Michael Pulia, MD, PhD

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LEADERSHIP POSITIONS HELD

Director, Emergency Care for Infectious Diseases Research Program
Director, Emergency Medicine Antimicrobial Stewardship
Research Fellowship Director

EDUCATION

Undergraduate: Illinois Wesleyan University
Graduate: University of Wisconsin–Madison
Medical School: Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine
Residency: University of Illinois Medical Center – Chief Resident

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Michael Pulia FACEP FIDSA is a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Emergency at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. He is also an affiliate faculty in the Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering. Dr. Pulia’s Emergency Care for Infectious Diseases (EC-ID) health services research program focuses on improving the diagnosis, management, and prevention of infectious diseases in the emergency department and downstream care settings, with an emphasis on systems engineering guided interventions and learning health systems. His work aimed at reducing diagnostic error and improving antibiotic stewardship has been supported with funding from both intra- and extramural sources, including the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Wisconsin Partnership Program.

Dr. Pulia is a regularly invited speaker at national and international conferences, including the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, IDWeek, and the International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine. Dr. Pulia has over 80 publications, including invited editorials in high-impact journals such as Pediatrics, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, and Annals of Emergency Medicine. In 2022, Dr. Pulia was named a National Academy of Medicine/John A. Hartford Foundation Scholar in Diagnostic Excellence for his work aimed at improving diagnosis of pneumonia in older adults.

COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIPS & AFFILIATIONS

• Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Emergency Medicine/Urgent Care Antimicrobial Stewardship Committee
• Wisconsin Institute for Healthcare Systems Engineering (WIHSE) Collaborator

PRIOR EXTERNAL LEADERSHIP & COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIPS

• European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, ED Antibiotic Stewardship Guideline Workgroup
• American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) Quality and Patient Safety, ED Antibiotic Stewardship Workgroup Consultant
• Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), Respiratory Tract infection Steering Group
• Wisconsin Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs) in Long-Term Care Coalition
• UW School of Medicine and Public Health Student Research Committee
• UW Health Antimicrobial Use, Infection Control and Outpatient Antimicrobial Stewardship

SELECT HONORS, MEDIA MENTIONS, AND PRESENTATIONS

• The culmination of Dr. Pulia’s K award was published in JAMA Dermatology (“Validation of Thermal Imaging and the ALT-70 Prediction Model to Differentiate Cellulitis from Pseudocellulitis”), which elicited editorial responses in JAMA Dermatology (Li, Mostaghimi) and MedPage Today. Read more…
• Dr. Pulia was invited to present speak at the 2024 Illinois Summit on Antimicrobial Stewardship.
• Dr. Pulia received the Best Overall Presentation Award at the 32nd annual Wisconsin Emergency Medicine Research Forum (March 2024) for a study titled, “Comparative Analysis of Clinical Outcomes among COVID-19 Inpatients Managed with and without Antibiotics.”
• Dr. Pulia inducted into the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Honor Society (2024).
• Dr. Pulia was interviewed by several Midwestern news organizations during U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week (Nov. 18-24, 2023). View a full list of his media appearances.
• Dr. Pulia honored with Fellow of IDSA designation from the Infectious Disease Society of America (August 2022). Read more…
• Dr. Pulia gave an educational presentation at the American Academy of Emergency Medicine 28th Annual Scientific Assembly titled, “Cutting Edge Antibiotic Stewardship for the Emergency Department” in Baltimore, MD (Apr. 2022). This session highlighted emerging literature related to improving antibiotic stewardship in the emergency department, including critical updates around best practices in the use of antibiotics for sepsis, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, and skin infections, as well as discussion of the recent changes to the CMS SEP-1 antibiotic measure for sepsis and ongoing controversy related to this quality metric.
• Dr. Pulia was invited to give Grand Rounds lectures, titled “Human Factors Engineering to Improve Emergency Department Antibiotic Stewardship,” at the departments of emergency medicine at Loyola University and the University of California, San Diego.
• Dr. Pulia interviewed by The Lancet Infectious Diseases regarding the 2021 Surviving Sepsis Campaign update. Click here to read the editorial (Jan. 2022). The Lancet Infectious Diseases is the world-leading infectious diseases journal.

