology! Strong work @1healthau.bsky.social 👏🏻
Presenting by @trtalbot.bsky.social
📄: www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Presenting by @trtalbot.bsky.social
📄: www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
October 21, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Great to see the CLEEN trial highlighted in the #IDWeek2025 session Influential Publications in Health Care Epidemiology! Strong work @1healthau.bsky.social 👏🏻
Presenting by @trtalbot.bsky.social
📄: www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Presenting by @trtalbot.bsky.social
📄: www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
~3 months: ~5.7 million views. Still figuring out what I’m doing tho 👀
October 21, 2025 at 1:44 AM
~3 months: ~5.7 million views. Still figuring out what I’m doing tho 👀
It looks so amazing up close!! Beautiful - I’m absolutely ecstatic and can’t wait to show it off in my office 😃
Pic from my visit in 2023 😅
Pic from my visit in 2023 😅
October 16, 2025 at 3:58 PM
It looks so amazing up close!! Beautiful - I’m absolutely ecstatic and can’t wait to show it off in my office 😃
Pic from my visit in 2023 😅
Pic from my visit in 2023 😅
In DC (for my first time) for a conference. Reached out to my Senator’s office and asked to share my personal concerns on science and public health. Had a great discussion!
Personal stories are often more impactful than data and numbers. That was my goal to share today
Personal stories are often more impactful than data and numbers. That was my goal to share today
September 15, 2025 at 8:33 PM
In DC (for my first time) for a conference. Reached out to my Senator’s office and asked to share my personal concerns on science and public health. Had a great discussion!
Personal stories are often more impactful than data and numbers. That was my goal to share today
Personal stories are often more impactful than data and numbers. That was my goal to share today
*tapping the sign*
VAERS own website (still) says ‘don’t this this with this dataset’
VAERS own website (still) says ‘don’t this this with this dataset’
September 12, 2025 at 10:12 PM
*tapping the sign*
VAERS own website (still) says ‘don’t this this with this dataset’
VAERS own website (still) says ‘don’t this this with this dataset’
Our new paper in @ichejournal.bsky.social: a cluster of healthcare-associated Burkholderia sola infections via WGS
➡️ B sola is a newly described BCC species
➡️ We detected 2 infxs via donor derived lung Tx + forward transmission
#IDSky
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
➡️ B sola is a newly described BCC species
➡️ We detected 2 infxs via donor derived lung Tx + forward transmission
#IDSky
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
September 8, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Our new paper in @ichejournal.bsky.social: a cluster of healthcare-associated Burkholderia sola infections via WGS
➡️ B sola is a newly described BCC species
➡️ We detected 2 infxs via donor derived lung Tx + forward transmission
#IDSky
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
➡️ B sola is a newly described BCC species
➡️ We detected 2 infxs via donor derived lung Tx + forward transmission
#IDSky
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Interesting concept to ‘start your own prepared meal company’ in 60-days by using the service.
September 6, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Interesting concept to ‘start your own prepared meal company’ in 60-days by using the service.
Friday highlight: getting a new sticker in the mail today from @drrossanarosa.bsky.social to add to the new laptop 😎👏🏻
Clean the shared equipment!
👀Peek “not today MRSA” too!
#IDSky
Clean the shared equipment!
👀Peek “not today MRSA” too!
#IDSky
September 5, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Friday highlight: getting a new sticker in the mail today from @drrossanarosa.bsky.social to add to the new laptop 😎👏🏻
Clean the shared equipment!
👀Peek “not today MRSA” too!
#IDSky
Clean the shared equipment!
👀Peek “not today MRSA” too!
#IDSky
Correlation =\= Causation
Are cat memes responsible for air bag recalls? Hell no. 🐈⬛🚗
Spurious Correlations is one of my favorite websites for making this point
Are cat memes responsible for air bag recalls? Hell no. 🐈⬛🚗
Spurious Correlations is one of my favorite websites for making this point
September 4, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Correlation =\= Causation
Are cat memes responsible for air bag recalls? Hell no. 🐈⬛🚗
Spurious Correlations is one of my favorite websites for making this point
Are cat memes responsible for air bag recalls? Hell no. 🐈⬛🚗
Spurious Correlations is one of my favorite websites for making this point
Also interesting that these are also 0 SNPs to historic NYC isolates including as far back as 2016 Bronx environmental isolates
Legionella in pipes can be annoyingly persistent in biofilm = 0 SNPs of the same clone over multiple years
Legionella in pipes can be annoyingly persistent in biofilm = 0 SNPs of the same clone over multiple years
August 22, 2025 at 1:30 AM
Also interesting that these are also 0 SNPs to historic NYC isolates including as far back as 2016 Bronx environmental isolates
Legionella in pipes can be annoyingly persistent in biofilm = 0 SNPs of the same clone over multiple years
Legionella in pipes can be annoyingly persistent in biofilm = 0 SNPs of the same clone over multiple years
I've been watching the NYC Legionella outbreak rise and rise. 6 deaths and 111 infections.
Looks like NYC finally uploaded some Legionella genomes on NCBI - environmental isolates are 0 SNPs to clinical isolates according to Pathogen Detection
#IDSky
Looks like NYC finally uploaded some Legionella genomes on NCBI - environmental isolates are 0 SNPs to clinical isolates according to Pathogen Detection
#IDSky
August 22, 2025 at 1:30 AM
I've been watching the NYC Legionella outbreak rise and rise. 6 deaths and 111 infections.
