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Susan Butler-Wu, PhD, D(ABMM), SM (ASCP)

Associate Professor of Clinical Pathology

Director of Medical Microbiology, LAC+USC Medical Center

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Email butlerwu@usc.edu
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Overview

Dr. Butler-Wu is the Director of Clinical Microbiology at LAC+USC Medical Center and an Associate Professor of Clinical Pathology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC in Los Angeles, California, USA. Dr. Butler-Wu earned her PhD in Molecular Microbiology at Tufts University and completed her postdoctoral fellowship in Tuberculosis Pathogenesis at New York University (NYU). After completing a postdoctoral fellowship in Medical and Public Health Microbiology at the University of Washington in Seattle, she was the Associate Director of Clinical Microbiology at the University of Washington Medical Center until she moved to her current position. Dr. Butler-Wu’s research focuses on rapid diagnostics for infectious diseases. She is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Clinical Microbiology, and serves on working groups of both the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute and the American Society for Microbiology (ASM). She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Medical Microbiology.

Publications

  • Emergence of dalbavancin non-susceptible, vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (VISA) after treatment of MRSA central line-associated bloodstream infection with a dalbavancin- and vancomycin-containing regimenClin Microbiol Infect. 2018 Apr; 24(4):429. e1-429. e5. . View in PubMed
  • Home and Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments-Waived Testing for Infectious Diseases-How Do These Fit in the Testing Landscape? Clin Lab Med. 2024 Mar; 44(1):13-21.. View in PubMed
  • Multimodal Management of Cervical Insufficiency Complicated by Intra-amniotic Candida albicans Infection Am J Perinatol. 2023 May 16. . View in PubMed
  • Exploring the Utility of Multiplex Infectious Disease Panel Testing for Diagnosis of Infection in Different Body Sites: A Joint Report of the Association for Molecular Pathology, American Society for Microbiology, Infectious Diseases Society of America, and Pan American Society for Clinical Virology J Mol Diagn. 2023 12; 25(12):857-875. . View in PubMed
  • Comparative Evaluation of Current Biochemical-, Sequencing-, and Proteomic-Based Identification Methods for the Streptococcus bovis Group J Clin Microbiol. 2023 04 20; 61(4):e0171222. . View in PubMed
  • Multicenter evaluation of the BIOFIRE Joint Infection Panel for the detection of bacteria, yeast, and AMR genes in synovial fluid samples J Clin Microbiol. 2023 11 21; 61(11):e0035723. . View in PubMed
  • J Clin Microbiol. 2023 01 26; 61(1):e0173222. . View in PubMed
  • Rapid Antigen Assays for SARS-CoV-2: Promise and Peril Clin Lab Med. 2022 06; 42(2):203-222. . View in PubMed
  • SARS-CoV-2 cycle threshold (Ct) values predict future COVID-19 cases J Clin Virol. 2022 06; 150-151:105153. . View in PubMed
  • Prevalence and Characterization of the Cefazolin Inoculum Effect in North American Methicillin-Susceptible Staphylococcus aureus Isolates J Clin Microbiol. 2022 07 20; 60(7):e0249521. . View in PubMed
  • Impact of COVID-19 on diagnosis and testing for TB in a high-resource, low-burden setting Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. 2022 09 01; 26(9):888-890. . View in PubMed
  • Fosfomycin vs Ertapenem for Outpatient Treatment of Complicated Urinary Tract Infections: A Multicenter, Retrospective Cohort Study Open Forum Infect Dis. 2022 Jan; 9(1):ofab620. . View in PubMed
  • Treatment and Epidemiology of Third-Generation Cephalosporin-Resistant Urinary Tract Infections Pediatrics. 2022 07 01; 150(1). . View in PubMed
  • Photo Quiz: Color Me Twice J Clin Microbiol. 2022 02 16; 60(2):e0080521. . View in PubMed
  • New Perspectives on Antimicrobial Agents: Long-Acting Lipoglycopeptides Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2022 06 21; 66(6):e0261420. . View in PubMed
