Alexander Tatara, M.D., Ph.D.

Internal Medicine - Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine
Bone and Joint Infections
Medical Implant Infections

Biography

Alexander Tatara, M.D., Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center. He specializes in infectious diseases, bone and joint infections, and medical implant infections.

Dr. Tatara earned his doctoral degree in bioengineering at Rice University and his medical degree at Baylor College of Medicine. He completed a residency in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, during which he served as a Stanbury Physician Scientist Resident. Dr. Tatara gained advanced training through a fellowship in infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He also completed postdoctoral fellowship training at the Harvard University Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in infectious diseases, he joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2024.

Dr. Tatara is a member of the Society for Biomaterials and the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society, and he is an ad hoc peer reviewer for Open Forum Infectious Diseases.

In addition to his clinical role, Dr. Tatara is also an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at UT Southwestern. His research interests include the design of new biomaterials, tissue engineering strategies, mechanisms of pathogen virulence, and immunoengineering to prevent and treat infection. His work has resulted in 41 peer-reviewed publications, five book chapters, and one patent. He is also the author of the clinical textbook The Infectious Diseases Consult Handbook.

Dr. Tatara has been recognized with numerous national and international awards, including the 2022 Maxwell Finland Research Award from the Massachusetts Infectious Diseases Society.

Personal Note

Dr. Tatara’s goal is to apply engineering tools to solve medical problems. When he’s not at work, he enjoys spending time with his wife and daughters, watching basketball, playing the banjo, and trying new restaurants.

Education & Training

Undergraduate School - Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine (2007-2010), Biomedical Engineering
Medical School - Baylor College of Medicine (2010-2018)
Residency - Massachusetts General Hospital (2018-2020), Internal Medicine
Fellowship - Massachusetts General Hospital (2020-2024), Infectious Diseases
Graduate School - Rice University (2012-2017)

Professional Associations & Affiliations

Society for Biomaterials
Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society

Honors & Awards

Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award (K08) 2024, National Institutes of Health
KL2/Catalyst Medical Research Investigator Training 2022, Harvard Medical School
Maxwell Finland Research Award 2022, Massachusetts Infectious Diseases Society
Best Poster Prize 2022, 32nd Annual Conference of the European Society of Biomaterials
Outstanding Research by a Hospital Intern, Resident, or Clinical Fellow 2019, Society for Biomaterials
Featured first author 2019, NIH Research Matters

