Kristina Crothers, M.D.

Assistant Professor

Educational Background

Medical School: Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
Residency: Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Fellowship: University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA

Clinical Interests

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; pulmonary infections; HIV-associated pulmonary disease; critical care

Research Interests

HIV-associated pulmonary disease, particularly chronic obstructive lung disease; COPD and the systemic complications of COPD; pulmonary complications of substance abuse.

Dr. Crothers' research focuses on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and the interaction of comorbid diseases on the course of COPD, particularly HIV infection. Through work with the Veterans Aging Cohort Study, she has demonstrated increased COPD among HIV-positive compared to HIV-negative veterans. With funding from the Yale General Clinical Research Center, the American Lung Association, and the Yale K12 Mentored Clinical Research Scholar Award, she is conducting a cross-sectional study to compare the prevalence and predictors of airway obstruction in HIV-positive compared to HIV-negative patients in care.

Representative Publications

Tetrault JM, Crothers K, Moore B, Mehra R, Concato J, and Fiellin DA, "Effects of marijuana smoking on pulmonary function and respiratory complications: A systematic review." Archives of Internal Medicine, In press.

Kang MJ, Homer RJ, Gallo A, Lee CG, Crothers K, Cho SJ, Rochester C, Cain H, Chupp G, Yoon HJ, Elias JA, "IL-18 is Induced and IL-18 Receptor α Plays a Critical Role in the Pathogenesis of Cigarette Smoke-Induced Pulmonary Emphysema and Inflammation." Journal of Immunology, In press.

Crothers K, Butt AA, Gibert CL, Rodriguez-Barradas, MC, Crystal S, and Justice AC, "Increased Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Among HIV-Positive Compared to HIV-Negative Veterans." Chest, 2006; 130(5): 1326-33.

Elias JA, Kang MJ, Crothers K, Homer R, and Lee CG, "State of the Art. Mechanistic Heterogeneity in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Insights from Transgenic Mice." Proceedings of the American Thoracic Society, 2006; 3(6): 494-8.

De Oliveira A, Unnasch TR, Crothers K, Eiser S, Zucchi P, Moir J, Beard CB, Lawrence GG, and Huang L, "Performance of a molecular viability assay for the diagnosis of Pneumocystis pneumonia in HIV-infected patients." Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease, 2006 Oct 16; [Epub ahead of print]

Daly KR, Huang L, Morris A, Koch J, Crothers K, Levin L, Eiser S, Satwah S, Zucchi P, and Walzer PD, "Antibody Response to Pneumocystis jirovecii Major Surface Glycoprotein." Emerging Infectious Diseases, 2006;12(8):1231-7.

Justice AC, Laskey E, McGinnis KA, Griffith T, Skanderson M, Conigliaro J, Fultz SL, Crothers K, Rabenack LL, Rodriguez-Barradas MC, Weissman SB, and Bryant K, "Medical Disease and Alcohol Use Among Veterans With Human Immunodeficiency Infection: A Comparison of Disease Measurement Strategies." Med Care, 2006; 44(8 Suppl 2): S52-60.

Mehra R, Moore BA, Crothers K, Tetrault J, and Fiellin DA, "The association between marijuana smoking and lung cancer: a systematic review." Arch Intern Med, 2006;166(13): 1359-67.

Crothers K, Griffith TA, McGinnis KM, Rodriguez-Barradas M, Leaf DA, Weissman S, Gibert CL, Butt AA, and Justice AC, "The Impact of Cigarette Smoking on Mortality, Quality of Life and Comorbid Illness Among HIV Positive Veterans." Journal of General Internal Medicine, 2005: 20(12); 1142-45.

Crothers K, Beard CB, Turner J, Groner G, Fox Melissa, Morris A, and Huang L, "Severity and Outcome of HIV-Associated Pneumocystis Pneumonia Containing Dihdryopteroate Synthase Gene Mutations." AIDS, 2005; 19(8):801-805.

Zheng T, Kang MJ, Crothers K, Zhu Z, Liu W, Lee CG, Rabach LA, Chapman HA, Homer RJ, Aldous D, Desanctis G, Underwood S, Graupe M, Flavell RA, Schmidt JA, and Elias JA, "Role of cathepsin S-dependent epithelial cell apoptosis in IFN-gamma-induced alveolar remodeling and pulmonary emphysema." Journal of Immunology, 2005, 174(12):8106-15.

Larsen HH, Huang L, Kovacs JA, Crothers K, Silcott VA, Morris A, Turner JR, Beard CB, Masur H, and Fischer SH, "A Prospective, Blinded Study of Quantitative Touch-Down PCR Using Oral Washes for Diagnosis of Pneumocystis Pneumonia in Patients with HIV Infection." Journal of Infectious Disease, 2004; 189(9):1679-83.

Crothers K, Huang L, Morris A, Fox M, Groner G, Turner J, Merrifield C, Eiser S, Friedly J, Gravari E, Zucchi P, and Beard CB. "Pneumocystis Dihydropteroate Synthase Mutations in Patients with Pneumocystis Pneumonia who are Newly Diagnosed with HIV Infection." Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology, 2003;50:609S-610S.

Huang L, Crothers K, Morris A, Groner G, Fox M, Turner J, Merrifield C, Eiser S, Zucchi P, and Beard CB. "Pneumocystis Colonization in HIV-infected Patients." Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology, 2003;50:616S-617S.

Huang L, Crothers K, DeOliveira A, Eiser S, Zucchi P, Beard CB, and Unnasch TR. "Application of an mRNA-based Molecular Viability Assay to Oropharyngeal Washes for the Diagnosis of Pneumocystis Pneumonia in HIV-infected Patients. A Pilot Study." Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology, 2003; 50: 618S-620S.

Contact

Campus Address
Department of Internal Medicine
P.O. Box 208057
New Haven, CT 06520-8057

E-mail
kristina.crothers@yale.edu

Office Phone
203-785-3207