Richard D. Pearson MD, PhD

Richard D. Pearson is Harrison Distinguished Teaching Professor of Medicine and Pathology in the Departments of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health, and Pathology. In addition to his clinical responsibilities, he has published chapters and papers on clinical aspects of parasitic and other infectious diseases. He is Director of the Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program and he regularly teaches medical students, residents and fellows.
In the research arena, Dr. Pearson has collaborated with colleagues in Brazil and the United States on studies of the epidemiology, immunology, genetics, clinical manifestations and treatment of cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis.
Dr. Pearson, in collaboration with Selma M.B. Jeronimo, M.D., Ph.D., Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil, and Mary E. Wilson, M.D., University of Iowa School of Medicine, and their colleagues, has studied the immunogenetics, epidemiology and natural history of Leishmania infantum chagasi infection and visceral leishmaniasis in residents of northeastern Brazil.
Dr. Pearson has also participated in the development of novel approaches to antileishmanial chemotherapy, and he has collaborated with Dr. Anastasio Q. Sousa at the Universidade Federal do Ceara, Fortaleza, Brazil, on the treatment of L. brazilinesis infections with fluconazole. Finally, he has worked with Janine Jagger, Ph.D., and colleagues on the prevention of sharp object and needle stick injuries among medical workers.