Books & Publications

Books
- Long-term antibiotic suppression in American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Orthopaedic Knowledge Update: Musculoskeletal Infection (2nd ed.)
  Tatara AM, Nelson SB (2024), Philadelphia, PA, Wolters Kluwer Health
- The Infectious Diseases Consult Handbook
  Tatara AM (2023), Berlin, Germany, Springer Nature
- Modeling viral infection with tissue engineering: COVID-19 and the next outbreaks in Tissue Engineering: Current Status and Challenges
  Tatara AM (2022), San Diego, CA, Elsevier Academic Press
- Antibiotic prophylaxis for total joint arthroplasty in American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Instructional Course Lectures, Volume 71
  Tatara AM, Nelson SB (2022), Philadelphia, PA, Wolters Kluwer Health
- Introductory preface in Biomaterials and Stem Cells: From Basics to Applications
  Tatara AM, Mikos AG (2019), Ankara, Turkey, Palme Yayınevi
- Biomaterials in regenerative medicine: Considerations in early process development in Translational Regenerative Medicine
  Tatara AM, Ratcliffe A, Wong MEK, Kasper FK, Mikos AG (2015), San Diego, CA, Elsevier Academic Press
Publications
- Fishy story: paradoxical reaction associated with Mycobacterium marinum.
  Tatara AM, Basgoz N, Nelson SB, BMJ case reports 2024 Aug 17 8
- Preventability of Hospital Deaths in Patients with Non-Ventilator Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia.
  Tatara AM, Apostolopoulou A, Agan AA, DelloStritto L, Rhee C, Klompas M, Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America 2024 Aug
- Repair of complex ovine segmental mandibulectomy utilizing customized tissue engineered bony flaps.
  Watson E, Pearce HA, Hogan KJ, van Dijk NWM, Smoak MM, Barrios S, Smith BT, Tatara AM, Woernley TC, Shum J, Pearl CB, Melville JC, Ho T, Hanna IA, Demian N, van den Beucken JJJP, Jansen JA, Wong ME, Mikos AG, PloS one 2023 18 2 e0280481
- Rates and Outcomes of Periprosthetic Joint Infection in Persons Who Inject Drugs.
  Humphrey TJ, Tatara AM, Bedair HS, Alpaugh K, Melnic CM, Nelson SB, The Journal of arthroplasty 2023 Jan 38 1 152-157
- Antiplatelet therapy for Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia: Will it stick?
  Tatara AM, Gandhi RG, Mooney DJ, Nelson SB, PLoS pathogens 2022 Feb 18 2 e1010240
- Antibiotic Prophylaxis for Total Joint Arthroplasty.
  Tatara AM, Nelson SB, Instructional course lectures 2022 71 107-116
- Protocol for fungal infection following the induction of epithelial cell loss in larval zebrafish.
  Wurster S, Ruiz OE, Tatara AM, Kontoyiannis DP, Eisenhoffer GT, STAR protocols 2021 Dec 2 4 100963
- EGF-mediated suppression of cell extrusion during mucosal damage attenuates opportunistic fungal invasion.
  Wurster S, Ruiz OE, Samms KM, Tatara AM, Albert ND, Kahan PH, Nguyen AT, Mikos AG, Kontoyiannis DP, Eisenhoffer GT, Cell reports 2021 Mar 34 12 108896
- Localized mandibular infection affects remote in vivo bioreactor bone generation.
  Watson E, Smith BT, Smoak MM, Tatara AM, Shah SR, Pearce HA, Hogan KJ, Shum J, Melville JC, Hanna IA, Demian N, Wenke JC, Bennett GN, van den Beucken JJJP, Jansen JA, Wong ME, Mikos AG, Biomaterials 2020 Oct 256 120185
- An Ovine Model of In Vivo Bioreactor-Based Bone Generation.
  Watson E, Tatara AM, van den Beucken JJJP, Jansen JA, Wong ME, Mikos AG, Tissue engineering. Part C, Methods 2020 Jul 26 7 384-396
- Tornadic Shear Stress Induces a Transient, Calcineurin-Dependent Hypervirulent Phenotype in Mucorales Molds.
  Wurster S, Tatara AM, Albert ND, Ibrahim AS, Heitman J, Lee SC, Shetty AC, McCracken C, Graf KT, Mikos AG, Bruno VM, Kontoyiannis DP, mBio 2020 Jun 11 3
- Role of Tissue Engineering in COVID-19 and Future Viral Outbreaks.
  Tatara AM, Tissue engineering. Part A 2020 May 26 9-10 468-474
- A murine model of cutaneous aspergillosis for evaluation of biomaterials-based local delivery therapies.
  Tatara AM, Watson E, Albert ND, Kontoyiannis PD, Kontoyiannis DP, Mikos AG, Journal of biomedical materials research. Part A 2019 Sep 107 9 1867-1874
- Biomaterials-aided mandibular reconstruction using in vivo bioreactors.
  Tatara AM, Koons GL, Watson E, Piepergerdes TC, Shah SR, Smith BT, Shum J, Melville JC, Hanna IA, Demian N, Ho T, Ratcliffe A, van den Beucken JJJP, Jansen JA, Wong ME, Mikos AG, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2019 Apr 116 14 6954-6963
- Immunosuppressed Adult Zebrafish Model of Mucormycosis.
  Tatara AM, Wurster S, Lockworth CR, Albert ND, Walsh TJ, Mikos AG, Eisenhoffer GT, Kontoyiannis DP, Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy 2018 Nov 62 11
- Invasive Cutaneous Facial Mucormycosis in a Trauma Patient.
  Jundt JS, Wong MEK, Tatara AM, Demian NM, Journal of oral and maxillofacial surgery : official journal of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons 2018 Sep 76 9 1930.e1-1930.e5
- Large Animal Models of an In Vivo Bioreactor for Engineering Vascularized Bone.
  Akar B, Tatara AM, Sutradhar A, Hsiao HY, Miller M, Cheng MH, Mikos AG, Brey EM, Tissue engineering. Part B, Reviews 2018 Aug 24 4 317-325
