Ariel D. Szvalb, MD FACP FIDSA
Department of Infectious Diseases, Infection Control, and Employee Health, Division of Internal Medicine
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Professor, Infectious Diseases, Infection Control and Employee Health, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment
Professor, Infectious Diseases, Infection Control and Employee Health, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 1996 | University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, AR, MD |
Postgraduate Training
| 2016-2016 | Quality Improvement, Clinical Safety and Effectiveness Program, Session 24, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas |
| 2013-2013 | Course, Infection Control Fellows Course, Infectious Diseases Society of America and Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, Arlington, Virginia |
| 2013-2013 | Course, Diploma in Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas |
| 2011-2013 | Clinical Fellowship, Infectious Diseases - Immunocompromised MD Anderson Cancer Center Track, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas |
| 2006-2008 | Clinical Residency, Internal Medicine, St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center. Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York |
| 2005-2006 | Clinical Internship, Internal Medicine, St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center. Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York |
| 1999-2001 | Clinical Residency, Internal Medicine, Instituto de Investigaciones Medicas, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires |
| 1998-1999 | Clinical Internship, Internal Medicine, Hospital de Clinicas 'Jose de San Martin.' University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires |
Licenses & Certifications
| 2025 | Basic Life Support (CPR and AED) |
| 2025 | DEA License |
| 2024 | American Board of Internal Medicine - Infectious Diseases |
| 2023 | Washington State Medical Commission/Compact |
| 2023 | Alabama State License |
| 2023 | Mississippi State License |
| 2023 | Florida State License |
| 2023 | Tennessee Board of Medical Examoners/Compact |
| 2023 | Oklahoma State Board of Medical Licensure & Supervision/Compact |
| 2023 | Georgia Medical Board/Compact |
| 2023 | Arizona Medical Board/Compact |
| 2023 | Louisiana Medical Board/Compact |
| 2018 | American Board of Internal Medicine |
| 2014 | American Board of Internal Medicine. Infectious Diseases |
| 2014 | Texas Medical Board |
| 2008 | American Board of Internal Medicine |
| 2008 | United States Medical Licensing Examination |
| 2003 | Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates |
| 1996 | National Medical License - Argentina |
Experience & Service
Faculty Academic Appointments
Associate Professor, Infectious Diseases, Infection Control and Employee Health, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2020 - 2026
Assistant Professor, Infectious Diseases, Infection Control and Employee Health, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2013 - 2020
Administrative Appointments/Responsibilities
Clinical Director Infectious Diseases-Critical Care Unit, Infectious Diseases, Infection Control and Employee Health, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, 2019 - 2023
Intramural Institutional Committee Activities
Member, Credentials Committee of the Medical Staff, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2025 - Present
Member, Medical Records Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2022 - Present
Elected Member, Faculty Senate, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2015 - 2018
Member, Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2014 - 2021
Honors & Awards
| 2026 - Present | Multi-Year Appointment Award. The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX. 2026-2029, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2023 | Multi-Year Appointment Award. The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX. 2023-2026, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2020 | Multi-Year Appointment Award. The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX. 2020-2023, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2020 | Fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, Infectious Diseases Society of America |
| 2019 | Fellow of the American College of Physicians, American College of Physicians |
| 2016 | Certificate of Recognition as OneConnect Super User for the support provided to colleagues during the OneConnect go-live, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2016 | Recognition for Plan Project. Nephrostomy-related Urinary Tract Infections. Proper Urine Sampling and Labeling, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center |
Professional Memberships
Selected Presentations & Talks
Local Presentations
- 2017. Travel Advice for the Leukemia Patient. Zeev Estrov Lectures. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2017. Percutaneous Nephrostomy-related Urinary Tract Infections. Proper Sampling and Labeling. Clinical, Safety, and Effectiveness Program (CS&E). Division of Medicine Grand Rounds. Houston, Texas, US.
National Presentations
- 2025. Attributable and Contributable Mortalities of Culture-Positive Invasive Aspergillosis in Unselected Patients with Hematologic Malignancies at a Tertiary Care Cancer Center: No Room for Complacency. Poster. ID Week 2025. Atlanta, Georgia, US.
