John Schieffelin, MD
Assoc. Professor of Pediatrics, Adjunct Assoc. Professor of Medicine
Areas of Expertise
Biography
Dr. Schieffelin received his medical degree from Tulane University School of Medicine in 2001. He continued his training (2001-2005) in a combined Internal Medicine and Pediatrics Residency at Tulane University. Dr. Schieffelin went on to complete a combined fellowship training program in Adult and Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans and Tulane University (2005-2009). In 2009, Dr. Schieffelin joined the Tulane University School of Medicine faculty in the Departments of Medicine & Pediatrics and is currently an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine.
Dr. Schieffelin devotes a significant amount of time to the laboratory. His research focuses on the natural history, clinical care and immunology of viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs). Currently he is involved in both basic science and clinical research on Flaviviruses, such as dengue and Zika, as well as Lassa fever virus and Ebola virus. His laboratory studies how antibody-virus interactions can have both protective and pathogenic effects. He is also involved in several clinical, translations and epidemiological studies of SARS-CoV-2.
As a faculty member, he has been Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator on several NIH-funded grants and contract investigating Lassa fever. This research has laid the groundwork for the proposed work by developing necessary clinical and laboratory infrastructure and data collection tools. In addition, it established strong ties with the staff of the Sierra Leone National Lassa Fever Program. He has successfully administered the projects (e.g. staffing, human subjects protections, budget), collaborated with a diversity of other stakeholders, and produced several peer-reviewed publication and several more in preparation. During the Ebola Outbreak, he served as a consultant to the WHO Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network in Sierra Leone participaing in both clinical care and local staff training. He continues to follow a cohort of Lassa Fever and Ebola Virus Disease survivors and their household contacts in Sierra Leone. The long-term goal of his research program is to develop and test new supportive care and therapeutic strategies for VHFs.
Contributions
Schieffelin JS, Costin JM, Nicholson O, Orgeron NM, Fontaine KA, Isern S, Michael SF, Robinson JE. Neutralizing and non-neutralizing monoclonal antibodies against dengue virus E protein derived from a naturally infected patient. Virol J. 2010 Feb 4;7(1):28. PMID: 20132551
Costin JM, Zaitseva E, Kahle KM, Nicholson CO, Rowe DK, Graham AS, Bazzone LE, Hogancamp G, Sierra MF, Fong RH, Yang ST, Lin L, Robinson JE, Doranz BJ, Chernomordik LV, Michael SF, Schieffelin JS, Isern S. Mechanistic study of broadly neutralizing human monoclonal antibodies against dengue virus that target the fusion loop. J Virol. 2013 Jan;87(1):52. PMID 23077306
Shaffer JG, Grant DS, Schieffelin JS, Boisen ML, Goba A, Hartnett JN, Levy DC, Yenni RE, Moses LM, Fullah M, Momoh M, Fonnie M, Fonnie R, Kanneh L, Koroma VJ, Kargbo K, Ottomassathien D, Muncy IJ, Jones AB, Illick MM, Kulakosky PC, Haislip AM, Bishop CM, Elliot DH, Brown BL, Zhu H, Hastie KM, Andersen KG, Gire SK, Tabrizi S, Tariyal R, Stremlau M, Matschiner A, Sampey DB, Spence JS, Cross RW, Geisbert JB, Folarin OA, Happi CT, Pitts KR, Geske FJ, Geisbert TW, Saphire EO, Robinson JE, Wilson RB, Sabeti PC, Henderson LA, Khan SH, Bausch DG, Branco LM, Garry RF. Lassa Fever in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone. PLOS NTD. 2014; 8(3):e2748. PMID 24651047
Fowler RA, Fletcher T, Fischer Ii WA, Lamontagne F, Jacob S, Brett-Major D, Lawler JV, Jacquerioz FA, Houlihan C, O'Dempsey T, Ferri M, Adachi T, Lamah MC, Bah EI, Mayet T, Schieffelin J, McLellan SL, Senga M, Kato Y, Clement C, Mardel S, Vallenas Bejar De Villar RC, Shindo N, Bausch D. Caring for Critically Ill Patients with Ebola Virus Disease: Perspectives from West Africa. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2014 Aug 28. PMID: 25166884
Schieffelin JS, Shaffer JG, Goba A, Gbakie M, Gire SK, Colubri A, Sealfon RS, Kanneh L, Moigboi A, Momoh M, Fullah M, Moses LM, Brown BL, Andersen KG, Winnicki S, Schaffner SF, Park DJ, Yozwiak NL, Jiang PP, Kargbo D, Jalloh S, Fonnie M, Sinnah V, French I, Kovoma A, Kamara FK, Tucker V, Konuwa E, Sellu J, Mustapha I, Foday M, Yillah M, Kanneh F, Saffa S, Massally JL, Boisen ML, Branco LM, Vandi MA, Grant DS, Happi C, Gevao SM, Fletcher TE, Fowler RA, Bausch DG, Sabeti PC, Khan SH, Garry RF; the KGH Lassa Fever Program, the Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Consortium, and the WHO Clinical Response Team. Clinical Illness and Outcomes in Patients with Ebola in Sierra Leone. N Engl J Med. 2014 Oct29. PMID 25353969
Brett-Major DM, Jacob ST, Jacquerioz FA, Risi GF, Fischer WA 2nd, Kato Y, Houlihan CF, Crozier I, Bosa HK, Lawler JV, Adachi T, Hurley SK, Berry LE, Carlson JC, Button TC, McLellan SL, Shea BJ, Kuniyoshi GG, Ferri M, Murthy SG, Petrosillo N, Lamontagne F, Porembka DT, Schieffelin JS, Rubinson L, O'Dempsey T, Donovan SM, Bausch DG, Fowler RA, Fletcher TE. Being ready to treat ebola virus disease patients. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2015;92(2):233-7. PMID: 25510724
Boisen ML, Schieffelin JS, Goba A, Oottamasathien D, Jones AB, Shaffer JG, Hastie KM, Hartnett JN, Momoh M, Fullah M, Gabiki M, Safa S, Zandonatti M, Fusco M, Bornholdt Z, Abelson D, Gire SK, Andersen KG, Tariyal R, Stremlau M, Cross RW, Geisbert JB, Pitts KR, Geisbert TW, Kulakoski P, Wilson RB, Henderson L, Sabeti PC, Grant DS, Garry RF, Saphire EO, Branco LM, Khan SH. Multiple circulating infections can mimic the early stages of viral hemorrhagic fevers and possible human exposure to filoviruses in sierra leone prior to the 2014 outbreak. Viral Immunol. 2015;28(1):19-31. PMID: 25531344
His primary clinical interests include infections in transplant recipients and tuberculosis.
