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Richard D. Pearson

Richard D. Pearson

Professor Emeritus, Medicine- Infectious Diseases and International Health

Primary Location
PO Box 800739
Charlottesville, VA
Primary Phone Number
434.243.6832
Fax Number
434.924.0075
Email
[email protected]

Bio & Overview

Dr. Pearson in collaboration with Selma M.B. Jeronimo, M.D., Ph.D., Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil, and Mary E. Wilson, M.D., University of Iowa School of Medicine, and their colleagues has studied the immunogenetics, epidemiology and natural history of Leishmania infantum chagasi infection and visceral leishmaniasis in residents of northeastern Brazil.  The majority of persons infected with L. i. chagasi develop protective, cell mediated Th1 responses to leishmanial antigens that result in asymptomatic, self-resolving infection.  A subset of infected persons fail to develop protective Th1 responses and progress to visceral leishmaniasis.  The collaborators are currently addressing the genetic correlates of infection using a family cohort.  Dr. Pearson has also participated in the development of novel approaches to antileishmanial chemotherapy, and he has collaborated with Dr. Anastasio Q. Sousa at the Universidade Federal do Ceara, Fortaleza, Brazil, on the treatment of L. brazilinesis infections with fluconazole.   Finally, he has worked with Janine Jagger, Ph.D., and colleagues on the prevention of sharp object and needle stick injuries among medical workers.

Academic Information

Department
Medicine- Infectious Diseases and International Health
Academic Title
Professor

Primary Education

  • BS, University of Michigan, 1969
  • Clinical Fellowship, University of Rochester School of Medicinenull
  • MD, University of Michigan, 1973
  • Residency, Internal Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicinenull

Research Interests

Leishmaniasis, immunoparasitology

Selected Publications

Lima ID, Lima ALM, Mendes-Aguiar CO, Coutinho JFV, Wilson ME, Pearson RD, Queiroz JW, Jeronimo SMB, Changing demographics of visceral leishmaniasis in northeast Brazil: Lessons for the future., 2018; PLoS neglected tropical diseases. 12(3) e0006164. PMID: 29509765 | PMCID: PMC5839541

Lima ÁLM, de Lima ID, Coutinho JFV, de Sousa ÚPS, Rodrigues MAG, Wilson ME, Pearson RD, Queiroz JW, Jerônimo SMB, Changing epidemiology of visceral leishmaniasis in northeastern Brazil: a 25-year follow-up of an urban outbreak., 2018; Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 111(10) 440-447. PMID: 29394411

Sousa AQ, Cavalcante DIM, Franco LM, Araújo FMC, Sousa ET, Valença-Junior JT, Rolim DB, Melo MEL, Sindeaux PDT, Araújo MTF, Pearson RD, Wilson ME, Pompeu MML, Postmortem Findings for 7 Neonates with Congenital Zika Virus Infection., 2017; Emerging infectious diseases. 23(7) 1164-1167. PMID: 28459414 | PMCID: PMC5512501

Teixeira DG, Monteiro GRG, Martins DRA, Fernandes MZ, Macedo-Silva V, Ansaldi M, Nascimento PRP, Kurtz MA, Streit JA, Ximenes MFF, Pearson RD, Miles A, Blackwell JM, Wilson ME, Kitchen A, Donelson JE, Lima JPM, Jeronimo SMB, Comparative analyses of whole genome sequences of Leishmania infantum isolates from humans and dogs in northeastern Brazil., 2017; International journal for parasitology. 47(10) 655-665. PMID: 28606698 | PMCID: PMC5641220

Jerônimo SM, Pearson RD, The challenges on developing vaccine against visceral leishmaniasis., 2016; Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical. 49(4) 395-7. PMID: 27598623

Sousa AQ, Lima Pompeu MM, Pearson RD, Disseminated Cutaneous Leishmaniasis, a Patient with 178 Lesions Cured with Fluconazole., 2016; The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene. 94(1) 1-2. PMID: 26740094 | PMCID: PMC4710411

Monteiro DC, Sousa AQ, Lima DM, Fontes RM, Praciano CC, Frutuoso MS, Matos LC, Teixeira MJ, Pearson RD, Pompeu MM, Leishmania infantum Infection in Blood Donors, Northeastern Brazil., 2016; Emerging infectious diseases. 22(4) 739-40. PMID: 26982482 | PMCID: PMC4806976

Sousa AQ, Pompeu MM, Frutuoso MS, Pearson RD, In response., 2015; The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene. 92(5) 1083. PMID: 25948560 | PMCID: PMC4426568

Macedo-Silva VP, Martins DR, De Queiroz PV, Pinheiro MP, Freire CC, Queiroz JW, Dupnik KM, Pearson RD, Wilson ME, Jeronimo SM, Ximenes Mde, Feeding preferences of Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera: Psychodidae), the sand fly vector, for Leishmania infantum (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae)., 2014; Journal of medical entomology. 51(1) 237-44. PMID: 24605474

Sousa AQ, Pompeu MM, Frutuoso MS, Lima JW, Tinel JM, Pearson RD, Press imprint smear: a rapid, simple, and cheap method for the diagnosis of cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis., 2014; The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene. 91(5) 905-7. PMID: 25114007 | PMCID: PMC4228884

Chavali AK, Blazier AS, Tlaxca JL, Jensen PA, Pearson RD, Papin JA, Metabolic network analysis predicts efficacy of FDA-approved drugs targeting the causative agent of a neglected tropical disease., 2012; BMC systems biology. 6() 27. PMID: 22540944 | PMCID: PMC3388006

Chavali AK, D'Auria KM, Hewlett EL, Pearson RD, Papin JA, A metabolic network approach for the identification and prioritization of antimicrobial drug targets., 2012; Trends in microbiology. 20(3) 113-23. PMID: 22300758 | PMCID: PMC3299924

Sousa AQ, Frutuoso MS, Moraes EA, Pearson RD, Pompeu MM, High-dose oral fluconazole therapy effective for cutaneous leishmaniasis due to Leishmania (Vianna) braziliensis., 2011; Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. 53(7) 693-5. PMID: 21890773

Nascimento ET, Moura ML, Queiroz JW, Barroso AW, Araujo AF, Rego EF, Wilson ME, Pearson RD, Jeronimo SM, The emergence of concurrent HIV-1/AIDS and visceral leishmaniasis in Northeast Brazil., 2011; Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 105(5) 298-300. PMID: 21474157