International Presentations
- 2026. Bacterial Infections in the Immunosuppressed Patient. Invited. International Symposium of Critical Care in Cancer Patients. Houston, US.
- 2026. 10-year trends in attributable and contributable mortality of culture-positive invasive aspergillosis (IA) in patients with hematologic malignancies (HM): Have we reached the “ceiling efficacy effect” of modern antifungals?. Poster. ESCMID GLOBAL 2026 - 36th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Munich, DE.
- 2020. Serum (1-3)-ß-D-glucan has suboptimal performance for the diagnosis of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia and correlates poorly with respiratory burden measured by quantitative PCR in patients with cancer. Poster. ECCMID 2020 - 30th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Paris, FR.
- 2018. Test performance of (1,3)-beta-D-glucan for the diagnosis of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia in patients with cancer. Poster. ECCMID 2018 - 28th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Madrid, ES.
- 2017. Bordetella bronchiseptica infections in cancer patients. Poster. ECCMID 2017 - 27th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Vienna, AT.
Grant & Contract Support
| Date: | 2020 - 2022 |
| Title: | Novel Foley Catheter with Intra-Urethral Peri-Catheter Disinfection for Prevention of Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTIs) in Cancer Patients with Catheter-Managed Urine Drainage |
| Funding Source: | IRG |
| Role: | PI |
| ID: | 2020-00058882-Y1 |
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Szvalb AD, Wurster S, Matsuo T, Teny JM, Stewart AG, Cho SY, Yiang J, Kontoyiannis DP. 10-Year Trends in Attributable and Contributable Mortality of Culture-Positive Invasive Aspergillosis in Patients with Hematologic Malignancies: Have We Reached the “Ceiling Efficacy Effect” of Modern Antifungals?. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 2026. e-Pub 2026. PMID: 42372090.
- Sajith B, Nates JL, Hernandez M, Cesario S, Szvalb AD, Cuenca J, Reddy DR, Gutierrez C, Knafi M, Woodman SE. Characteristics and Outcomes of Cancer Patients with and without COVID-19: A Matched-Cohort Study. e-Pub 2026.
- Szvalb, AD, Marten, CA, Cain, K, Taylor, JS, Huang, SY, Jiang, Y, Raad, II, Viola, GM. Percutaneous Nephrostomy Catheter-Related Infections in Patients with Gynaecological Cancers. A Multidisciplinary Algorithmic Approach. Journal of Hospital Infection 141:99-106, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37696471.
- Szvalb AD, Marten CA, Cain KE, Taylor J, Huang SY, Viola GM. Risk Factors for Recurrent Percutaneous Nephrostomy Tube Infections in Patients with Gynecological Malignancies. Open Forum Infectious Diseases 9(2), 2022. e-Pub 2022.
- Chaftari AM, Hachem R, Malek AE, Mulanovich VE, Szvalb AD, Jiang Y, Yuan Y, Ali S, Deeba R, Chaftari P, Raad I. A Prospective Randomized Study Comparing Ceftolozane/Tazobactam to Standard of Care in the Management of Neutropenia and Fever in Patients With Hematological Malignancies. Open Forum Infect Dis 9(6):ofac079, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35663286.
- Mori N, Szvalb AD, Adachi JA, Tarrand JJ, Mulanovich VE. Clinical Presentation and Outcomes of Non-Typhoidal Salmonella infections in Patients with Cancer. BMC Infect Dis 21(1):1021, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34587893.
- Szvalb AD, Malek AE, Jiang Y, Bhatti MM, Wurster S, Kontoyiannis DP. Serum (1,3)-Beta-d-Glucan has suboptimal performance for the diagnosis of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia in cancer patients and correlates poorly with respiratory burden as measured by quantitative PCR. J Infect 81(3):443-451, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32650108.
- Malek AE, Nieto Y, Szvalb AD, Siddiqui S, Shafi MA, Hwang JP, Raad II, Torres HA. Hepatitis B Virus-associated Liver Failure in a Patient with B-cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma After Anti-cancer Therapy Including Ibrutinib. Clin Lymphoma Myeloma Leuk 20(3):e124-e127, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 31932250.
