Laura R. Marks received her bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and Spanish from Pacific Union College, California. She completed her MD, PhD at the University of Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences through the Medical Scientist Training Program. Her PhD training occurred in the laboratory of Dr. Anders Hakansson in the department of Microbiology and Immunology where she focused on streptococcal biofilm formation, transition to disease and vaccine development. She subsequently completed her internal medicine residency and infectious diseases fellowship training at Barnes Jewish Hospital – Washington University School of Medicine Consortium as part of the Physician Scientist Training Program. Her current research interests center on clinical and translational research programs aimed at improving care outcomes for persons who inject drugs (PWID) who present with invasive bacterial and fungal infections.
Her publications have included clinical research on the intersection of infectious diseases and addiction medicine, patient centered care options for PWID and health disparities among PWID. She actively collaborates with the CDC as part of two ongoing SHEPheRD contracts aimed at developing and implementing multidisciplinary toolkits to improve patient outcomes. She currently runs a multidisciplinary clinic, the Bridge to Health Program which provides low-barrier care for PWID across both the infectious diseases and substance use disorder care continuum using telemedicine to provide access for patients in rural portions of the state. Her basic science research explores the pathophysiology of invasive staphylococcal disease in PWID using genomic epidemiology and molecular biology models. She is currently a post-doctoral fellow in the lab of Dr. Jeffrey Henderson.