Lab Information

Makeda Semret (MD/MSc)

Investigator
Clinical Research Unit
Department of Medicine (McGill)

Research Profile

 Fundamental: 0%
 Clinical: 100%
 Epidemiology: 0%
 Evaluation: 0%
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Keywords

Hospital infections • infection control • molecular diagnostics • antimicrobial resistance

Research Interests

My research focuses on hospital-associated infections (HAI) in Africa and in Canada, with an emphasis on specific infection control measures that will improve quality of care and patient safety. HAI and antimicrobial resistance are a major cause of morbidity and mortality among hospitalized patients in industrialized countries. The burden of HAI and of antimicrobial resistance is largely unknown in Africa, where systematic surveillance is limited by weak laboratory infrastructure. We are systematically analyzing the characteristics of HAI in a large referral hospital in Ethiopia, in conjunction with training in infectious diseases and support of the microbiology laboratory. Additionally we are assessing the impact of laboratory diagnostics and of antimicrobial stewardship interventions on patient outcomes, antimicrobial prescriptions and antimicrobial resistance patterns in Ethiopia and in Canada.


Team Members

Name Position

Latest Publications

  1. Pott, H., Andrew, M. K., Shaffelburg, Z., Nichols, M. K., Ye, L., ElSherif, M., Hatchette, T. F., LeBlanc, J., Ambrose, A., Boivin, G., Bowie, W., Johnstone, J., Katz, K., Lagacé-Wiens, P., Loeb, M., McCarthy, A., McGeer, A., Poirier, A., Powis, J., Richardson, D., Semret, M., Smith, S., Smyth, D., Stiver, G., Trottier, S., Valiquette, L., Webster, D., McNeil, S. A., Serious Outcomes Surveillance SOS Network of the Canadian Immunization Research Network CIRN & Toronto Invasive Bacterial Diseases Network TIBDN (2023). Vaccine Effectiveness of non-adjuvanted and adjuvanted trivalent inactivated influenza vaccines in the prevention of influenza-related hospitalization in older adults: A pooled analysis from the Serious Outcomes Surveillance (SOS) Network of the Canadian Immunization Research Network (CIRN). Vaccine, vol. 41, p. 6359-6365.
  2. ElSherif, M., Andrew, M. K., Ye, L., Ambrose, A., Boivin, G., Bowie, W., David, M.-P., Gruselle, O., Halperin, S. A., Hatchette, T. F., Johnstone, J., Katz, K., Langley, J. M., Loeb, M., MacKinnon-Cameron, D., McCarthy, A., McElhaney, J. E., McGeer, A., Poirier, A., Pirçon, J.-Y., Powis, J., Richardson, D., Semret, M., Smith, S., Smyth, D., Trottier, S., Valiquette, L., Webster, D., McNeil, S. A., LeBlanc, J. J. & Serious Outcomes Surveillance (SOS) Network of the Canadian Immunization Research Network (CIRN) and the Toronto Invasive Bacterial Diseases Network (TIBDN) (2023). Leveraging Influenza Virus Surveillance From 2012 to 2015 to Characterize the Burden of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Disease in Canadian Adults ≥50 Years of Age Hospitalized With Acute Respiratory Illness. Open forum infectious diseases, vol. 10, p. ofad315.
  3. Semret, M. & Behr, M. A. (2023). Selfie-diagnosed tuberculosis. IDCases, vol. 31, p. e01718.
  4. Lau, V. I., Fowler, R., Pinto, R., Tremblay, A., Borgia, S., Carrier, F. M., Cheng, M. P., Conly, J., Costiniuk, C. T., Daley, P., Duan, E., Durand, M., Fontela, P. S., Farjou, G., Fralick, M., Geagea, A., Grant, J., Keynan, Y., Khwaja, K., Lee, N., Lee, T. C., Lim, R., O'Neil, C. R., Papenburg, J., Semret, M., Silverman, M., Sligl, W., Somayaji, R., Tan, D. H. S., Tsang, J. L. Y., Weatherald, J., Yansouni, C. P., Zarychanski, R., Murthy, S. & E-CATCO authors, AMMI Clinical Research Network and Canadian Critical Care Trials Group (2022). Cost-effectiveness of remdesivir plus usual care versus usual care alone for hospitalized patients with COVID-19: an economic evaluation as part of the Canadian Treatments for COVID-19 (CATCO) randomized clinical trial. CMAJ open, vol. 10, p. E807-E817.
