Tiffany Schwasinger-Schmidt, M.D., P.h.D., F.A.C.P.

Professional Background

Dr. Tiffany Schwasinger-Schmidt received her PhD in Genetics, Genomics, and Bioinformatics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2010. Her doctoral research focused on the investigation of the genetic determinants of obesity and the effects of dietary manipulations. She completed her Medical Degree at the University of Kansas School of Medicine in 2014 and went on to complete her Internal Medicine Residency at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita in 2017. Dr. Schwasinger-Schmidt joined the Internal Medicine Department at the University
of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita following the completion of her residency and is currently an Associate Professor of Medicine.

Dr. Schwasinger-Schmidt has served as a Co-Clerkship Director for the 3^rd year Internal Medicine Clerkship, Neurology Clerkship Director and Assistant Director of the 3rd year Neurology Clerkship. She is actively engaged in medical student education and has served as a Case Based Collaborative Learning (CBCL) Instructor, PBL Instructor, Medical Student Academic coach, and an Assistant Director for the Jager Academic Society. She also serves as a simulation educator for the Internal Medicine and Neurology Clinical Clerkships.

Dr. Schwasinger-Schmidt continues to pursue her research endeavors in General Internal Medicine as a member of the faculty and is actively engaged in the promotion of student and resident research projects through mentorship. As the Director for the Center for Clinical Research at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita, Dr. Schwasinger-Schmidt and is actively engaged in clinical trials in the areas of Psychiatry, Neurology, Infectious Diseases, Vaccine Development, and General Internal Medicine.

Dr. Schwasinger-Schmidt is a board-certified Internist and maintains an active General Internal Medicine Primary Care practice.

• MD, Internal Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS
• PhD, Genetics, Genomics, & Bioinformatics, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE
• Residency, Internal Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center - Wichita, Wichita, KS

• Board Certified Internal Medicine Physician, American Board of Internal Medicine
• Fellow of the American College of Physicians, American College of Physicians
• Medical License, Kansas Board of Healing Arts

• Society for Clinical Trials, Member, 2020 - Present
• American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology, Member, 2019 - Present
• Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine, Member, 2017 - Present
• American College of Physicians, Member, 2014 - Present
• Endocrine Society, Member, 2014 - Present
• Medical Society of Sedgwick County, Member, 2014 - Present
• American Medical Association, Member, 2010 - Present

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Research

Overview

Dr. Schwasinger-Schmidt has completed multiple research projects with an emphasis on translational research and genetic contributions to disease development. During her undergraduate education, Dr. Schwasinger-Schmidt conducted research on the investigation and identification of genes that confer resistance or susceptibility to Bacillus cerius, which was used as a model for Bacillus anthraces. Mutations that enhanced or reduced survival following bacterial infection were obtained to identify potential gene targets for reducing bacterial spread. Dr. Schwasinger-Schmidt’s graduate work focused on identifying the effects of genetic variations on lipid composition in an obese phenotype. Dr. Schwasinger-Schmidt utilized Drosophila melanogaster to produce model organisms with a heritable obese phenotype and increased lipid deposition. Comparative functional genomics were used to analyze metabolic networks to determine the contribution of individual metabolites to the obese phenotype through mass spectrometry lipid profiling, analysis of body composition including quantification of energy rich metabolites, determination of activity levels, measurements of longevity and fecundity, determination of metabolic rate and the effects of dietary alterations, and the determination of transcript abundance of metabolic genes.

During medical school, Dr. Schwasinger-Schmidt studied the effects of liraglutide treatment on insulin release and islet cell composition in a rat models of type II diabetes mellitus. This project included isolation of islet cells with measurement of insulin secretion, immunohistochemical staining of tissue to measure islet content per cell and determine islet density, and electron microscopy to evaluate beta cell size and morphology in treated and control animals. Results obtained from this study revealed an increased islet density in liraglutide treated animals with increased beta to alpha cell ratios resulting in increased insulin secretion in response to glucose stimulation.

