Costi D Sifri, MD
Infectious Diseases
Additional Locations
Bio & Overview
As the director of hospital epidemiology at UVA Health, Costi Sifri, MD, works to prevent infections that occur as a consequence of receiving medical care. He is also the medical director of the immunocompromised infectious disease program at UVA, which is focused on providing care to patients with infectious diseases following organ or stem cell transplantation or who have cancer.
Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, Dr. Sifri received his medical degree from the University of Rochester, completed internal medicine residency at the University of Pennsylvania, and clinical and research fellowships in infectious disease at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Harvard Medical School. He joined UVA in 2004.
Dr. Sifri’s research interests include exploring the transmission of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) in the healthcare environment and understanding the clinical consequences and prevention of healthcare-associated infections. He has helped lead efforts at UVA Health to reduce transmission of healthcare-associated pathogens, supervised infection prevention education and quality improvement efforts, and led institutional responses to high-consequence emerging microbial pathogens, including carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, Ebola virus, and COVID-19.
In his free time, Dr. Sifri enjoys spending time outside with his three children and trail running in the mountains with his wife.
Academic Information
- Department
- Medicine
- Academic Role
- Professor
- Division
- Infectious Diseases
- Research Interests
- Bacterial pathogenesis, healthcare-associated infections, hospital epidemiology, host-pathogen interactions, innate immunity, Legionella, multidrug resistance, Staphylococci
- Gender
- Male
- Languages
- English
- Age Groups Seen
- Adults (21-65)
Older Adults (65+)
- Primary Education
- University of Rochester - Strong MH
- Residency
- Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
- Fellowships
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School- Massachusetts Gen. Hospital
- Certification
- American Board of Internal Medicine (Infectious Disease)
Highlights
Costi Sifri, MD
My name is Costi Sifri. I'm an adult infectious disease physician here at UVA, and I'm the head of the immunocompromised infectious disease program. Infectious diseases is interesting because it doesn't deal with one particular type of organ system or medical process. It really takes a look at the patient in whole, and focuses on people who are at risk for infection or have infection. I first developed an interest in medicine due to family members who had experience with medicine. My sister had a serious illness when I was a teenager, and that really stimulated my interest in medicine. And it developed to be, also, a larger interest in biomedical research and medical care. Patients who tend to see me are often seeing other providers at the same time. So they'll have an opportunity to see me when they're seeing their organ transplant physicians, or their oncologists. And so they would tend to see me as we are developing strategies to prevent infection. I'm passionate in the care for patients who have cancer, or organ transplants, or bone marrow transplants. People who have compromised immune systems, and who are at increased risks for infections.
Awards
- 2011-2020 Best Doctors in America® List
- 2015 Best Bedside Manner Award, Our Health Magazine; First place, Infectious Diseases
- 2018 Best Bedside Manner Awards, Our Health Charlottesville and Shenandoah Valley Magazine; Second Place, Infectious Disease