- Alfayez M, Burger JA, Kadia T, Xu TH, Szvalb AD, Pemmaraju N. Plesiomonas shigelloides gastroenteritis in a patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Leuk Lymphoma 60(13):1-2, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31305193.
- Szvalb AD, El Haddad H, Rolston KV, Sabir SH, Jiang Y, Raad II, Viola GM. Risk factors for recurrent percutaneous nephrostomy catheter-related infections. Infection 47(2):239-245, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 30406481.
- Szvalb AD, Rolston KV, Mori N, Tarrand JJ, Mulanovich VE. Infections with the Agent of 'Kennel Cough' in Patients with Cancer. J Infect 78(1):48-53, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 30048653.
- Chaftari AM, Hachem R, Szvalb AD, Taremi M, Granwehr B, Viola GM, Amin S, Assaf A, Numan Y, Shah P, Gasitashvili K, Natividad E, Jiang Y, Slack R, Reitzel R, Rosenblatt J, Mouhayar E, Raad I. A Novel Nonantibiotic Nitroglycerin-Based Catheter Lock Solution for Prevention of Intraluminal Central Venous Catheter Infections in Cancer Patients. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 61(7), 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28416559.
- Vargas-Cruz N, Reitzel RA, Rosenblatt J, Jamal M, Szvalb AD, Chaftari AM, Hachem R, Raad I. In Vitro Study of Antimicrobial Percutaneous Nephrostomy Catheters for Prevention of Renal Infections. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 61(6), 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28320713.
- Vargas-Cruz N, Reitzel RA, Rosenblatt J, Jamal M, Szvalb AD, Chaftari AM, Hachem R, Raad I. Antimicrobial Percutaneous Nephrostomy Catheters for the Prevention of Renal Infections: In Vitro Studies. Antimicrob Agents and Chemotherapy, 2017. e-Pub 2017.
- Roberts NJ, Zhang L, Janku F, Collins A, Bai RY, Staedtke V, Rusk AW, Tung D, Miller M, Roix J, Khanna KV, Murthy R, Benjamin RS, Helgason T, Szvalb AD, Bird JE, Roy-Chowdhuri S, Zhang HH, Qiao Y, Karim B, McDaniel J, Elpiner A, Sahora A, Lachowicz J, Phillips B, Turner A, Klein MK, Post G, Diaz LA, Riggins GJ, Papadopoulos N, Kinzler KW, Vogelstein B, Bettegowda C, Huso DL, Varterasian M, Saha S, Zhou S. Intratumoral injection of Clostridium novyi-NT spores induces antitumor responses. Sci Transl Med 6(249):249ra111, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 25122639.
- Szvalb AD, Raad II, Weinberg JS, Suki D, Mayer R, Viola GM. Ommaya reservoir-Related Infections. Clinical Manifestations and Treatment Outcomes. J Infect 68(3):216-24, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 24360921.
- John TM, Szvalb AD, Wurster ST, Matsuo T, Jiang Y, Hernandez Acosta A, Kontoyiannis DP. How Often Does Mucormycosis Contribute to Mortality in Hematologic Malignancy Patients? An Analysis of 103 Patients Over 20 Years.
Review Articles
- Viola GM, Szvalb AD, Malek AE, Chaftari AM, Hachem R, Raad II. Prevention of Device-Related Infections in Patients with Cancer: Current Practice and Future Horizons. CA Cancer J Clin 73(73(2)):147-163, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 36149820.
- Szvalb AD, Yepez Guevara E, Euscher E, Nahmod KA, Kontoyiannis DP. Acute Peritoneal Histoplasmosis Mimicking Ovarian Cancer and Review of the Literature on Histoplasma Peritonitis. Open Forum Infectious Diseases 10(1), 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 36686636.
- Szvalb AD, Kontoyiannis DP. Acute acalculous cholecystitis due to Fusarium species and review of the literature on fungal cholecystitis. Mycoses 62(9):847-853, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31166627.
