Christa Fischer Walker

Assistant Scientist

Academic Degrees

Ph.D., 2005, Bloomberg School of Public Health, M.H.S., 2002, Bloomberg School of Public Health

School/Organization
Bloomberg School of Public Health

Department / Division
International Health
Global Disease Epidemiology and Control

Departmental Address
615 North Wolfe Street Rm E5543
Baltimore, MD 21205

Email: cfischer@jhsph.edu
Phone: 410-502-3478
Fax: 410-955-7159

Research and Professional Experience

• My research is focused on decreasing morbidity and mortality among children under 5 in developing countries. I am interested in the epidemiology and global burden of disease for the most common childhood illnesses and the interaction between infectious disease and malnutrition.

Honors and Awards

• American Association of University Women Dissertation Fellowship (2005); The R. Bradley Sack Fellowship for Infectious Disease Research in Developing Countries (2004); The J. William Fulbright Fellowship (2003); The Robert D. Wright Scholarship for International Health and Development in Africa (2003 & 2004)

Research Projects
Efficacy of Zinc in Treating Early Infant Diarrhea
The safety of zinc in therapy of diarrhea has been established in the age group 1-59 months and the efficacy is proven in the age group 6-59 months. The efficacy of the treatment in children less than 6 months of age has not yet been demonstrated. Thus, this trial being conducted in India,...



Selected Publications

• Naheed A, Fischer Walker CL, Mondal D et al. Zinc therapy for diarrhea improves growth among Bangladeshi infants 6-11 mo of age. J Ped Gast Nutr. In press.
• Fischer Walker CL. Zinc as an adjunct treatment for Shigella in low income settings (Editorial). J Ped Infec Dis 2008:3;155-7.
• Fischer Walker CL, Black RE, Baqui AH. Does age affect the response to zinc therapy for diarrhea in Bangladeshi infants? J Health Pop Nutr 2008:26;105-9.
• Winch PJ, Gilroy KE, Fischer Walker CL. The effect of HIV/AIDS and malaria on the context for introduction of zinc treatment and low-osmolarity ORS for childhood diarrhoea. J Health Pop Nutr 2008:26;1-11.
• Rimoin AW, Fischer Walker CL, Chitale RA et al. Variation in clinical presentation of childhood group A streptococcal pharyngitis in four countries. Journal of Tropical Pediatrics 2008: March 29 [Epub ahead of print].
• Fischer Walker CL, Black RE. Zinc deficiency: the global burden of disease. Eur J Clin Nutr 2008: Feb 13 [Epub ahead of print].
• Fischer Walker CL, Baqui AH, Ahmed S et al. Low-dose weekly supplementation of iron and/or zinc does not affect growth among Bangladeshi infants. Eur J Clin Nutr 2007: Sept 19 [Epub ahead of print]
• Fischer Walker CL, Aboubaker S, Van de Weerdt R, Black RE. Zinc for diarrhoea management in Sub-Saharan Africa. East Afr Med Journal 2007:84;441-9.
• Fischer Walker CL, Black RE. Functional indicators for assessing zinc deficiency. Food Nutr Bull 2007:23;S454-479.
• Fischer Walker CL, Black RE. Micronutrients and diarrheal disease. Clin Infect Dis 2007:45;S73-77.
• Fischer Walker CL, Bhutta ZA, Bhandari N, Teka T, Shahid F, Taneja S, Black RE, Zinc Study Group. Zinc during and in convalescence from diarrhea does not affect subsequent morbidity or growth among infants less than 6 mo of age. Am J Clin Nutr 2007:85;887-894.
• Fischer Walker CL, Bhutta ZA, Bhandari N, Teka T, Shahid F, Taneja S, Black RE, Zinc Study Group. Zinc supplementation for the treatment of diarrhea in infants in Pakistan, India, and Ethiopia. J Pediatric Gastro Nutr 2006:43;357-363.
• Fischer Walker C, Rimoin AW, Steinhoff MC. Comparison of clinical prediction rules for management of pharyngitis in settings with limited resources. J Pediatrics 2006:149;64-71.
• Baqui AH, Black RE, Fischer Walker C et al. Zinc supplementation and serum zinc during diarrhea. Indian J Pediatrics 2006:73;493-7.
• Rimoin AW, Hamza HS, Vince A, Kumar R, daCunha ALA, Fischer Walker C, et al. Evaluation of the WHO clinical decision rule for streptococcal pharyngitis. Arch Dis Child. 2005:90;1066-70.
• Baqui AH, Fischer Walker CL, Zaman K, Chowdhury HR, Wahed MA, Black RE, Caulfield LE. Weekly iron supplementation does not block increases in serum zinc due to weekly zinc supplementation in Bangladeshi infants. J Nutr 2005:135;2187-91.
• Steinhoff MC, Fischer Walker C, Rimoin AW, Hamza HH. A clinical decision rule for management of streptococcal pharyngitis in low resource settings. Acta Paediatr 2005:94;1038-42.
• Fischer Walker C, Kordas K, Stoltzfus RJ, Black RE. Interaction of iron and zinc for biochemical and functional outcomes in supplementation trials. Am J Clin Nutr 2005:81;5-12.
• Fischer Walker C, Black RE. Zinc and the risk of infectious disease. Nutrition Reviews 2004:24;255-75.

Last Updated: 1/8/2009 | Update Your Faculty Page