Learn more about the IDBugBowl team from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences Delhi, including how they’re preparing for this year’s competition (Saturday, Oct. 24, at 4:45 p.m. ET) and what interests them most about the ID field. Stay tuned for updates on the other teams competing this year, coming soon on the IDWeek Daily News blog.
Tariq Maula, MBBS, Senior Resident in Infectious Diseases
What are you doing to prepare for the competition? What’s your training/practice routine?
I’ve been listening to a lot of excellent ID podcasts; Febrile is my favorite! Our team practices regularly with self-made rapid-fire questions, image-based cases, guidelines and recent ID literature. We also randomly quiz each other and discuss interesting cases from our wards, hoping some of them will miraculously turn up at IDBugBowl!
What inspired you to pursue a career in ID?
Early exposure to patients with infectious diseases and the physicians caring for them in Kolkata, eastern India, drew me to the diagnostic complexity of ID. Caring for patients through the COVID-19 pandemic showed me firsthand how profoundly infectious diseases can shape individual lives, communities and even societies. I am drawn to the field’s enormous scope for research and intellectual discovery, and especially to how inseparable its science is from its social dimensions.
What part of the ID field interests you the most?
Immunocompromised host ID, particularly infections in transplant and oncology patients, because of the added complexity of both the host and the therapeutic decisions involved. I am also very interested in antimicrobial stewardship and medical mycology.
What’s your favorite pathogen?
Mycobacterium tuberculosis: Ancient, remarkably adaptable, a master mimicker, and endlessly fascinating from both clinical and immunologic perspectives.
What’s your favorite medical TV show, past or present?
House, M.D. I love the diagnostic puzzles and the camaraderie between colleagues. The bedside manner, however, can probably stay on television.
Charu Rajoria, MBBS, Senior Resident in Infectious Diseases
What are you doing to prepare for the competition? What’s your training/practice routine?
Along with my routine duties in wards and ICUs, where I routinely manage ID-related cases, I try to review any interesting cases that I see, discuss them with my peers and stay updated on new/recent updates in the field of infectious diseases.
What inspired you to pursue a career in ID?
I was always interested in microbiology and medicine, and the chance to work in a field that combines both seemed very opportune. I feel it is a field that has all aspects of what an ideal branch should be — challenging cases, good patient interaction and clinical research. Being an ever-evolving field, it gives me the opportunity to be a lifelong learner, which I greatly appreciate.
What part of the ID field interests you the most?
I have a particular interest in mycology and transplant-related infections.
What’s your favorite pathogen?
Trichosporon asahii
What’s your favorite medical TV show, past or present?
Scrubs
Sandeep Rao Kordcal, MBBS, Senior Resident in Infectious Diseases
What are you doing to prepare for the competition? What’s your training/practice routine?
I try to learn from the cases I encounter by reviewing the literature and discussing challenging cases with my colleagues and faculty.
What inspired you to pursue a career in ID?
My interest in infectious diseases began with a fascination for microbiology in medical school, but it was seeing the remarkable variety of infections in the wards that made me want to pursue it as a career. Over time, caring for patients with complex infections and seeing how advances in science can directly change their outcomes made the field deeply meaningful to me.
What part of the ID field interests you the most?
I am particularly interested in infections in immunocompromised patients, especially invasive fungal infections. I am also very interested in tuberculosis, which has been an important part of both my clinical training and research.
What’s your favorite pathogen?
Aspergillus fumigatus. I have always found the challenges involved in its diagnosis and treatment fascinating.
What’s your favorite medical TV show, past or present?
House, M.D. When I watched it as a medical student, I used to think some of the rare diagnoses were exaggerated for television. Working in infectious diseases at AIIMS has since taught me otherwise!
Editor’s Note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity.