Faculty with Emeritus Status      Back to Main

Faculty Detail    
Name DAVID O. FREEDMAN
MD		  
Campus Address BBRB 201 Zip 2170
Phone  (205) 934-1632
E-mail  dfreedman@uabmc.edu
Other websites Gorgas Course in Clinical Tropical Medicine
UAB Travelers Health Clinic
Textbook of Travel Medicine
WHO Zika Emergency Committee
Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal, Associate Editor
Associate Editor, Sanford Guide
     

Education
Undergraduate  McGill University    1977  BSc First Class Honours in Physiology 
Medical School  University of Toronto    1981  MD 
Residency  McGill University    1984  Internal Medicine 
Fellowship  LPD/NIAID/NIH    1989  Infectious Diseaes, Immunoparasitology 

Certifications
ABIM--Board Certification in Internal Medicine  1984 
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada--Internal Medicine  1984 
ABIM--Board Certifiication in Infectious Diseases  1986 
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada--Infectious Diseases  1986 
American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene-CTropMed  1996 


Faculty Appointment(s)
Appointment Type Department Division Rank
Primary  Med - Infectious Diseases  Med - Infectious Diseases Professor Emeritus

Biographical Sketch 
BSc, First Class Honors in Physiology, McGill, 1977. MD Toronto, 1981. Fellowship in immunoparasitology NIH 1985-9. Certified in Infectious Diseases by ABIM and the Royal College of Physicians of Canada. UAB Division of Geographic Medicine 1989-2006; Division of Infectious Diseases 2006-present. Professor of Epidemiology, UAB School of Public Health 1989-2016. Founder UAB Travelers Health Clinic 1989-. Member VA Merit Review Infectious Diseases Study Section, 1997-2000. Chair Advisory Panel on Parasitic Diseases of the US Pharmacopeia 1995-2000. Funded research projects have been completed in India, Guatemala, Ghana, Brazil, and Peru in addition to the 23 countries where GeoSentinel sites are established. Editor Textbook of Travel Medicine, Associate Editor Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal. President Gorgas Memorial Institute of Tropical and Preventive Medicine, Inc. 2005-2016. Medical Director overseeing all medical content for Shoreland Travax 1997-present

Society Memberships
Organization Name Position Held Org Link
American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene  President, Clinical Sub-Group 2003-5  http://www.astmh.org 
Infectious Diseases Society of America  Fellow, Member Scientific Program Committee 2002-5  http://www.idsociety.org 
International Society of Travel Medicine  Fellow, Secretary-Treasurer 2005-13  http://www.istm.org 
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow  Fellow, Faculty of Travel Medicine   
The Gorgas Course in Clinical Tropical Medicine  Director, 1995-2016  http://gorgas.dom.uab.edu/ 
World Health Organization IHR Emergency Committee on Zika  Member 2016  http://www.who.int/ihr/procedures/zika-ec-members/en/ 
World Health Organization--International Health Regulations (IHR)  Roster of Experts, Expert in Travel Medicine 2009-Present  http://www.who.int/ihr/en/ 
 



Research/Clinical Interest
Title
Clinical Tropical Medicine and Travelers Health; BioSurveillance
Description
Development of global provider-based surveillance networks for characterization of infectious disease morbidity in travelers and migrants using innovative electronic communications modalities. 2) Development of novel techniques for the clinical teaching of tropical medicine to graduate physicians from industrialized countries, on-site in the tropics while maintaining all traditional accreditation standards. Director of the Gorgas Courses in Clinical Tropical in Lima, Peru Development of novel strategies to track global trends in disease and occupational health risk among employees of multinational corporations.

