On February 5, we announced the appointment of Paul Feuerstadt, MD; Debbie Trinker, BA, JD; and David Shlaes, PhD, MD to the Peggy Lillis Foundation board of directors. Read on for more about our new members.

Paul Feuerstadt, MD, brings with him a deep medical knowledge of C. difficile infection and other infections of the small and large bowel. Dr. Feuerstadt received his M.D. from Weill Medical College of Cornell University. From there, he completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. After completing his Internal Medicine residency, Dr. Feuerstadt joined the Montefiore Medical Center at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York where he completed his Gastroenterology fellowship. Dr. Feuerstadt began with the PACT Gastroenterology Center, a partner of Hartford Healthcare Medical Group, in 2011. His special interests include C. difficile infection and other infections of the small and large bowel, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), ischemic diseases of the gut, and other diseases of the colon and small bowel, including Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Dr. Feuerstadt is the recipient of PLF’s 2022 Leadership Award.

Previously Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Rexall Sundown, Inc. and Kemin Health, L.C, Debbie Trinker brings with her over 26 years of domestic, international legal, and regulatory experience with FDA-regulated products. These positions included transactional and IP experience and submissions to FDA, FTC, USDA, and international and state regulatory bodies on safety, claims substantiation, clinical trial data, labeling, adverse events, recalls, inspections, and Warning Letters. She has served as an officer and member of the Executive Board and Board of Directors of the Council for Responsible Nutrition. She has published and made presentations in areas of FDA-regulated products. Debbie has a B.A. from Northwestern University and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.

David Shlaes, PhD, MD, has had a 40-year career in anti-infectives, spanning academia and industry with a long-standing scientific interest in antimicrobial resistance. Dr. Shlaes trained in infectious diseases at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. He then joined the faculty and ultimately became a Professor of Medicine. Dr. Shlaes left academia to become Vice President for Infectious Diseases at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in 1996. He was a member of the Forum for Emerging Infections of the National Academy of Sciences for seven years. In 2002, Dr. Shlaes became Executive Vice President, Research and Development for Idenix, Pharmaceuticals, a company focused on the discovery and development of antivirals. In 2005, he established a consulting company. During his career, he contributed significantly to the discovery and development of tigecycline, avibactam, eravacycline and lefamulin. Dr. Shlaes is the author of three books focusing on his scientific interest and extensive research on antimicrobial resistance. Since he retired from Anti-infectives Consulting, he has authored a blog—Antibiotics the Perfect Storm—on Substack. Dr. Shlaes will bring methodical insight into antibiotic policy areas in his new board member position with us.

The new additions to our board of directors signal the beginning of another productive and impactful year of progress in C. diff education, advocacy, and legislation. We’re excited to welcome Dr. Feuerstadt, Mrs. Trinker, and Dr. Shlaes and look forward to utilizing their insights and strengths as we advance the fight against C. diff and antimicrobial resistance.