Thomas A. Hooven, MD

  • Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
  • Scholar, Richard King Mellon Foundation Institute for Pediatric Research

Thomas Hooven, MD is a physician-scientist with board certification in general pediatrics and neonatology/perinatology. He is the principal investigator of a research program spanning microbiology, bacterial genetics, bioinformatics, and immunology. His current work combines critical care of high-risk infants with basic science and translational laboratory research investigating interactions between microbial pathogens, pregnant mothers, and their babies. His laboratory focuses on understanding infection caused by Streptococcus agalactiae (group B Streptococcus; GBS), an important contributor to newborn morbidity and mortality, and how the neonatal microbiome influences susceptibility to infectious diseases.

Hooven earned his B.A. from Yale University. After graduating from the University of Michigan Medical School, he completed his general pediatrics training at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York-Presbyterian in Manhattan, where he also served as chief resident. Following his neonatology fellowship at the same institution, he participated in the Pediatric Scientist Development Program, a three-year mentored research program where he established his research interests in bacterial genetics and host-pathogen interactions that contribute to neonatal illness. He moved to UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh in 2019.

Professional and Scientific Society Memberships

  • American Academy of Pediatrics, 2011-Present
  • Society for Pediatric Research, 2018-Present
  • American Society for Microbiology, 2018-Present

Education & Training

  • BA, summa cum laude with distinction, Yale University, 2001
  • Post-Baccalaureate Premedical Coursework, University of Maryland, 2001-2002
  • MD, University of Michigan, 2007
  • Residency in Pediatrics, Columbia University Medical Center, 2007-2010
  • Chief Resident in Pediatrics, Columbia University Medical Center, 2010-2011
  • Postdoctoral Fellowship, Neonatal/Perinatal Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, 2012-2016

Selected Publications

Langenecker, SA, Kennedy, SE, Guidotti, LM, Anderson, EM, Hooven, TA, Own, LS, Young, EA, Huda, H, Noll, DC, Zubieta, J. “Frontal and limbic activation during inhibitory control predicts treatment response in major depressive disorder.” Biological Psychiatry. 2007, 62(11): 1272-1280.

Hooven, TA, Randis, TM, Hymes, SR, Rampersaud, R, Ratner, AJ. “Retrocyclin inhibits Gardnerella vaginalisbiofilm formation and toxin activity.” Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. 2012, 67(12): 2870-2872.

Randis, TM, Gelber, SE, Hooven, TA, Abellar, RG, Akabas, LH, Lewis, EL, Walker, LB, Byland, LM, Nizet, V, Ratner, AJ. “Preterm birth and intrauterine fetal demise in a murine model of ascending Group B Streptococcus infection.” Journal of Infectious Diseases. 2014, 210(2): 267-273.

Hooven, TA, Randis, TM, Daugherty, SC, Narechania, A, Planet, PJ, Tettelin, H, Ratner, AJ. “Complete genome sequence of Streptococcus agalactiae CNCTC 10/84, a hypervirulent sequence type 26 strain.” Genome Announcements. 2014, 2(6): e01338-14.

LaRocca, TJ, Stivison, EA, Mal-Sarkar, T, Hooven, TA, Hod, EA, Spitalnik, SL, Ratner, AJ. “CD59 signaling and membrane pores drive Syk-dependent erythrocyte necroptosis.” Cell Death and Disease. 2015, 6: e1773.

Hooven, TA, Catomeris, AJ, Akabas, LH, Randis, TM, Maskell, DJ, Peters, SE, Ott, S, Santana-Cruz, I, Tallon, LJ, Tettelin, H, Ratner, AJ. “The essential genome of Streptococcus agalactiae.” BMC Genomics. 2016, 17(1): 406-419.

Hooven, TA, Catomeris, AJ, Bonakdar, M, Tallon, LJ, Tettelin, H, Ratner, AJ. “The Streptococcus agalactiaestringent response enhances virulence and persistence in human blood.” Infection and Immunity. 2017, 86(1): e00612–17.

Tettelin, H, Hooven, TA, Zhao, XZ, Su, Q, Sadzewicz, L, Tallon, LJ, Fraser, CM, Ratner AJ. “Whole genome sequences of bacteremia isolates of Bordetella holmesii. Genome Announcements. 2017, 5(39): e01023-17.

Khatami, A, Randis, TM, Chamby, A, Hooven, TA, Gegick, M, Suzman, E, A'Hearn-Thomas, B, Steenhoff, AP, Ratner, AJ. “Improving the sensitivity of real-time PCR detection of group B Streptococcus using consensus sequence-derived oligonucleotides.” Open Forum Infectious Disease. 2018, 5(7).

Hooven, TA, Bonakdar, M, Chamby, AB, Ratner AJ. “A counterselectable sucrose sensitivity marker permits efficient and flexible mutagenesis in Streptococcus agalactiae.” Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 2019, 85(7).

Hooven, TA, Lin, YC, Salleb-Aouissi, A. “Multiple instance learning for predicting necrotizing enterocolitis in premature infants using microbiome data.” Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Health, Inference, and Learning (ACM CHIL ’20), April 2–4, 2020, Toronto, ON, Canada.

View MyNCBI Bibliography » 

Academic and Research Interests

  • Perinatal microbioal pathogenesis
  • Ascending chorioamnionitis
  • Bacterial genetics
  • Microbiome in neonatal health and disease

Research Grants

NIH K08AI132555, A Rationally Targeted Approach to Preventing GBS Infection (PI, 65% effort), 2018-2022, $778,786 direct funds.

NIH R21AI147511, Genome-wide assessment of Group B Streptococcus fitness and virulence (Multi-PI, 10% effort), 2020-2022, $241,441 direct funds.

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