Co-Director of Pathlogy Research Collaborative

My research focuses on the evaluation of new methods for detection and isolation of bacterial pathogens. Additional studies aim to characterize the genitourinary microbiome to explore links between characteristic microbial communities and the onset of infectious diseases such as urinary tract infections, sexually transmitted infections, and maternally transmitted infections. Together, these studies will provide opportunities for optimization of diagnostic and antimicrobial stewardship for the diagnosis of infectious diseases that have a major impact on public health.

Melanie Yarbrough, PhD, completed her formal education at Texas A&M University (BS, Veterinary Biomedical and Clinical Sciences) with graduate training at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (PhD, Microbiology). Yarbrough completed postdoctoral research fellowships in Clinical Chemistry and Clinical Microbiology at Washington University School of MedicineDr. Yarbrough is currently an assistant professor of Pathology and Immunology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. She serves as Medical Director of Microbiology Services at Barnes Jewish Hospital.


Highlighted Publications

Comparison of Microorganism Detection and Time to Positivity in Pediatric and Standard Media from Three Major Commercial Continuously Monitored Blood Culture Systems (2021)
Assessment of the Urinary Microbiota of MSM Using Urine Culturomics Reveals a Diverse Microbial Environment (2021)
Evaluation of the Risk of Laboratory Microbial Contamination during Routine Testing in Automated Clinical Chemistry and Microbiology Laboratories (2020)
Clinical Performance of the BioPlex 2200 Syphilis Total & RPRAssay at a Tertiary Medical Center with a High Rate of Syphilis (2019)