Annie Luetkemeyer

Annie F. Luetkemeyer is a Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases at the University of California, San Francisco. She specializes in infectious diseases, in particular tuberculosis, HIV and viral hepatitis.[1] During the COVID-19 pandemic Luetkemeyer led a clinical trial of remdesivir. She has also researched treatment of COVID-19 as a co-infection with HIV.

Annie F. Luetkemeyer
Luetkemeyer speaks on HIV diagnosis for WorldMEDSchool in 2014
Born
Baltimore, Maryland U.S.
NationalityAmerican
EducationUniversity of California, San Francisco
Harvard University
OccupationInfectious diseases researcher
Years active1999-present

Early life and education

Luetkemeyer was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to Suzanne Luetkemeyer (née Frey) and John Alexander Luetkemeyer Jr., a commercial real estate developer. She is the youngest of three sisters, one of whom is the actor Julie Bowen. She grew up in Ruxton-Riderwood, Maryland.[2] In 1984, Luetkemeyer graduated from the Calvert School.[3]

In 1994, Luetkemeyer received an AB with distinction in American Studies from Stanford University.[4] In 1999, she received an M.D. in medicine from Harvard Medical School.[5] In 2002 and 2003, Luetkemeyer trained in internal medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. In 2006, she completed advance training in clinical research there, and then an infectious disease fellowship in 2007.[5]

Career

In 2012 Luetkemeyer called for investigations into the doses of medications used for the treatment of HIV infection and tuberculosis.[6] The Food and Drug Administration had rewritten the recommendations in 2012. In a series of small studies in Europe it had been shown that rifampicin, a drug used to treat tuberculosis, could limit the effectiveness of efavirenz, a drug used to treat HIV. The drugs interact through a liver enzyme (cytochrome P450) that is produced at elevated levels in patients who take rifampicin, and breaks down the efavirenz. To overcome this, the 2012 FDA recommendations proposed larger doses of efavirenz. Luetkemeyer argued that the recommendations were not appropriate for all populations in the United States, and could result in more drug toxicity.[6] She showed that increasing the dosage of efavirenz may cause more side effects—as well as coming at a greater financial cost.[6]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Luetkemeyer led investigations into potential therapies for the disease.[7][8] She is a member of the UCSF cross-campus coronavirus disease task force.[9] In line with most official advice, Luetkemeyer called for older people and those with preexisting conditions to be more careful during the outbreak, as the virus "taxes all organ systems".[10] She studied which coronavirus disease patients were most likely to benefit from treatment, when during the illness was the best time for treatment, and which types of treatment (antivirals or anti-inflammatories) were most appropriate. She has also outlined what pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis healthcare workers and household contacts can do to prevent disease spread. In an effort to dispel misinformation, Luetkemeyer has called for more randomized controlled trials to assess the impact of hydroxychloroquine, particularly as it can have harmful side effects.[11] She is leading a clinical trial of the drug remdesivir.[12][13] The San Francisco General Hospital SARS-CoV-2 guidelines recommend treatment only if patients are hospitalized or have strong risk factors for progression into severe disease. As of March 2020, the guidelines included remdesivir, or hydroxychloroquine if remdesivir was not feasible.

Selected works and publications

References
  1. Luetkemeyer, Annie (2 August 2016). "Hepatitis C is Curable". KQED.
  2. Marbella, Jean (12 September 2010). "Julie Bowen's modern life". The Baltimore Sun.
  3. "The Illustrious Luetkemeyer Girls". Reflections 2012. Calvert School. XIX (1): 16–19. Fall 2012.
  4. "Anne F. Luetkemeyer, MD". IAS-USA. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  5. "Annie Luetkemeyer | UCSF Profiles". profiles.ucsf.edu. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  6. Bardi, Jason (23 July 2012). "UCSF/SFGH Researchers Call for Change in New FDA Recommendation on HIV and TB Drug Doses". University of California, San Francisco.
  7. Wachter, Robert; Luetkemeyer, Annie (15 March 2020). "Treatment options for COVID-19: Dr. Annie Luetkemeyer". The Hospitalist.
  8. KupferschmidtApr. 7, Kai; 2020; Pm, 3:50 (2020-04-07). "Trials of drugs to prevent coronavirus infection begin in health care workers". Science | AAAS. Retrieved 2020-04-15.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. "About the Cross-campus Infectious Disease COVID-19 Task Force | HIV, ID and Global Medicine". hividgm.ucsf.edu. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  10. Hafner, Katie (14 March 2020). "How to Protect Older People From the Coronavirus". The New York Times.
  11. @NatGeoUK (2020-03-25). "What scientists do and don't know about treating coronavirus". National Geographic. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  12. "UCSF's noon grand rounds: A slow reopening, racial disparities and no quick remedies". Mission Local. 2020-04-17. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  13. "Anti-viral Remdesivir, Wall Street's darling, may not even work against COVID-19". Mission Local. 2020-04-18. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
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