Faculty

Background and Expertise:

Dr. Walsh is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the School of Public Health. He received his PhD in epidemiology from the University of Pittsburgh and his MPH from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Walsh was a co-founder of the Swasthya Community Health Partnership in Sringeri, India. This five year project trained community health nurses to serve the unique health needs of women in this rural community in southern Karnataka. Dr. Walsh’s specific research focused on human papillomavirus infection and cervical cancer during his time with Swasthya, and on a tuberculosis eradication project among the indigenous Soliga communities in the B.R. Hills prior to that. Subsequently, Dr. Walsh worked on diabetes and its microvascular complications with the WHO DiaComp Study and the Epidemiology of Diabetes Complications Study in Pittsburgh, both under the direction of Dr. Trevor Orchard. Several important publications resulted from this fruitful research. Upon completion of his PhD, Dr. Walsh went on to work with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s NYC Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Following this he joined the faculty of New York University where his research focused on age related musculoskeletal disease and dysfunction, orthopaedic trauma, and nosocomial infection. Since joining the faculty of SUNY, Downstate, Dr. Walsh continues his research in aging and musculoskeletal health, but has also begun a new program of infectious disease research in parasitic diseases.

Areas of Research:

Dr. Walsh’s current research efforts focus on two areas of study. The first is the aging process with a particular emphasis on the ways in which mobility mediate musculoskeletal disease and dysfunction and cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, he is interested in how allostatic load and can be used to identify poor versus healthy aging, and how microbial carriage is reflective of immunosenescence.

Dr. Walsh’s second area of focus is infectious disease. He is interested in the ways in which the complex life cycles of parasites can stimulate specific immune pathways that can induce or suppress chronic disease or dysfunction. For example, recently he has been examining the association between toxocariasis and lung function, which he hopes will contribute to the debate on the role helminthes play in hypersensitivity response and asthma. He is also exploring how the built and ecologic environments influence infectious disease transmission, especially in urban contexts.

Finally, in both categories of Dr Walsh’s research two directives drive his efforts: the development of epidemiologic methods and the identification of sociodemographic disparities in health. Dr. Walsh is, foremost, a practiced methodologist and, as such, considers the application of correct methodologic and mathematical technique to be fundamental to epidemiology. He is especially interested in novel approaches to exploring causality in exposure-outcome relationships. And nowhere is the application of appropriate technique more crucial than in the investigation of the causes of disproportionate disease burden among socially marginalized communities.

Courses Taught:

EPID 5202 Infectious Disease Epidemiology

EPID 5205 Epidemiological Research Methods II

Publications:

1. A Multinational Comparison of Complications Assessment in Type 1 Diabetes: The DiaMond Substudy of Complications (DiaComp) Level 2. Michael G. Walsh, Janice Zgibor, Knut Borch-Johnsen, Trevor J Orchard, on behalf of all DiaComp Investigators. Diabetes Care. 2004 Jul;27(7):1610-7.

2. The Socioeconomic Correlates of Global Complications Prevalence in Type 1 Diabetes: A Multinational Comparison to DiaComp. Michael G. Walsh, Janice Zgibor, Knut Borch-Johnsen, Trevor J Orchard, on behalf of all DiaComp Investigators. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice. 2005 Nov; 70(2):143-50.

3. Novel predictors of overt nephropathy in subjects with type 1 diabetes: A nested case-control study from the Pittsburgh Epidemiology of Diabetes Complications study. Aklilu A. Yishak, Gabriel Virella, Janice Zgibor, Linda Fried, Michael Walsh, Tina Costacou, Rhobert W. Evans, Maria Lopes-Virella, Valerian E. Kagan, Jim Otvos, Trevor J. Orchard. Nephrology Dialysis Transplant. 2005 Sep; 21: 93-100.

4. Markers of endothelial dysfunction in the prediction of coronary artery disease in Type 1 diabetes. The Pittsburgh Epidemiology of Diabetes Complications Study. Tina Costacoua, Maria F. Lopes-Virella, Janice C. Zgibor, Gabriel Virella, Jim Otvos, Michael Walsh, Trevor J. Orchard. Journal of Diabetes and Its Complications. 2005 Jul – Aug; 19(4): 183– 193

5.  A Multinational Assessment of Complications in Type 1 Diabetes: The DiaMond Substudy of Complications (DiaComp) Level 1. Michael G. Walsh, Janice Zgibor, Knut Borch-Johnsen, Trevor J Orchard, on behalf of all DiaComp Investigators. Diabetes and Vascular Disease Research. 2006 September; 3(2): 84-92.

6. Antibiotic Susceptibility of Bacteria Infecting Total Joint Arthroplasty. Eirc Fulkerson, Craig Della Valle, Michael G. Walsh, Brent Wise, Paul DiCesare. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. 2006 June; 88(6): 1231-1237 .

7. Predictors of Functional Outcome Following Ankle Fracture Surgery: The Results of a Prospective Database. Kenneth Egol, Nirmal Tejwani, Michael G. Walsh, Edward Capla, Kenneth Koval. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. 2006 May; 88(5): 974-9.

8. Functional outcome following one-part proximal humeral fractures: A prospective study. Tejwani NC, Liporace F, Walsh M, France MA, Zuckerman JD, Egol KA. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2008 Jan 18.

9. Kinematics of the Stiff Total Knee Arthroplasty. Pereira GC, Walsh M, Wasserman B, Banks S, Jaffe WL, Di Cesare PE. J Arthroplasty. 2008 Sep;23(6):894-901.

10. Risk Factors for Acute Pulmonary Embolism Following Total Hip and Knee Arthroplasty.

Michael G. Walsh, Charles Preston, Vipul Patel, Paul E. DiCesare.J Orthopaedics 2008;5(2)e10.

11. Functional Outcome after Surgically Treated Ankle Fractures in the Elderly: A Prospective Comparison of Patients Younger and Older than Age Sixty. Roy I Davidovitch, Michael Walsh, Allison Spitzer, Kenneth A. Egol. Foot Ankle Int. 2009 Aug; 30(8):728-33.

12. Sex and Race Characteristics in Patients Undergoing Hip and Knee Arthroplasty in an Urban Setting. Slover JD, Walsh MG, Zuckerman JD. Journal of Arthoplasty 2009 May 7. [Epub ahead of print].

13. Ethnic disparities in recovery following distal radial fracture. Walsh M, Davidovitch RI, Egol KA. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2010 May;92(5):1082-7.

14. Distal radial fractures in the elderly: operative compared with nonoperative treatment. Egol KA, Walsh M, Romo-Cardoso S, Dorsky S, Paksima N. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2010 Aug 4;92(9):1851-7.

15. Toxocara infection and diminished lung function in a nationally representative sample from the United States population. Michael Walsh. International Journal of Parasitology – In Press.

Invited Commentary

1. A fine balance: Weighing risk factors against risk. Michael G. Walsh. Am J Epidemiol. 2009 Jan 15;169(2):150-2.

Textbooks

1. Chapter 1 Epidemiology/Population Studies: Scope of the Problem in Fractures of the Proximal Femur. Ed. James P. Waddell. Elsevier. In Press.