  • Answer to February 2022 Photo Quiz J Clin Microbiol. 2022 02 16; 60(2):e0080621. . View in PubMed
  • Reducing Catheter-associated Urinary Tract Infections via Cost-saving Diagnostic Stewardship Clin Infect Dis. 2021 06 01; 72(11):e883-e886. . View in PubMed
  • At-Home Testing for Infectious Diseases: The Laboratory Where You Live Clin Chem. 2021 12 30; 68(1):19-26. . View in PubMed
  • Multicenter Evaluation of the Cepheid Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2/Flu/RSV Test J Clin Microbiol. 2021 02 18; 59(3). . View in PubMed
  • Is the Patient Infected with SARS-CoV-2? J Clin Microbiol. 2021 03 19; 59(4).. View in PubMed
  • Evaluation of the Biofire FilmArray meningitis/encephalitis assay for the detection of Cryptococcus neoformans/gattii Clin Microbiol Infect. 2020 Oct; 26(10):1375-1379. . View in PubMed
  • Multicenter Evaluation of the Cepheid Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2 Test J Clin Microbiol. 2020 Jul 23; 58(8). . View in PubMed
  • Understanding, Verifying, and Implementing Emergency Use Authorization Molecular Diagnostics for the Detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA J Clin Microbiol. 2020 Jul 23; 58(8). . View in PubMed
  • Community Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Among Patients With Influenzalike Illnesses Presenting to a Los Angeles Medical Center in March 2020 JAMA. 2020 May 19; 323(19):1966-1967. . View in PubMed
  • J Clin Virol. 2020 12; 133:104683. . View in PubMed
  • When Should Asymptomatic Persons Be Tested for COVID-19? J Clin Microbiol. 2020 12 17; 59(1).. View in PubMed
  • Clinical Significance of Low Serum Cryptococcal Antigen Titers by Lateral Flow Assay in Immunocompromised Patients: a Retrospective Case-Control Study J Clin Microbiol. 2020 01 28; 58(2). . View in PubMed
  • Under-allocation: Critical Supply Chain Hurdles Negatively Impact the Ability of Community Hospitals To Perform Repeat SARS-CoV-2 Testing J Clin Microbiol. 2020 08 24; 58(9). . View in PubMed
  • Application, Verification, and Implementation of SARS-CoV-2 Serologic Assays with Emergency Use Authorization J Clin Microbiol. 2020 12 17; 59(1). . View in PubMed
  • Reply to Chu et al, “Adoption of the New CLSI Fluoroquinolone Breakpoints for Enterobacteriaceae”. J Clin Microbiol. 2019 11; 57(11). . View in PubMed
  • Don’t Get Wound Up: Revised Fluoroquinolone Breakpoints for Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa J Clin Microbiol. 2019 07; 57(7). . View in PubMed
  • The Brief Case: Pneumonia Caused by Talaromyces marneffei J Clin Microbiol. 2019 05; 57(5). . View in PubMed
  • Closing the Brief Case: Pneumonia Caused by Talaromyces marneffei J Clin Microbiol. 2019 05; 57(5). . View in PubMed
  • Public Health Efforts Can Impact Adoption of Current Susceptibility Breakpoints, but Closer Attention from Regulatory Bodies Is Needed J Clin Microbiol. 2019 03; 57(3). . View in PubMed
  • Diagnosis and Management of Sepsis and Blood Stream Infections J Appl Lab Med. 2019 01; 3(4):525-526. . View in PubMed
  • Breaking Down Barriers in Laboratory Medicine J Appl Lab Med. 2019 01; 3(4):735-736. . View in PubMed
  • Multicenter Study Demonstrates Standardization Requirements for Mold Identification by MALDI-TOF MS Front Microbiol. 2019; 10:2098. . View in PubMed
  • Rapid and Extensive Expansion in the United States of a New Multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli Clonal Group, Sequence Type 1193 Clin Infect Dis. 2019 01 07; 68(2):334-337. . View in PubMed
  • Reducing Clostridium difficile Colitis Rates Via Cost-Saving Diagnostic Stewardship Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2018 06; 39(6):734-736. . View in PubMed
  • Evaluation of the Vitek MS v30 Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry System for Identification of Mycobacterium and Nocardia Species. J Clin Microbiol. 2018 06; 56(6). . View in PubMed
  • A Real Pain: Diagnostic Quandaries and Septic Arthritis J Clin Microbiol. 2018 02; 56(2). . View in PubMed
  • Legionnaires’ disease in transplant recipients: A 15-year retrospective study in a tertiary referral center Transpl Infect Dis. 2017 Oct; 19(5). . View in PubMed
