Alexander Tatara, M.D., Ph.D. Assistant Professor School Medical School Department Internal Medicine | Biomedical Engineering Graduate Programs Biomedical Engineering You have reached the Academic Profile. For more information on the doctor and patient care, please visit the clinical profile. Biography Alexander Tatara, M.D., PhD., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern and a member of its Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine. He also has a secondary appointment in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. His clinical interests include preventing and treating musculoskeletal infections. Originally from Illinois, Dr. Tatara holds a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Washington University in St. Louis. He received his Ph.D. in bioengineering at Rice University in Houston and his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. He completed internal medicine residency training at Massachusetts General Hospital and infectious diseases fellowship training at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He completed his post-doctoral fellowship training at the Harvard University Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, he joined the UT Southwestern Faculty in 2024. Dr. Tatara’s research interests include the design of new biomaterials, tissue engineering strategies, mechanisms of pathogen virulence, and immunoengineering to prevent and treat infection. To date, his work has resulted in 41 peer-reviewed publications, five book chapters, and one patent. He is also the author of the clinical textbook "The Infectious Diseases Consult Handbook," published by Springer Nature (2023). He has been recognized with numerous national and international awards, including the Young Investigator Award from the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (2016), Milton Huppert Graduate Student Award from the Medical Mycological Society of the Americas (2016), Outstanding Research Award by the Society for Biomaterials (2019), and the Maxwell Finland Research Award from the Massachusetts Infectious Diseases Society (2022). He is an NIH NIAID K08 reciepient (2024-2029). Education Undergraduate School Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine (2010), Biomedical Engineering Graduate School Rice University (2017) Medical School Baylor College of Medicine (2018) Residency Massachusetts General Hospital (2020), Internal Medicine Fellowship Massachusetts General Hospital (2024), Infectious Diseases Research Interest Bacterial pathogenesis Biomaterials science Device Infection Host immunity Orthopedic immunology Tissue engineering Publications Featured Publications Rates and Outcomes of Periprosthetic Joint Infection in Persons Who Inject Drugs. Humphrey TJ, Tatara AM, Bedair HS, Alpaugh K, Melnic CM, Nelson SB, J Arthroplasty 2023 Jan 38 1 152-157 Antiplatelet therapy for Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia: Will it stick? Tatara AM, Gandhi RG, Mooney DJ, Nelson SB, PLoS Pathog 2022 Feb 18 2 e1010240 Antibiotic Prophylaxis for Total Joint Arthroplasty. Tatara AM, Nelson SB, Instr Course Lect 2022 71 107-116 Tornadic Shear Stress Induces a Transient, Calcineurin-Dependent Hypervirulent Phenotype in Mucorales Molds. Wurster S, Tatara AM, Albert ND, Ibrahim AS, Heitman J, Lee SC, Shetty AC, McCracken C, Graf KT, Mikos AG, Bruno VM, Kontoyiannis DP, mBio 2020 Jun 11 3 Role of Tissue Engineering in COVID-19 and Future Viral Outbreaks. Tatara AM, Tissue Eng Part A 2020 May 26 9-10 468-474 A murine model of cutaneous aspergillosis for evaluation of biomaterials-based local delivery therapies. Tatara AM, Watson E, Albert ND, Kontoyiannis PD, Kontoyiannis DP, Mikos AG, J Biomed Mater Res A 2019 Sep 107 9 1867-1874 Biomaterials-aided mandibular reconstruction using in vivo bioreactors. Tatara AM, Koons GL, Watson E, Piepergerdes TC, Shah SR, Smith BT, Shum J, Melville JC, Hanna IA, Demian N, Ho T, Ratcliffe A, van den Beucken JJJP, Jansen JA, Wong ME, Mikos AG, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019 Apr 116 14 6954-6963 Drug delivery and tissue engineering to promote wound healing in the immunocompromised host: Current challenges and future directions. Tatara AM, Kontoyiannis DP, Mikos AG, Adv Drug Deliv Rev 2018 Apr 129 319-329 Synthesis and Characterization of Diol-Based Unsaturated Polyesters: Poly(diol fumarate) and Poly(diol fumarate-co-succinate). Tatara AM, Watson E, Satish T, Scott DW, Kontoyiannis DP, Engel PS, Mikos AG, Biomacromolecules 2017 Jun 18 6 1724-1735 Effects of Local Antibiotic Delivery from Porous Space Maintainers on Infection Clearance and Induction of an Osteogenic Membrane in an Infected Bone Defect. Shah SR, Smith BT, Tatara AM, Molina ER, Lee EJ, Piepergerdes TC, Uhrig BA, Guldberg RE, Bennett GN, Wenke JC, Mikos AG, Tissue Eng Part A 2017 Feb 23 3-4 91-100 Results 1-10 of 38 1 2 3 4 Next Last Books Featured Books The Infectious Diseases Consult Handbook Alexander M. Tatara (2023). Springer Nature Honors & Awards NIH NIAID Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award (K08) (2024) Harvard Medical School KL2/Catalyst Medical Research Investigator Training Awardee (2022-2024) Maxwell Finland Research Award, the Massachusetts Infectious Diseases Society (2022) Harvard University T32 (AI007061-41) Trainee (2021-2022) Society for Biomaterials Outstanding Research by a Hospital Intern Award (2019) The Musher Prize in Adult Infectious Diseases (2018) Elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society (2017) Richard R. Dickason Outstanding Physician Scientist Award (2017) Medical Mycological Society of the Americas Milton Huppert Graduate Student Award (2016) Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine Young Investigator Award (2016) Kathy Crawford Service Award (2014) Rice University Department of Biomedical Engineering Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award (2014) Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine Fellow Travel Award (2013) Professional Associations/Affiliations Dallas County Medical Society (2024) Infectious Diseases Society of America (2017) Texas Medical Association (2024)
