Hooked on ID with Trini A. Mathew, MD
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I had veterinary virologists as parents. My dad studied and worked on rabies for his PhD, and my mother was a pioneer in India on buffalopox virus, which is very closely related to cowpox and smallpox, also earning her PhD.
During my childhood, I remember frequently hearing microbiology terms at home, including Salmonella, Shigella and malaria. While in Delhi, India, in the early 1980s, I remember distinctly a conversation my father had with a client of his, talking about the evolving AIDS epidemic. They discussed concerns about AIDS that now, of course, we know much more about.
I also remember my parents going to investigate a rinderpest outbreak in cattle while I was growing up in Nigeria. What I learned subsequently, as an ID physician, is that rinderpest is one of two diseases that have been eradicated, in addition to smallpox.
I grew up hearing these terms, whereas other kids may not have been exposed to that at age 7 or 8 years. I clearly remember hearing some of my parents’ conversations occurring in our living room and at the dining table. I did enjoy going on house calls with my father while he was a practicing veterinarian while we lived in Nigeria and Delhi. I remember going to the Delhi zoo, where he had to address some concerns they had. I learned about zoonosis very early on, as my dad would be very careful and cautious to prevent transmission of zoonoses.
My mother also had a diagnostic lab in Delhi. On the weekends, she would frequently ask my assistance for one thing or another. That was my initial exposure to volunteer work. It helped me understand how things are done in a microbiology lab — how to culture specimens, create culture plates and inoculate. I was exposed to that early on in high school by being part of my family’s work with microbiology and diagnostics.
As I reflect, it seems the apple does not fall far from the tree. Hearing microbiology terms from both of my parents while growing up influenced me. I initially considered a career in forestry, but that would have been very tough for a woman in India. My parents dissuaded me from pursuing forestry for that reason. Later, I did think briefly about pursuing veterinary medicine. Given my childhood experiences, I pursued 1 year of my undergraduate education studying microbiology, where of course we learned not just medical microbiology, but also environmental and food industry microbiology. Subsequently, my parents encouraged me to think more about the human aspect of medicine, and that’s where I began my career.
During my internship years, I realized I was much more interested in infectious diseases because we started seeing parasitic diseases in the Bronx. That consolidated my thoughts about which fellowship I would pursue. In the second year of my fellowship, I became more inclined to work with patients with an infectious disease like HIV/AIDS and pursued working with tuberculosis. Currently, infection prevention, including prevention of zoonosis and vaccine-preventable diseases, are my passion and mission.
— Trini A. Mathew, MD
Medical director, hospital epidemiology and infection control
Beaumont Hospital
Royal Oak, Michigan