Selected Publications 
Publication PUBMEDID
Freedman DO, Chen LH, Kozarsky PE. Medical Considerations before International Travel. N Engl J Med. 2016;375:247-60.   27468061 
Heymann DL, Hodgson A, Sall AA, Freedman DO, Staples JE, Althabe F, Baruah K, Mahmud G, Kandun N, Vasconcelos PF, Bino S, Menon KU. Zika virus and microcephaly: why is this situation a PHEIC? Lancet. 2016 Feb 20;387(10020):719-21.   26876373 
Musso D, Baud D, Freedman DO. Should testing of donors be restricted to active Zika virus areas? Lancet Infect Dis. 2016;16:1108-9.
 		 27676343 
Freedman DO. Re-born in the USA: Another cholera vaccine for travellers. Travel Med Infect Dis. 2016;14:295-6.  27473362 
Boggild AK, Geduld J, Libman M, Yansouni CP, McCarthy AE, Hajek J, Ghesquiere W, Vincelette J, Kuhn S, Plourde PJ, Freedman DO, Kain KC. Illness in Canadian travellers and migrants from Brazil: CanTravNet surveillance data, 2013-2016. Can Comm Dis Rep 2016;42:153-7.   
Boggild AK, Geduld J, Libman M, Yansouni CP, McCarthy AE, Hajek J, Ghesquiere W, Vincelette J, Kuhn S, Freedman DO, Kain KC. Malaria in travellers returning or migrating to Canada: surveillance report from CanTravNet surveillance data, 2004-2014. CMAJ Open. 2016; 4: E352-58.  27730099 
Stevens MS, Geduld J, Libman M, Ward BJ, McCarthy AE, Vincelette J, Ghesquiere W, Hajek J, Kuhn S, Freedman DO, Kain KC, Boggild AK. Dermatoses among returned Canadian travellers and immigrants: surveillance report based on CanTravNet data, 2009-2012. CMAJ Open. 2015;3:E119-26.   25844364 
Freedman DO. Imminent Departures: Rapid Vaccination Strategies Designed to Induce Short-Term Immunogenicity for the Trip at Hand. J Travel Med. 2015;22:219-20.  26146818 
Leder K, Torresi J, Libman M, Cramer JP, Castelli F, Schlagenhauf P, Wilson M, Keystone JS, Wilder-Smith A, Schwartz E, Barnett E, vonSonnenburg F, Brownstein JS, Cheng AC, Sotir M, Esposito D, Freedman DO, GeoSentinel surveillance of illness in returned travelers 2007-2011. Ann Intern Med 2013;156:456-68.  23552375 
Harvey K, Esposito DH, Han P, Kozarsky P, Freedman DO, Plier DA, Sotir MJ. Surveillance for travel-related disease--GeoSentinel Surveillance System, United States, 1997-2011. MMWR Surveill Summ. 2013 Jul 19;62:1-23.  23863769  
Freedman DO, Chen LH. Vaccines for International Travel. Mayo Clin Proc. 2019;94:2314-2339. doi: 10.1016/j.mayocp.2019.02.025  31685156 
Leder K, Torresi J, Brownstein JS, Wilson ME, Keystone JS, Barnett E, Schwartz E, Schlagenhauf P, Wilder-Smith A, Castelli F, von Sonnenburg F, Freedman DO, Cheng AC. Travel-associated illness trends and clusters, 2000-2010; GeoSentinel Surveillance Network. Emerg Infect Dis. 2013; 19:1049-73.  23763775 
Freedman DO, Chen LH. Vaccines for International Travel. Mayo Clin Proc. 2019;94:2314-2339. doi: 10.1016/j.mayocp.2019.02.025  31685156 
Boggild AK, Geduld J, Libman M, Ward BJ, McCarthy A, Doyle PW, Ghesquiere W, Vincelette J, Kuhn S, Freedman DO, Kain KC. Travel-acquired infections and illnesses in Canadians: surveillance report from CanTravNet surveillance data, 2009–2011 Open Medicine 2014;7(1)e21  25009682 
  31685156 
Boggild AK, McCarthy AE, Libman MD, Freedman DO, Kain KC. Underestimate of annual malaria imports to Canada.Lancet Infect Dis. 2017 Feb;17(2):141-142.