  5. De l'Étoile-Morel, S., Naeem, F., Alghounaim, M., Semret, M., Yansouni, C. P., Libman, M. D. & Barkati, S. (2022). Evaluation of Strongyloides Awareness and Knowledge among Canadian Physicians Caring for Patients At Risk for Severe Strongyloidiasis: A National Cross-sectional Survey. The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene, vol. 107, p. 359-66.
  6. Lemieux, A., Lagacé, F., Billick, K., Ndao, M., Yansouni, C. P., Semret, M., Libman, M. D. & Barkati, S. (2022). Cutaneous leishmaniasis in travellers and migrants: a 10-year case series in a Canadian reference centre for tropical diseases. CMAJ open, vol. 10, p. E546-E553.
  7. LeBlanc, J. J., ElSherif, M., Ye, L., MacKinnon-Cameron, D., Ambrose, A., Hatchette, T. F., Lang, A. L. S., Gillis, H. D., Martin, I., Demczuk, W. H. B., Andrew, M. K., Boivin, G., Bowie, W., Green, K., Johnstone, J., Loeb, M., McCarthy, A. E., McGeer, A., Semret, M., Trottier, S., Valiquette, L., Webster, D. & McNeil, S. A. (2022). Recalibrated estimates of non-bacteremic and bacteremic pneumococcal community acquired pneumonia in hospitalized Canadian adults from 2010 to 2017 with addition of an extended spectrum serotype-specific urine antigen detection assay. Vaccine, vol. 40, p. 2635-2646.
  8. Ali, K., Azher, T., Baqi, M., Binnie, A., Borgia, S., Carrier, F. M., Cavayas, Y. A., Chagnon, N., Cheng, M. P., Conly, J., Costiniuk, C., Daley, P., Daneman, N., Douglas, J., Downey, C., Duan, E., Duceppe, E., Durand, M., English, S., Farjou, G., Fera, E., Fontela, P., Fowler, R., Fralick, M., Geagea, A., Grant, J., Harrison, L. B., Havey, T., Hoang, H., Kelly, L. E., Keynan, Y., Khwaja, K., Klein, G., Klein, M., Kolan, C., Kronfli, N., Lamontagne, F., Lau, R., Fralick, M., Lee, T. C., Lee, N., Lim, R., Longo, S., Lostun, A., MacIntyre, E., Malhamé, I., Mangof, K., McGuinty, M., Mergler, S., Munan, M. P., Murthy, S., O'Neil, C., Ovakim, D., Papenburg, J., Parhar, K., Parvathy, S. N., Patel, C., Perez-Patrigeon, S., Pinto, R., Rajakumaran, S., Rishu, A., Roba-Oshin, M., Rushton, M., Saleem, M., Salvadori, M., Scherr, K., Schwartz, K., Semret, M., Silverman, M., Singh, A., Sligl, W., Smith, S., Somayaji, R., Tan, D. H. S., Tobin, S., Todd, M., Tran, T.-V., Tremblay, A., Tsang, J., Turgeon, A., Vakil, E., Weatherald, J., Yansouni, C., Zarychanski, R., Canadian Treatments for COVID-19 (CATCO) & Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease Canada (AMMI) Clinical Research Network and the Canadian Critical Care Trials Group (2022). Remdesivir for the treatment of patients in hospital with COVID-19 in Canada: a randomized controlled trial. CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne, vol. 194, p. E242-E251.
  9. Gebretekle, G. B., Mariam, D. H., Mac, S., Abebe, W., Alemayehu, T., Degu, W. A., Libman, M., Yansouni, C. P., Fenta, T. G., Semret, M. & Sander, B. (2021). Cost-utility analysis of antimicrobial stewardship programme at a tertiary teaching hospital in Ethiopia. BMJ open, vol. 11, p. e047515.
  10. Semret, M., Abebe, W., Kong, L. Y., Alemayehu, T., Beyene, T., Libman, M. D., Amogne, W., Johannsen, Ø. H., Gebretekle, G. B., Seifu, D. & Yansouni, C. P. (2020). Prolonged empirical antibiotic therapy is correlated with bloodstream infections and increased mortality in a tertiary care hospital in Ethiopia: bacteriology testing matters. JAC-antimicrobial resistance, vol. 2, p. dlaa039.
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Cédric
Yansouni


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Michael
Libman


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Jesse
Papenburg


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Sapha
Barkati


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Momar
Ndao


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Matthew
Cheng


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