Other Articles
- Malek AE, Viola GM, Seiler GT, Szvalb AD Disseminated Nocardia farcinica infection in immunocompromised patient. Infection 48(3):487-488, 2020. PMID: 32144593.
- Szvalb AD, Raad II, Weinberg JS, Suki D, Mayer R, Viola GM Ommaya Reservoir-Related Infections. 2013 3rd Infections in Cancer Symposium. Department of Infectious Diseases. The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
- Szvalb AD, Raad II, Weinberg JS, Suki D, Mayer R, Viola GM Ommaya Reservoir-Related Infections: Clinical Manifestations and Treatment Outcomes. ID Week 2013.
- Szvalb AD, Mori N, Viola GM, Mulanovich VE Bordetella bronchiseptica infections in cancer patients. ECCMID 2017.
- Szvalb AD, Kontoyiannis DP, Viola GM, Jiang Y, Rolston KV Test performance of (1,3)-beta-D-glucan for the diagnosis of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia in patients with cancer. ECCMID 2018.
- Szvalb AD, Malek AE, Jiang Y, Kontoyiannis DP Serum (1-3)-ß-D-glucan has suboptimal performance for the diagnosis of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia and correlates poorly with respiratory burden measured by quantitative PCR in patients with cancer. ECCMID 2020.
Abstracts
- Szvalb AD, John T, Wurster S, Natsuo T, Jiang Y, Kontoyiannis DP. Attributable and Contributable Mortalities of Culture-Positive Invasive Aspergillosis in Unselected Patients with Hematologic Malignancies at a Tertiary Care Cancer Center: No Room for Complacency. Open Forum Infect Dis, 2026. e-Pub 2026.
- Szvalb AD, Jonh TM, Wurster S, Matsuo T, Jiang Y, Kontoyiannis DP. Attributable and Contributable Mortalities of Culture-Positive Invasive Aspergillosis in Unselected Patients with Hematologic Malignancies at a Tertiary Care Cancer Center: No Room for Complacency. ID Week 2025, 2026. e-Pub 2026.
- Yepez P, Szvalb AD, Hanmandlu A, Nair S, Kornblau S, Raja Reddy D, Nates J. Rare Infections: A Case of Kytococcus Infection in an Immunocompromised Host. Critical Care Medicine 53(1), 2025. e-Pub 2025.
- Yepez P, Szvalb AD, Hanmandlu A, Ankit S, Kornblau S, Reddy R, Nates J. Rare Infections: A Case of Kytococcus Infection in an Immunocompromised Host. 2024 13th Annual Society of Critical Care Medicine 53(1), 2025. e-Pub 2025.
- Szvalb AD, Marten CA, Cain KE, Taylor J, Huang SY, Viola GM. Risk Factors for Recurrent Percutaneous Nephrostomy Tube Infections in Patients with Gynecological Malignancies. Open Forum Infectious Diseases 9(2), 2022. e-Pub 2022.
- Szvalb AD, Marten CA, Cain KE, Taylor J, Huang S, Viola GM. Risk Factors for Recurrent Percutaneous Nephrostomy Tube Infections in Patients with Gynecological Malignancies. ID Week 2022 9(2, December 2022), 2022. e-Pub 2022.
- Malek A, Nieto Y, Szvalb AD, Siddiqui S, Shafi MA, Hwang JP, Raad II, Torres HA. Hepatitis B Virus Reactivation in Patients with Hematologic Malignancies after Anticancer Therapy Which Included Ibrutinib. Open Forum Infectious Diseases 6(2):S156-S157, 2019. e-Pub 2019.
- Malek AE, Nieto Y, Szvalb AD, Siddiqui S, Shafi MA, Raad II, Torres HA. Hepatitis B Virus Reactivation in Patients with Hematologic Malignancies after Anticancer Therapy Which Included Ibrutinib. ID Week 2019 6(2, October 2019,):S156–S157, 2019. e-Pub 2019.
- Haddad HE, Viola G, Jiang Y, Raad I, Rolston KV, Szvalb A. Percutaneous Nephrostomy Tube-related Infections. Open Forum Infectious Diseases 4(1):S349, 2017. e-Pub 2017.