- Econazole-releasing porous space maintainers for fungal periprosthetic joint infection.
  Tatara AM, Rozich AJ, Kontoyiannis PD, Watson E, Albert ND, Bennett GN, Mikos AG, Journal of materials science. Materials in medicine 2018 May 29 5 70
- Drug delivery and tissue engineering to promote wound healing in the immunocompromised host: Current challenges and future directions.
  Tatara AM, Kontoyiannis DP, Mikos AG, Advanced drug delivery reviews 2018 Apr 129 319-329
- Inherently Antimicrobial Biodegradable Polymers in Tissue Engineering.
  Watson E, Tatara AM, Kontoyiannis DP, Mikos AG, ACS biomaterials science & engineering 2017 Jul 3 7 1207-1220
- Changes in In Vitro Susceptibility Patterns of Aspergillus to Triazoles and Correlation With Aspergillosis Outcome in a Tertiary Care Cancer Center, 1999-2015.
  Heo ST, Tatara AM, Jiménez-Ortigosa C, Jiang Y, Lewis RE, Tarrand J, Tverdek F, Albert ND, Verweij PE, Meis JF, Mikos AG, Perlin DS, Kontoyiannis DP, Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America 2017 Jul 65 2 216-225
- Synthesis and Characterization of Diol-Based Unsaturated Polyesters: Poly(diol fumarate) and Poly(diol fumarate-co-succinate).
  Tatara AM, Watson E, Satish T, Scott DW, Kontoyiannis DP, Engel PS, Mikos AG, Biomacromolecules 2017 Jun 18 6 1724-1735
- Effects of Local Antibiotic Delivery from Porous Space Maintainers on Infection Clearance and Induction of an Osteogenic Membrane in an Infected Bone Defect.
  Shah SR, Smith BT, Tatara AM, Molina ER, Lee EJ, Piepergerdes TC, Uhrig BA, Guldberg RE, Bennett GN, Wenke JC, Mikos AG, Tissue engineering. Part A 2017 Feb 23 3-4 91-100
- Acellular mineral deposition within injectable, dual-gelling hydrogels for bone tissue engineering.
  Vo TN, Tatara AM, Santoro M, van den Beucken JJ, Leeuwenburgh SC, Jansen JA, Mikos AG, Journal of biomedical materials research. Part A 2017 Jan 105 1 110-117
- Reconstruction of large mandibular defects using autologous tissues generated from in vivo bioreactors.
  Tatara AM, Shah SR, Demian N, Ho T, Shum J, van den Beucken JJJP, Jansen JA, Wong ME, Mikos AG, Acta biomaterialia 2016 Nov 45 72-84
- Tissue Engineering in Orthopaedics.
  Tatara AM, Mikos AG, The Journal of bone and joint surgery. American volume 2016 Jul 98 13 1132-9
- Statin Concentrations Below the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration Attenuate the Virulence of Rhizopus oryzae.
  Bellanger AP, Tatara AM, Shirazi F, Gebremariam T, Albert ND, Lewis RE, Ibrahim AS, Kontoyiannis DP, The Journal of infectious diseases 2016 Jul 214 1 114-21
- Factors affecting patient outcome in primary cutaneous aspergillosis.
  Tatara AM, Mikos AG, Kontoyiannis DP, Medicine 2016 Jun 95 26 e3747
- Polymer-Based Local Antibiotic Delivery for Prevention of Polymicrobial Infection in Contaminated Mandibular Implants.
  Shah SR, Tatara AM, Lam J, Lu S, Scott DW, Bennett GN, van den Beucken JJJP, Jansen JA, Wong ME, Mikos AG, ACS biomaterials science & engineering 2016 Apr 2 4 558-566
- Injectable dual-gelling cell-laden composite hydrogels for bone tissue engineering.
  Vo TN, Shah SR, Lu S, Tatara AM, Lee EJ, Roh TT, Tabata Y, Mikos AG, Biomaterials 2016 Mar 83 1-11
- 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society-Americas: Antonios G. Mikos, PhD.
  Tatara AM, Mikos AG, Tissue engineering. Part A 2016 Jan 22 1-2 1-2
- Biodegradable, phosphate-containing, dual-gelling macromers for cellular delivery in bone tissue engineering.
  Watson BM, Vo TN, Tatara AM, Shah SR, Scott DW, Engel PS, Mikos AG, Biomaterials 2015 Oct 67 286-96
- Infected animal models for tissue engineering.
  Tatara AM, Shah SR, Livingston CE, Mikos AG, Methods (San Diego, Calif.) 2015 Aug 84 17-24
- Autologously generated tissue-engineered bone flaps for reconstruction of large mandibular defects in an ovine model.
  Tatara AM, Kretlow JD, Spicer PP, Lu S, Lam J, Liu W, Cao Y, Liu G, Jackson JD, Yoo JJ, Atala A, van den Beucken JJ, Jansen JA, Kasper FK, Ho T, Demian N, Miller MJ, Wong ME, Mikos AG, Tissue engineering. Part A 2015 May 21 9-10 1520-8
- In vivo bioreactors for mandibular reconstruction.
  Tatara AM, Wong ME, Mikos AG, Journal of dental research 2014 Dec 93 12 1196-202
- Gelatin carriers for drug and cell delivery in tissue engineering.
  Santoro M, Tatara AM, Mikos AG, Journal of controlled release : official journal of the Controlled Release Society 2014 Sep 190 210-8
- Use of porous space maintainers in staged mandibular reconstruction.
  Henslee AM, Spicer PP, Shah SR, Tatara AM, Kasper FK, Mikos AG, Wong ME, Oral and maxillofacial surgery clinics of North America 2014 May 26 2 143-9
- The role of muscle loading on bone (Re)modeling at the developing enthesis.
  Tatara AM, Lipner JH, Das R, Kim HM, Patel N, Ntouvali E, Silva MJ, Thomopoulos S, PloS one 2014 9 5 e97375

Research

Design of new biomaterials
Tissue engineering strategies
Mechanisms of pathogen virulence
Immunoengineering to prevent and treat infection

Clinical Focus

Bone and Joint Infections
Medical Implant Infections

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