  • Correction: A Year of Infection in the Intensive Care Unit: Prospective Whole Genome Sequencing of Bacterial Clinical Isolates Reveals Cryptic Transmissions and Novel Microbiota PLoS Genet. 2017 Apr; 13(4):e1006724. . View in PubMed
  • J Clin Microbiol. 2017 08; 55(8):2309-2312. . View in PubMed
  • Closing the Brief Case: Bacteremia Caused by Helicobacter cinaedi J Clin Microbiol. 2017 01; 55(1):347-348. . View in PubMed
  • The Brief Case: Bacteremia Caused by Helicobacter cinaedi J Clin Microbiol. 2017 01; 55(1):5-9. . View in PubMed
  • Facklamia Species as an Underrecognized Pathogen Open Forum Infect Dis. 2017; 4(1):ofw272. . View in PubMed
  • Identification of mycobacterium sppand nocardia spp. from solid and liquid cultures by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis. 2016 Nov; 86(3):277-283. . View in PubMed
  • Rapid Detection of Vancomycin-Intermediate Staphylococcus aureus by Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry J Clin Microbiol. 2016 Apr; 54(4):883-90. . View in PubMed
  • Emergence of High-Level Daptomycin Resistance in Corynebacterium striatum in Two Patients with Left Ventricular Assist Device Infections Microb Drug Resist. 2016 Apr; 22(3):233-7. . View in PubMed
  • Rhodococcus fascians infection after haematopoietic cell transplantation: not just a plant pathogen? JMM Case Rep. 2016 Mar; 3(2):e005025.. View in PubMed
  • The Devil is in the Details: Impact of Penicillin Susceptibility Reporting on the Treatment of Streptococcal Infective Endocarditis Clin Infect Dis. 2016 Jan 15; 62(2):264-5. . View in PubMed
  • Multidrug-Resistant Corynebacterium striatum Associated with Increased Use of Parenteral Antimicrobial Drugs Emerg Infect Dis. 2016 11; 22(11). . View in PubMed
  • Emerging and Future Applications of Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time-of-Flight (MALDI-TOF) Mass Spectrometry in the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory: A Report of the Association for Molecular Pathology J Mol Diagn. 2016 11; 18(6):789-802. . View in PubMed
  • In Reply Clin Chem. 2016 09; 62(9):1277. . View in PubMed
  • Bloodborne Viral Pathogen Contamination in the Era of Laboratory Automation Clin Chem. 2016 07; 62(7):973-81. . View in PubMed
  • Identification of Gram-Negative Bacteria and Genetic Resistance Determinants from Positive Blood Culture Broths by Use of the Verigene Gram-Negative Blood Culture Multiplex Microarray-Based Molecular Assay J Clin Microbiol. 2015 Aug; 53(8):2460-72. . View in PubMed
  • A Year of Infection in the Intensive Care Unit: Prospective Whole Genome Sequencing of Bacterial Clinical Isolates Reveals Cryptic Transmissions and Novel Microbiota PLoS Genet. 2015 Jul; 11(7):e1005413. . View in PubMed
  • Propionibacterium can be isolated from deep cultures obtained at primary arthroplasty despite intravenous antimicrobial prophylaxis J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2015 Jun; 24(6):844-7. . View in PubMed
  • Incidence rate of fluoroquinolone-resistant gram-negative rod bacteremia among allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation patients during an era of levofloxacin prophylaxis Biol Blood Marrow Transplant. 2015 Mar; 21(3):539-45. . View in PubMed
  • Characterization of a multidrug-resistant, novel Bacteroides genomospecies Emerg Infect Dis. 2015 Jan; 21(1):95-8. . View in PubMed
  • Large-scale genomic sequencing of extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli strains Genome Res. 2015 Jan; 25(1):119-28. . View in PubMed
  • Substantial cultures of Propionibacterium can be found in apparently aseptic shoulders revised three years or more after the index arthroplasty J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2015 Jan; 24(1):31-5. . View in PubMed
  • Evaluating risk factors for Clostridium difficile infection in adult and pediatric hematopoietic cell transplant recipients Antimicrob Resist Infect Control. 2015; 4:41. . View in PubMed
  • Bacterial foodborne infections after hematopoietic cell transplantation Biol Blood Marrow Transplant. 2014 Nov; 20(11):1856-61. . View in PubMed
