Dr. Bloch is originally from South Africa where he completed his medical school (University of Cape Town) and clinical training, which first spurred an interest in infectious disease. Following completion of a combined residency in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology (Tufts Medical Center), post-graduate fellowship in Transfusion Medicine (University of California San Francisco [UCSF]) and Masters in Global Health (UCSF) he continued research at Blood Systems Research Institute, while continuing to teach at UCSF in Laboratory Medicine and Global Health Sciences. He joined the faculty at Johns Hopkins University in the Department of Pathology in 2015. Dr. Bloch's major research focus is neglected and emerging infectious diseases, particularly in the context of blood transfusion safety. As one example, Dr Bloch has long been interested in babesiosis. Babesiosis is a tick-borne parasitic infection that is endemic to parts of the United States. Although infection is characterized by mild illness in immune competent adults, Babesia poses significant risk to those patients at extremes of age, the immunocompromised and the asplenic. These high-risk groups are notably overrepresented among the transfused population accounting for complicated disease and even death in transfusion-transmitted babesiosis (TTB). Despite an increase in both naturally acquired- and TTB, there are currently no effective strategies to prevent TTB, nor any FDA licensed tests for blood product screening. Babesia is also globally ubiquitous, yet lack of awareness, in part due to historically limited diagnostic tools, has impeded greater recognition of its role in human disease. Dr. Bloch has participated in studies to develop both antibody and molecular tests for detection of Babesia. The studies have also been used to understand the biology of Babesia infection as well as to conduct surveillance outside of the US. Dr. Bloch’s research has been funded through the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through SBIR and R21 grant mechanisms. Ongoing projects are funded through International Society of Blood Transfusion, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, NIAID and the Fisher Center Discovery Program. The author of 34 peer-reviewed publications, Dr. Bloch is a member of the International Society of Blood Transfusion infectious disease working party (co-chair parasite sub-group) and has consulted on policy and development of clinical transfusion guidelines. He continues to be interested in rare and neglected infections and hopes to use blood transfusion as a platform for infectious surveillance so as to guide programmatic support, particularly in low-resource settings.

Neglected Infectious diseases; transfusion transmitted infectious; Babesia; Zika