Patricia Kissinger, BSN, PhD, MPH

Dr. Patricia Kissinger is an infectious disease epidemiologist and Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs and Development. She has worked both nationally and internationally for over three decades in the field of HIV, sexually transmitted diseases, and women’s reproductive health in Africa, Haiti, and the US. Dr. Kissinger focuses on the dynamics of STI/HIV transmission, particularly among vulnerable populations, examining issues of HIV/STI partner notification, expedited partner treatment, sexual networks, substance abuse, pregnancy prevention, repeat STIs, and more recently COVID-19. She has been the PI on dozens of National Institute of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and other externally funded research grants and has published extensively and written numerous book chapters. Dr. Kissinger is also on the Associate Editor the Journal Sex Trans Dis, has served as a member of the NIH College of Reviewers, as an expert consultant for CDC for policy and the STI Treatment Guidelines and as a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee on Prevention and Control of Sexually Transmitted Diseases in the United States.

Dr. Kissinger on STI rates in Louisiana

While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported a decrease in sexually transmitted infections across the country, in Louisiana, STI rates are soaring. Some infections, like syphilis and chlamydia, are higher than they’ve been in decades, with some calling this problem an epidemic. Patty Kissinger, infectious disease epidemiologist at Tulane, tells us more about this problem and how to combat it. Listen here.