- El Hadad H, Viola GM, Jean Y, Raad II, Rolston KV, Szvalb AD. Percutaneous Nephrostomy Tube-related Infections. ID Week 2017 2017 Oct 4;4(Suppl 1):S349, 2017. e-Pub 2017.
- Chaftari A, Hachem R, Szvalb AD, Taremi M, Granwehr B, Viola GM, Sapna A, Assaf A, Numan Y, Shah P, Felix E, Natividad E, Jiang Y, Slack R, Reitzel R, Rosenblatt J, Mouhayar E, Raad II. A Novel Nonantibiotic Nitroglycerin Based Catheter Lock Solution for the Prevention of Intraluminal Central Venous Catheter–Related Bloodstream Infections (CRBSI) in Cancer Patients. Open Forum Infectious Diseases 3(1), 2016. e-Pub 2016.
- Chaftari AM, Hachem R, Szvalb AD, Taremi M, Granwehr B, Viola G, Sapna A, Assaf A, Numan Y, Shah P, Gasitashvili K, Natividad E, Jiang Y, Slack R, Reitzel R, Rosenblatt J, Mouhayar E, Raad I. A Novel Non-Antibiotic Nitroglycerin Based Catheter Lock Solution for the Prevention of Intraluminal Central Venous Catheter Related Bloodstream Infections (CRBSI) in Cancer Patients. ID Week 2016 OFID 2016:3 (Suppl 1)• S599, 2016. e-Pub 2016.
- Mori N, Szvalb AD, Adachi A., Mulanovich V. Non-Typhoidal Salmonella Infections in Cancer Patients. Open Forum Infectious Diseases 1(1, December 2014):S168, 2014. e-Pub 2014.
- Mori N, Szvalb A, Adachi J, Mulanovich V. Non-Typhoidal Salmonella Infections in Cancer Patients. ID Week 2014 1(1):S168, 2014. e-Pub 2014.
- Karol EA, Larramendy M, Socolovsky M, Leston J, Szvalb AD. Somatotopic arrangement of human postgasserian fibers in trigeminal neuralgia.A computerized analysis using the multielectrode technique. Neurosurgery Volume 47(2):542-543, 2000. e-Pub 2000.
- Karol EA, Larramendy M, Socolovsky M, Leston J, Szvalb A. Somatotopic arrangement of human postgasserian fibers in trigeminal neuralgia.A computerized analysis using the multielectrode technique. Congress of Neurological Surgeons Volume 47(2)(August 2000):542-543, 2000. e-Pub 2000.
- John TM, Wurster ST, Hernandez Acosta A, Szvalb AD, Jiang Y, Kontoyiannis DP. How often does mucormycosis contribute to mortality in hematologic malignancy patients? An analysis of 103 patients over 20 years . 12th Trends in Medical Mycology.
- Szvalb AD, Raad II, Weinberg JS, Suki D, Mayer R, Viola GM. Ommaya Reservoir-Related Infections: Clinical Manifestations and Treatment Outcomes. 2013 Division of Internal Medicine Research Retreat. The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
- Szvalb AD, Wurster S, Matsuo T, Cho SY, Jiang Y, Kontoyiannis DP. 10-year trends in attributable and contributable mortality of culture-positive invasive aspergillosis (IA) in patients with haematologic malignancies (HM): have we reached the “ceiling efficacy effect” of modern antifungals?. ESCMID Global 2026.
Book Chapters
- Szvalb AD, Rolston KV. Skin and Soft-Tissue Infections Among Cancer Patients. In: Nates, J.L. (eds) Oncologic Critical Care. Springer, 2026.
- Szvalb AD, Rolston KV. Skin and Soft Tissue Infections among Cancer Patients. In: Nates, J.L. (eds) Oncologic Critical Care. Springer, 2019.
Letters to the Editor
- Nahmod KA, Nahmod VE, Szvalb AD. Potential mechanisms of AT1 receptor blockers on reducing pneumonia-related mortality. Clin Infect Dis 56: 1193-4, 2013.
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified September 01, 2026