Looks like NYC finally uploaded some Legionella genomes on NCBI - environmental isolates are 0 SNPs to clinical isolates according to Pathogen Detection
#IDSky
Looks like NYC finally uploaded some Legionella genomes on NCBI - environmental isolates are 0 SNPs to clinical isolates according to Pathogen Detection
#IDSky
AP: US childhood vaccination rates fall again as exemptions set another record
Exemptions are ⬆️
Rates are ⬇️
Those are some steep graphs #PublicHealh
📄: apnews.com/article/vacc...
Exemptions are ⬆️
Rates are ⬇️
Those are some steep graphs #PublicHealh
📄: apnews.com/article/vacc...
July 31, 2025 at 7:52 PM
AP: US childhood vaccination rates fall again as exemptions set another record
Exemptions are ⬆️
Rates are ⬇️
Those are some steep graphs #PublicHealh
📄: apnews.com/article/vacc...
Exemptions are ⬆️
Rates are ⬇️
Those are some steep graphs #PublicHealh
📄: apnews.com/article/vacc...
I want to get off the roller coaster
July 30, 2025 at 3:42 AM
I want to get off the roller coaster
See how much your state benefited economically from NIH in FY2024 here via report from UMR 👀⤵️ @atrupar.com
📄: www.unitedformedicalresearch.org/wp-content/u...
📄: www.unitedformedicalresearch.org/wp-content/u...
July 28, 2025 at 12:21 AM
See how much your state benefited economically from NIH in FY2024 here via report from UMR 👀⤵️ @atrupar.com
📄: www.unitedformedicalresearch.org/wp-content/u...
📄: www.unitedformedicalresearch.org/wp-content/u...
Another outbreak of Salmonella in raw milk - new MMWR #IDSky
California outbreak of 171 cases linked back to a single farm. One cow testing positive for Salmonella
Long duration of outbreak attributed to aged cheeses with the raw milk held
www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes...
California outbreak of 171 cases linked back to a single farm. One cow testing positive for Salmonella
Long duration of outbreak attributed to aged cheeses with the raw milk held
www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes...
July 24, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Another outbreak of Salmonella in raw milk - new MMWR #IDSky
California outbreak of 171 cases linked back to a single farm. One cow testing positive for Salmonella
Long duration of outbreak attributed to aged cheeses with the raw milk held
www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes...
California outbreak of 171 cases linked back to a single farm. One cow testing positive for Salmonella
Long duration of outbreak attributed to aged cheeses with the raw milk held
www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes...
🙋🏼♂️ Personally, I’d love my tax-payer dollars to fund a potential pandemic bird flu vaccine
July 24, 2025 at 3:34 PM
🙋🏼♂️ Personally, I’d love my tax-payer dollars to fund a potential pandemic bird flu vaccine
Ukrainian refugees with prior hospitalization had much higher rates of MDRO colonization #IDSky
An example of how war/Russia’s invasion has caused significant impact for AMR
Via @cvdall.bsky.social
📄: www.clinicalmicrobiologyandinfection.com/article/S119...
An example of how war/Russia’s invasion has caused significant impact for AMR
Via @cvdall.bsky.social
📄: www.clinicalmicrobiologyandinfection.com/article/S119...
July 22, 2025 at 3:02 AM
Ukrainian refugees with prior hospitalization had much higher rates of MDRO colonization #IDSky
An example of how war/Russia’s invasion has caused significant impact for AMR
Via @cvdall.bsky.social
📄: www.clinicalmicrobiologyandinfection.com/article/S119...
An example of how war/Russia’s invasion has caused significant impact for AMR
Via @cvdall.bsky.social
📄: www.clinicalmicrobiologyandinfection.com/article/S119...
A new BioRender survey out on response to federal cuts
Overwhelming majority of respondents believe cuts will significantly affect research progress
Highest concern comes from PIs
📄: www.biorender.com/2025-science...
Overwhelming majority of respondents believe cuts will significantly affect research progress
Highest concern comes from PIs
📄: www.biorender.com/2025-science...
July 16, 2025 at 4:23 PM
A new BioRender survey out on response to federal cuts
Overwhelming majority of respondents believe cuts will significantly affect research progress
Highest concern comes from PIs
📄: www.biorender.com/2025-science...
Overwhelming majority of respondents believe cuts will significantly affect research progress
Highest concern comes from PIs
📄: www.biorender.com/2025-science...
Case report: Hematogenous transmission of Listeria causing intraamniotic infection @ 25 wks
▶️Isolates from amniotic fluid & chorioamniotic membranes near identical
▶️Baby now 1 y/o
▶️Avoid soft cheeses + high risk foods while pregnant...
#IDSky
www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
▶️Isolates from amniotic fluid & chorioamniotic membranes near identical
▶️Baby now 1 y/o
▶️Avoid soft cheeses + high risk foods while pregnant...
#IDSky
www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
July 14, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Case report: Hematogenous transmission of Listeria causing intraamniotic infection @ 25 wks
▶️Isolates from amniotic fluid & chorioamniotic membranes near identical
▶️Baby now 1 y/o
▶️Avoid soft cheeses + high risk foods while pregnant...
#IDSky
www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
▶️Isolates from amniotic fluid & chorioamniotic membranes near identical
▶️Baby now 1 y/o
▶️Avoid soft cheeses + high risk foods while pregnant...
#IDSky
www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