As a faculty member, Dr. Schwasinger- Schmidt continues to pursue research focused on the translation of new therapies into clinical practice. As the Director for the Center for Clinical Research on the KU Wichita campus, her research is aimed at testing novel medications and biologics for use in Psychiatry including depression, personality disorders, and schizophrenia; Neurology including Alzheimer's Disease, Muscular Dystrophy, and ALS; Infectious Diseases including COPD, and Vaccine studies for emerging infectious diseases; and General Internal Medicine including obesity and diabetes treatment and prevention. She has served as a principal investigator on over 45 clinical trials sponsored by NIH, pharmaceutical companies, and private sponsors.

• An Open-Label Study to Assess the Long-Term Safety and Efficacy of AXS-05 in Subjects with Dementia of the Alzheimer's Type, Axsome Therapeutics Inc, PI
• ADVANCE-2: Addressing Dementia Via Agitation-Centered Evaluation: A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Trial to Assess the Efficacy and Safety of AXS-05 for the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease Agitation, Axsome Therapeutics Inc, PI
• A Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind, Parallel-Group, 18-Month Study with an Open-Label Extension Phase to Confirm Safety and Efficacy of BAN2401 in Subjects with Early Alzheimer’s Disease, Eisai, Inc., PI
• ACTIV-6: COVID-19 Outpatient Randomized Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy of Repurposed Medications, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences/ Duke Clinical Research Institute, NIAID, NIH, DHHS, PI
• A Phase 3 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of S-217622 in the prevention of symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection in household contacts of an individual with symptomatic COVID-19, Shionogi & Co., Ltd., PI
• DUET: A Phase 2b Randomized, Double-blind, Active- and Placebo controlled, Parallel-group, Multicenter Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Induction and Maintenance Combination Therapy with Guselkumab and Golimumab in Participants with Moderately to Severely Active Crohn’s Disease, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, PI
• Escitalopram for Agitation In Alzheimer's Disease (S-CitAD), National Institute on Aging, PI

