Amanda Harrington

Amanda Harrington is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology at Loyola University Chicago's Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health. She serves as Director of the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory at Loyola University Medical Center. Her academic roles include teaching pathology residents, infectious diseases fellows, medical students, and clinical laboratory scientists. Dr. Harrington earned a BA in English and Biology (University of Kansas) and a PhD in Microbiology (University of Kansas), followed by postdoctoral training in clinical microbiology at the University of Washington. She is board-certified in Medical Microbiology and serves as President of the Illinois Society for Microbiology (a regional branch of the American Society for Microbiology).

Her research focuses on bacterial strain typing, molecular epidemiology, rapid diagnostic testing, and quality improvement in clinical microbiology. Notable work includes studies on urinary tract infection diagnostics, fungal diagnostic gaps, and molecular-based testing innovations. She has contributed to multicenter evaluations of diagnostic panels (e.g., BioFire FilmArray) and antibiotic susceptibility testing methods (e.g., Accelerate PhenoTest BC).

Dr. Harrington has published extensively on antimicrobial stewardship, including analyses of cephalosporin susceptibility trends and the clinical impact of rapid diagnostic tools. She collaborates with national consortia like the Fungal Diagnostics Laboratories Consortium (FDLC) and has authored over 50 peer-reviewed articles. Her professional leadership includes roles in ASM committees and regional microbiology societies.

Her work bridges clinical practice and research: directing a high-volume clinical microbiology lab while advancing diagnostic methodologies to improve patient care. Ongoing projects include evaluating novel antimicrobial agents (e.g., oritavancin) and developing regional antibiograms to guide antibiotic prescribing practices.