IDCRC Investigator Profile: C. Buddy Creech, MD, MPH
Buddy Creech, MD, MPH, FPIDS is an associate professor of pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He serves as the director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program, principal investigator of the Vanderbilt Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit (VTEU), and co-principal investigator of the CDC-sponsored Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment Network. His research interests focus on the development and evaluation of new vaccines and therapeutics, particularly vaccines targeting influenza, pertussis, and S. aureus. His work combines innovative clinical trial design and next-generation immunologic assays to characterize the human response to infection and disease.
He began work in the VTEU in 2003, as he began his fellowship in pediatric infectious diseases. He trained under Kathy Edwards, MD who served as the Vanderbilt VTEU PI for many years and is an IDCRC Key Function Committee leader.
This year, the Vanderbilt VTEU contributed to several IDCRC projects. He served with others in the IDCRC to develop the Adaptive COVID-19 Treatment Trial 1 (ACTT 1) protocol in early February. The Vanderbilt VTEU also conducted ACTT-1 and ACTT-2, then turned their attention to the Moderna and Janssen Phase 3 trials in the summer/fall.
“The highlight of the work, and an indelible result of the pandemic, will be the sheer joy all of us felt upon seeing that the mRNA vaccines were safe and highly efficacious. Those are moments that make the exhaustion and stress of the last few months very much worth it,” said Creech.
Creech contributed to the pediatric working group for COVID vaccine trials, helping develop the pediatric shell protocols with James Campbell, MD from the Maryland University Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit and Robert Frenck, MD from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit. Creech also serves on the IDCRC Emerging Infectious Diseases Expert Working Group focused on pathogens/diseases such as Coccidioidomycosis, Candida (including C. auris), Ebola, mosquito tick and other borne diseases including dengue, Zika and Lyme Disease; other emerging viruses - Rift valley fever, Lassa, biodefense pathogens (anthrax, botulism, etc), antibiotic resistant bacterial infections such as Enterobacteriaceae, Staphylococcus aureus, Acinetobacter, and Pseudomonas.
“The IDCRC has clearly continued the legacy of the VTEUs – collaboration and collegiality. Coming together under the stress of the pandemic has shown again the power of our robust clinical trial network,” said Creech.
Creech received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, cum laude, from Vanderbilt University prior to graduating with high honors from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine. He completed pediatric training at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, serving as Chief Resident in 2002-03. During fellowship in pediatric infectious diseases at Vanderbilt, he received a Master in Public Health degree. He currently serves as President-Elect of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society.