• Theodore, D., A, Branche, A., R, Zhang, L, Graciaa, D., S, Choudhary, M, Hatlen, T., J, Osman, R, Babu, T., M, Robinson, S., T, Gilbert, P., B, Follmann, D, Janes, H, Kublin, J., G, Baden, L., R, Goepfert, P, Gray, G., E, Grinsztejn, B, Kotloff, K., L, Gay, C., L, Leav, B, Miller, J, Hirsch, I, Sadoff, J, Dunkle, L., M, Neuzil, K., M, Corey, L, Falsey, A., R, El Sahly, H., M, Sobieszczyk, M., E, Huang, Y. 2023. Clinical and Demographic Factors Associated With COVID-19, Severe COVID-19, and SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Adults: A Secondary Cross-Protocol Analysis of 4 Randomized Clinical Trials.. JAMA network open, 6 (7), e2323349
• Naggie, S, Boulware, D., R, Lindsell, C., J, Stewart, T., G, Slandzicki, A., J, Lim, S., C, Cohen, J, Kavtaradze, D, Amon, A., P, Gabriel, A, Gentile, N, Felker, G., M, Jayaweera, D, McCarthy, M., W, Sulkowski, M, Rothman, R., L, Wilson, S, DeLong, A, Remaly, A, Wilder, R, Collins, S, Dunsmore, S., E, Adam, S., J, Thicklin, F, Hanna, G., J, Ginde, A., A, Castro, M, McTigue, K, Shenkman, E, Hernandez, A., F. 2023. Effect of Higher-Dose Ivermectin for 6 Days vs Placebo on Time to Sustained Recovery in Outpatients With COVID-19: A Randomized Clinical Trial.. JAMA, 329 (11), 888-897
• Mena Lora, A., J, Long, J., E, Huang, Y, Baden, L., R, El Sahly, H., M, Follmann, D, Goepfert, P, Gray, G, Grinsztejn, B, Kotloff, K, Rouphael, N, Sobieszczyk, M, Walsh, S., R, Andriesen, J, Shah, K., A, Zhang, Y, Gilbert, P, Janes, H, Gay, C., L, Falsey, A., R, Tripp, R., L, Gorman, R., L, Tong, T, Marovich, M, Neuzil, K, Corey, L, Kublin, J., G. 2023. Rapid Development of an Integrated Network Infrastructure to Conduct Phase 3 COVID-19 Vaccine Trials.. JAMA network open, 6 (1), e2251974
• McCarthy, M., W, Naggie, S, Boulware, D., R, Lindsell, C., J, Stewart, T., G, Felker, G., M, Jayaweera, D, Sulkowski, M, Gentile, N, Bramante, C, Singh, U, Dolor, R., J, Ruiz-Unger, J, Wilson, S, DeLong, A, Remaly, A, Wilder, R, Collins, S, Dunsmore, S., E, Adam, S., J, Thicklin, F, Hanna, G, Ginde, A., A, Castro, M, McTigue, K, Shenkman, E, Hernandez, A., F. 2023. Effect of Fluvoxamine vs Placebo on Time to Sustained Recovery in Outpatients With Mild to Moderate COVID-19: A Randomized Clinical Trial.. JAMA, 329 (4), 296-305
• Bhai, Salman, Moser, Suzan, Taylor, Deborah, Heim, Andrew, Woolley-Levine, Susan, Walsh, Maureen, Schwasinger- Schmidt, Tiffany, Bowser, Robert, Moore, Dan, Levine, Todd, Barohn, Richard. 2023. A 40-week Phase 2B Randomized, Multicenter, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Study Evaluating the Safety and Efficacy of Memantine in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Muscle and Nerve
• Boulware, D., R, Lindsell, C., J, Stewart, T., G, Hernandez, A., F, Collins, S, McCarthy, M., W, Jayaweera, D, Gentile, N, Castro, M, Sulkowski, M, McTigue, K, Felker, G., M, Ginde, A., A, Dunsmore, S., E, Adam, S., J, DeLong, A, Hanna, G, Remaly, A, Thicklin, F, Wilder, R, Wilson, S, Shenkman, E, Naggie, S. 2023. Inhaled Fluticasone Furoate for Outpatient Treatment of Covid-19.. The New England journal of medicine, 389 (12), 1085-1095
• Ciecko, C, Okut, H, Lancaster, B, Schwasinger-Schmidt, T. 2023. Prevalence of elevated alkaline phosphatase levels among post-bariatric surgery patients.. Langenbeck's archives of surgery, 408 (1), 285
• Rick, A., M, Laurens, M., B, Huang, Y, Yu, C, Martin TCS, Rodriguez, C., A, Rostad, C., A, Maboa, R., M, Baden, L., R, El Sahly, H., M, Grinsztejn, B, Gray, G., E, Gay, C., L, Gilbert, P., B, Janes, H., E, Kublin, J., G, Huang, Y, Leav, B, Hirsch, I, Struyf, F, Dunkle, L., M, Neuzil, K., M, Corey, L, Goepfert, P., A, Walsh, S., R, Follmann, D, Kotloff, K., L. 2023. Risk of COVID-19 after natural infection or vaccination.. EBioMedicine, 96, 104799
• Stewart, T., G, Rebolledo, P., A, Mourad, A, Lindsell, C., J, Boulware, D., R, McCarthy, M., W, Thicklin, F, Del Garcia Sol, I., T, Bramante, C., T, Lenert, L., A, Lim, S, Williamson, J., C, Cardona, O., Q, Scott, J, Schwasinger-Schmidt, T, Ginde, A., A, Castro, M, Jayaweera, D, Sulkowski, M, Gentile, N, McTigue, K, Felker, G., M, DeLong, A, Wilder, R, Rothman, R., L, Collins, S, Dunsmore, S., E, Adam, S., J, Hanna, G., J, Shenkman, E, Hernandez, A., F, Naggie, S. 2023. Higher-Dose Fluvoxamine and Time to Sustained Recovery in Outpatients With COVID-19: The ACTIV-6 Randomized Clinical Trial.. JAMA
• Schwasinger-Schmidt, Tiffany., E, Preskorn, Sheldon. 2023. Discovery of New Transmitter Systems and Hence New Drug Targets, 30, 275-301