• Dr. Pulia was invited to serve as a Technical Expert Panel Member with the Michigan Hospital Medicine Safety Consortium for Project: NQF Measure Development for Over-Diagnosis of Pneumonia and UTI (Oct. 2021).
• Dr. Pulia presented an oral abstract at the 2nd World Dysphagia Summit in August 2021, “Prevalence of Dysphagia among Older Adults with Suspected Pneumonia in the Acute Care Setting.” The virtual Summit was originally intended to be held in Nagoya, Japan.
• Dr. Pulia awarded the 2021 Distinguished Service Award from the Wisconsin chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians.
• Dr. Pulia invited to give the opening plenary session at the Dysphagia Research Society’s 29th Annual Meeting, an international meeting with over 700 participants attending from more than 30 countries. The session discussed COVID epidemiology, transmission, and infection control and was voted People’s Choice for Best Presentation by attendees selecting from more than 80 invited speakers. Pulia was also invited to give an oral research presentation on the second day of the conference regarding his work on dysphagia profiles and management patterns in emergency department patients with COVID-19.

CURRENT FUNDING

Characterizing the ImPact of COVID-19 on Antibiotic PreScribing in AcutE Care and IDentifying Resilient Stewardship Strategies (POISED) 
Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Type: R01
Role: Principal Investigator

Enhancing U.S. Surveillance of Laboratory Confirmed SARS-CoV-2, Influenza, and Other Respiratory Viruses through a Network of Emergency Departments
Funding Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention / Wayne State University Department of Emergency Medicine
Role: Site Principal Investigator (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

Use of a Translational Lung on a Chip Model to Catalyze Diagnostic and Therapeutic Advances for Aspiration Pneumonia 
Funding Source: Wisconsin Partnership Program
Type: New Investigator Program Award
Role: Co-Principal Investigator

National Institutes of Health Loan Repayment Award in Clinical Research 
Source: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

MAJOR PRIOR FUNDING

Improving Diagnostic Accuracy for Older Adults with Suspected Pneumonia
Source: National Academy of Medicine Scholars in Diagnostic Excellence Program
Sponsors: National Academy of Medicine / The John A. Hartford Foundation
Role: Principal Investigator
Learn more

Utility of Thermal Imaging in Diagnosis of Cellulitis for Lower Extremity Complaints in the Emergency Department
Source: BerbeeWalsh Department of Emergency Medicine Pilot Research Grant
Role: Principal Investigator

Engineering Safe Care Journeys for Vulnerable Populations
Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Type: R18 HS26624-01
Role: Collaborator
Learn more

Improving Antibiotic Stewardship During the Treatment of Skin and Soft Tissue Infections in the Emergency Department: A Human Factors and Systems Engineering Approach
Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Type: K08 Mentored Clinical Scientist Career Development Award
Role: Principal Investigator

Redefining Community-Acquired Pneumonia in Older Adults: The Role and Impact of Aspiration
Funding Source: UW-Madison Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education
Role: Principal Investigator

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Colonization Detection as a Potential Strategy to Reduce Unnecessary Vancomycin Usage in the Emergency Department
Funding Source: UW Institute for Clinical and Translational Research Clinical Research Pilot Grant
Role: Principal Investigator

Developing an Emergency Department Research Services Program
Funding Source: UW Institute for Clinical and Translational Research Clinical Research Pilot Grant
Role: Co-Principal Investigator

Wisconsin Real-time Emergency Department COVID-19 Surveillance and Responsive Training (WIRED-RT)
Source: Wisconsin Partnership Program Strategic COVID-19 Response Grant
Role: Co-Principal Investigator

The Multicenter Registry of potential COVID-19 in emergency care (Project RECOVER)
Source: Indiana University School of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine
Role: Site Principal Investigator

Trial of Early Therapies During Non-hospitalized Outpatient Window for COVID-19 (TREATNOW)
Source: U.S. Department of Defense
Role: Site Principal Investigator