Virginia Commonwealth University Service

Director of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Pathology
Professor, Pathology and Internal Medicine

Licenses & Certifications

Diplomate, American Board of Medical Microbiology and Public Health, 1990-present

Education

Postdoctoral Education
American Academy of Microbiology Approved Postdoctoral Educational Programs in Public Health and Medical Laboratory Microbiology: University of Michigan Visiting Scholar, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Graduate Education
PhD, Medical Microbiology and Immunology
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Undergraduate Education
BA, Biology
Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois

Editorial Boards

Editor, Clinical Microbiology Newsletter, Elsevier, 2004-present.

Member, Editorial board, Clinical Microbiology Reviews, American Society for Microbiology, 1993-1997, 2004-present.

Invited Reviewer, ongoing: J. Infectious Diseases, J. Clinical Microbiology, Clinical Infectious Diseases, Molecular and Cellular Probes, Tubercle and Lung Disease, Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Critical Reviews in Clinical Laboratory Sciences.

Editor-in-Chief, Clinical Microbiology Reviews, American Society of Microbiology, 1997-2002.

Professional Organizations

American Society for Microbiology
Infectious Disease Society of America, Fellow
American Academy of Microbiology, Fellow

Selected Publications

Peer Reviewed Publications

Marra, A.R., Edmond, M.B., Forbes, B.A., Wenzel, R.P. and G.L. Bearman:  Time to blood culture positivity as a predictor of clinical outcome in Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infection.  J. Clin. Microbiol.  44: 1342-1346, 2006.

Choudary, M., Ramirez, L., Long, R., Simmons, K.B., Blair, D.B., Forbes, B.A., Same, K., Ploutz-Synder, R. and F.R. Rose.  2006.  A university hospital’s 10-year experience with tuberculin testing: value of the 2-step tuberculin skin test.  Am. J. Infect. Cont. 34: 358-361.

Forbes, B.A., Bombicino, K., Plata, K., Cuirolo, A., Webber, D., C.L. Bender, and A.E. Rosato.  2008.  Unusual form of oxacillin resistance in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clinical strains.  Diagn. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. 2008 May 26. [Epub ahead of print]

Books and Chapters

Forbes, B.A.  Mycobacterial Infections:  In D.G.B. Leonard (ed.)  Molecular Pathology in Clinical Practice, Springer Science, New York, NY, 2007.

Forbes, B.A., D.F. Sahm, and A.S. Weissfeld: Diagnostic Microbiology, 12th ed., WB Saunders, Harcourt Health Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, 2007.

Forbes, B.A.  Laboratory Areas.  In Wenzel, R., (ed.)  A Guide to Infection Control in the Hospital, 4th ed., International Society for Infectious Diseases., Boston, MA, 2008.

Recent Invited Presentations

 “PCR Changes for Laboratories”, SEACM Virginia Spring Meeting, Richmond, VA.  March 23, 2007

“Clinical Microbiology in Jeopardy”, Interactive Symposium, ASM 107th General Meeting, Toronto, CA, May 23, 2007.

“A novel form of oxacillin resistance in clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus.  ASM 107th General Meeting, Toronto, CA, May 24, 2007.

 “Laboratory diagnosis of mycobacterial infections:  an update and the new proposed CLSI guidelines."  Annual Workshop, Eastern Branch of the ASM and the Pennsylvania Department of Health and National Laboratory Training Network, Philadelphia, PA.  June 26, 2007

“MRSA Surveillance: what should laboratories be doing?, Southeastern Association for Clinical Microbiology, Spring Workshop, Chesapeake, VA.  April 4, 2008.

 “Clinical Microbiology is a Trivial Pursuit”, Interactive Symposium, ASM 108th General Meeting, Boston, MA.  June 4, 2008.

 “Standard Diagnostic Methods: Optimal Use and Algorithms”, 5th National Conference on Laboratory Aspects of Tuberculosis, 8/11-/13, San Diego, CA.

“Tuberculosis: an update including the new CLSI guidelines”, Northeast Laboratory Conference, 10/22, Portland, ME

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Updated January 16, 2009