 		 28134112 
Davis XM, Hay KA, Plier DA, Chaves SS, Lim PL, Caumes E, Castelli F, Kozarsky PE, Cetron MS, Freedman DO; GeoSentinel Surveillance Network. International travelers as sentinels for sustained influenza transmission during the 2009 influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 pandemic. J Travel Med. 2013 May-Jun;20:177-84.  23577864 
Boggild AK, McCarthy AE, Libman MD, Freedman DO, Kain KC. Underestimate of annual malaria imports to Canada.Lancet Infect Dis. 2017 Feb;17(2):141-142.

 		 28134112 
Jensenius M, Han P, Schlagenhauf P, Schwartz E, Parola P, Castelli F, von Sonnenburg F, Loutan L, Leder K, Freedman DO. Acute and potentially life-threatening tropical diseases in Western travelers: a GeoSentinel multi-center study, 1996-2011. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2013;88:397-404.   
von Sonnenburg F, Cramer JP, Freedman DO, Plier DA, Esposito DH, Sotir MJ, Lankau EW. Notes from the field: acute muscular sarcocystosis among returning travelers - Tioman Island, Malaysia, 2011. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2012;61:37-8.    
Flores J, Okhuysen PC, von Sonnenburg F, DuPont HL, Libman MD, Keystone JS, Hale DC, Burchard G, Han PV, Wilder-Smith A, and Freedman DO for the GeoSentinel Surveillance Network. Patterns of Illness in Travelers Visiting Mexico and Central America: the GeoSentinel Experience. Clin Infect Dis. 2011;53:523-31.   
Mendelson M, Davis XM, Jensenius M, Keystone JS, von Sonnenburg F, Hale DC, Burchard GD, Field V, Vincent P, Freedman DO. Health risks in travelers to South Africa: The GeoSentinel experience and implications for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2010; 82: 991-5.   
Gautret P and Freedman DO. Travel medicine, a specialty on the move. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2010;16: 201-2   
Schlagenhauf P, Chen LH, Wilson ME, Freedman DO, Tcheng D, Schwartz E, Pandey P, Weber R, Nadal D, Berger C, von Sonnenburg F, Keystone J, Leder K. Sex and Gender Differences in Travel-Associated Disease. Clin Infect Dis. 2010;50: 826-832.   
Arguin PM, Marano N, Freedman DO. Globally mobile populations and the spread of emerging pathogens [editorial]. Emerg Infect Dis 2009; 15:1713-14.   
Gautret P, Clerinx J, Caumes E, Simon F, Jensenius M, Loutan L, Schlagenhauf P, Castelli F, Freedman D et al. Imported Human African Trypanosomiasis in Europe, 2005-2009. Eurosurveillance 2009; 14:1-6.    
Freedman DO. Protection of Travelers (Ch. 329) and Infections in Returning Travelers (Ch. 330). IN: Mandell GL, Bennett JE, Dolin R. Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 7th Edition. Elsevier. 2009. Pp 4009-17.   
Burchard GD, Caumes E, Connor BA, Freedman DO, et al. Expert Opinion on Vaccination of Travelers Against Japanese Encephalitis. J Travel Med 2009; 16: 204-16.   
Freedman DO. Clinical practice. Malaria prevention in short-term travelers. N Engl J Med. 2008;359:603-12 .   18687641 
Schwartz E, Weld L, Wilder-Smith A, von Sonnenburg F, Keystone JS, Kain KC, Torresi J, and Freedman DO for the GeoSentinel Surveillance Network. Seasonality, Annual Trends, and Characteristics of Dengue in Ill Returned Travelers. Emerg Infect Dis 2008;14: 1081-88   
Strikas RA, Kozarsky PE, Reed C, Kapella BK, Freedman DO. Should Healthcare Providers in the United States have Access to Influenza Vaccines Formulated for the Southern Hemisphere. J Travel Med 2008;15: 449-53.   
