Kimberly E. Hanson, MD, MHS, FIDSA, has spearheaded the development of novel diagnostic approaches to infectious diseases that have significantly improved patient care and outcomes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Hanson tirelessly reviewed the avalanche of emerging literature and led the development of diagnostic guidelines to ensure that clinicians had the most accurate and up-to-date information available to diagnose and manage patients.
Dr. Hanson is a professor of medicine and pathology at the University of Utah and director of the Immunocompromised Host Infectious Diseases Service at the University of Utah. She is also director of the Mycology Section within Associated Regional and University Pathologists Laboratories, a national nonprofit and academic reference laboratory at the forefront of diagnostic medicine. In her research, Dr. Hanson focuses on designing and conducting multicenter interventional trials to assess the impact of new infectious diseases tests for opportunistic infections on outcomes that matter to patients.
As a guiding member of Utah’s COVID-19 response team, Dr. Hanson played a pivotal role in overseeing clinical testing, conducting prospective surveillance studies and spearheading specimen comparison studies for SARS-CoV-2 detection. Her work has been instrumental in establishing the utility of saliva as a specimen for COVID-19 testing, evaluating the performance of self-collected swabs versus swabs collected by health care workers and determining the efficacy of point-of-care antigen testing in asymptomatic people.
Dr. Hanson took the lead in authoring IDSA’s first COVID-19 diagnostic guidelines for molecular diagnostic, antigen and serologic testing, employing the rigorous Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology as a systematic approach for making clinical practice recommendations. She spent many hours reviewing literature and working with colleagues to develop a consensus for the panel’s recommendations.
A member of IDSA’s Diagnostic Test Committee and Board of Directors, Dr. Hanson worked with staff participating in meetings with members of Congress to advocate for legislation targeted for action by IDSA. She continues to serve IDSA as a deputy editor of Clinical Infectious Diseases. Her expertise is widely recognized within the academic community.
An exemplary role model to faculty and trainees in infectious diseases, Dr. Hanson has also facilitated opportunities within IDSA for colleagues who might have felt out of reach without her mentorship.
IDSA is pleased to recognize Dr. Hanson’s contributions to innovative diagnostic approaches to infectious diseases with a 2024 Society Citation Award.