  • An international, prospective, multicenter evaluation of the combination of AdvanDx Staphylococcus QuickFISH BC with mecA XpressFISH for detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates from positive blood cultures J Clin Microbiol. 2014 Nov; 52(11):3928-32. . View in PubMed
  • Propionibacterium persists in the skin despite standard surgical preparation J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2014 Sep 03; 96(17):1447-50. . View in PubMed
  • Comparison of the Verigene Clostridium difficile, Simplexa Cdifficile Universal Direct, BD MAX Cdiff, and Xpert C. difficile assays for the detection of toxigenic C. difficile. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis. 2014 Sep; 80(1):13-8. . View in PubMed
  • Accidental exposure to Burkholderia pseudomallei in the laboratory in the era of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry J Clin Microbiol. 2014 Sep; 52(9):3490-1. . View in PubMed
  • Whole-genome sequencing for high-resolution investigation of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus epidemiology and genome plasticity J Clin Microbiol. 2014 Aug; 52(8):2787-96. . View in PubMed
  • Evaluation of three rapid diagnostic methods for direct identification of microorganisms in positive blood cultures J Clin Microbiol. 2014 Jul; 52(7):2521-9. . View in PubMed
  • Coinfection of Fusobacterium nucleatum and Actinomyces israelii in mastoiditis diagnosed by next-generation DNA sequencing J Clin Microbiol. 2014 May; 52(5):1789-92. . View in PubMed
  • The copper-responsive RicR regulon contributes to Mycobacterium tuberculosis virulence mBio. 2014 Feb 18; 5(1). . View in PubMed
  • Comparison of the Bruker Biotyper and Vitek MS matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry systems for identification of mycobacteria using simplified protein extraction protocols J Clin Microbiol. 2014 Jan; 52(1):130-8. . View in PubMed
  • Origin of propionibacterium in surgical wounds and evidence-based approach for culturing propionibacterium from surgical sites J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2013 Dec 04; 95(23):e1811-7. . View in PubMed
  • Predictive diagnostics for Escherichia coli infections based on the clonal association of antimicrobial resistance and clinical outcome J Clin Microbiol. 2013 Sep; 51(9):2991-9. . View in PubMed
  • Maldi-tof mass spectrometry for microorganism identification Clin Lab Med. 2013 Sep; 33(3):589-609. . View in PubMed
  • Rapid detection of human cytomegalovirus UL97 and UL54 mutations directly from patient samples J Clin Microbiol. 2013 Jul; 51(7):2354-9. . View in PubMed
  • Abrupt emergence of a single dominant multidrug-resistant strain of Escherichia coli J Infect Dis. 2013 Mar 15; 207(6):919-28. . View in PubMed
  • Reply to “Anaerobic thioglycolate broth culture for recovery of propionibacterium acnes from shoulder tissue and fluid specimens” J Clin Microbiol. 2013 Feb; 51(2):733. . View in PubMed
  • Prognostic factors for bacterial cultures positive for Propionibacterium acnes and other organisms in a large series of revision shoulder arthroplasties performed for stiffness, pain, or loosening J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2012 Nov 21; 94(22):2075-83. . View in PubMed
  • Mlp24 (McpX) of Vibrio cholerae implicated in pathogenicity functions as a chemoreceptor for multiple amino acids Infect Immun. 2012 Sep; 80(9):3170-8. . View in PubMed
  • High-resolution two-locus clonal typing of extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli Appl Environ Microbiol. 2012 Mar; 78(5):1353-60. . View in PubMed
  • Optimization of periprosthetic culture for diagnosis of Propionibacterium acnes prosthetic joint infection J Clin Microbiol. 2011 Jul; 49(7):2490-5. . View in PubMed
  • Genome sequence of a novel species, Propionibacterium humerusii J Bacteriol. 2011 Jul; 193(14):3678. . View in PubMed
  • A novel copper-responsive regulon in Mycobacterium tuberculosis Mol Microbiol. 2011 Jan; 79(1):133-48. . View in PubMed
  • Identification of substrates of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis proteasome EMBO J. 2006 Nov 15; 25(22):5423-32. . View in PubMed

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