Nicolls DJ, Weld LH, Schwartz E, Reed C, Sonnenburg F, Freedman DO, Kozarsky PE. Characteristics of Schistosomiasis in Travelers Reported to the GeoSentinel Surveillance Network 1997-2008. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2008; 79:729-34.   
Davis XM, MacDonald S, Borwein S, Freedman DO, Kozarsky PE, von Sonnenburg F, Keystone JS, Lim PL, Marano N. Health Risks in Travelers to China: The GeoSentinel Experience and Implications for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2008; 79:12-17    
Freedman DO, Weld LH, Kozarsky P, Fisk T, Robins R, Pandey P, von Sonnenburg F, Keystone J, and Cetron MS for the GeoSentinel Surveillance Network. Spectrum of Disease and Relation to Place of Exposure Among Ill Returned Travelers. N Engl J Med 2006; 254:119-30.   16407507 
Hill DR, Ericsson CD, Pearson RD, Keystone JS, Freedman DO, et al. The Practice of Travel Medicine: Guidelines by the Infectious Diseases Society of America, Clin Infect Dis 2006; 43:1499-1539.   
Freedman DO and Leder K. Influenza: Changing Approaches to Prevention and Treatment in Travelers. J Travel Med 2005; 12:36-44.    
Freedman DO and Woodall J. Emerging infectious diseases and risk to the traveler. Med Clin NA 1999;83:865-83.   
Freedman DO, Plier DA, de Almeida AB, Braga C, Maia e Silva MC, Miranda J, Tang J, and Furtado A. Biased T-cell antigen receptor repertoire in infiltrating lesional T-cells in human bancroftian filariasis. J Immunol 1999;162:1756-64.   
deAlmeida AB, Maia e Silva MC, Braga C, and Freedman DO. Differences in the frequency of cytokine producing cells in antigenemic and non-antigenemic indviduals with bancroftian filariasis. Infect Immun 1998;66:1377-83.   
Freedman DO, de Almeida A, Miranda J, Plier DA and Braga C. Field trial of a rapid card test for Wuchereria bancrofti. Lancet 1997;350:1681.   
Plier DA, Awadzi K, and Freedman DO. Immunoregulation in onchocerciasis: persons with ocular inflammatory disease produce a TH2 like response to Onchocerca volvulus antigen. J Infect Dis 1996;174:380-6.   
de Almeida A, Maia e Silva MC, Maciel MA, and Freedman DO. The presence or absence of active infection and not clinical status is most closely associated with cytokine responses in lymphatic filariasis. J Infect Dis 1996;173:1453-9.   
Freedman DO, Parker-Cook S, Maia e Silva C, Braga C, and Maciel A. The VLA-4/VCAM-1 pathway is involved in the trans-endothelial migration of lymphocytes in bancroftian filariasis. J Immunol 1996;156:2901-8.   
Freedman DO, Almeida PJ, Besh S, Silva MC, Braga C, Maciel MA, and Furtado AF. Abnormal lymphatic function in pre-symptomatic bancroftian filariasis. J Infect Dis 1995;171:997-1001.   
Freedman DO, Almeida PJ, Besh S, Silva MC, Braga C, and Maciel A. Lymphoscintigraphic analysis of lymphatic abnormalities in symptomatic and asymptomatic human filariasis. J Infect Dis 1994;170:927-33.   
Freedman DO, Lujan A, Steel C, Gonzales-Peralta C, and Nutman TB. Immunoregulation in onchocerciasis: functional and phenotypic abnormalities of lymphocyte subsets and changes with therapy. J Clin Invest 1991;88:231-8.   
Freedman DO, Nutman TB, and Ottesen EA. Protective immunity in bancroftian filariasis: selective recognition of a 43KD larval stage antigen by infection-free individuals in an endemic area. J Clin Invest 1989;83:14-22.