Nipunie S. Rajapakse, M.D., M.P.H.

Nipunie Rajapakse, M.D., is a pediatric infectious diseases physician. Her clinical focus includes:

• Management of pediatric infections including:

• Post-surgical, hospital-acquired, or device-related infections (e.g. orthopedic hardware infections, central line infections, VP shunt infections)

• Community-acquired infections (e.g. pneumonia, skin infections, osteomyelitis)

• Infections in immunocompromised children (e.g. those receiving chemotherapy, post-solid organ and bone marrow transplant, primary immunodeficiencies)

• Tropical or travel-related infections

• Expertise in the management of pediatric infections caused by resistant organisms (e.g. MRSA, multi-drug resistant gram negative bacteria etc).

In addition to her clinical activities, Dr. Rajapakse is active in research and education. Her primary research interests include studying ways of optimizing antibiotic use in children (antimicrobial stewardship) to decrease antibiotic resistance and other harmful effects, and identifying the best strategies to educate medical providers and the general public about appropriate antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance. She has worked for the World Health Organization and has an interest in global health and outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases.

Dr. Rajapakse is a frequent contributor to the Mayo Clinic News Network (see News link above). She is the Vice Chair of the Mayo Clinic Rochester Antimicrobial Stewardship Program and Medical Director of the Pediatric Antimicrobial Stewardship Program.