Sarah Doernberg

Sarah Doernberg, MD, MAS, is a Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She holds appointments in the School of Medicine and leads an active clinical practice in outpatient Infectious Diseases and inpatient Transplant Infectious Diseases. Her research focuses on antibiotic-resistant infections, antimicrobial stewardship, and improving clinical trial endpoints through patient-centered outcomes.

Education: BA in Biology (Neurobiology focus) from Harvard University; MD from Yale School of Medicine. Completed Internal Medicine residency and Infectious Diseases fellowship at UCSF, with a MAS in Clinical Research through UCSF's Training in Clinical Research Program. Additional training includes Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Champion Training (2020).

Research Interests: Prioritizes translational work in antibiotic resistance, diagnostics, and outcomes measurement. Leads projects on Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia management, Gram-negative infections in transplant patients, and development of the Desirability of Outcome Ranking (DOOR) endpoint framework for clinical trials. Collaborates with the Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group on diagnostic and therapeutic research priorities.

Key Contributions: Over 150 peer-reviewed publications (selected recent work includes 2025 studies on Gram-negative bacteremia in transplant recipients and patient-centered outcomes for bloodstream infections). Active in multi-institutional trials evaluating ceftobiprole (ERADICATE study), rapid antibiotic susceptibility testing (RAPIDS GN trial), and baricitinib in severe COVID-19 (ACTT-4).

Professional Activities: Serves on national committees for antimicrobial stewardship guidelines and clinical trial design. Co-developed beta-lactam allergy de-labeling initiatives to optimize antibiotic use. Engaged in phage therapy research for recalcitrant infections and wildfire-related fungal infection studies post-2020 California fires.