Joanna Kimball, M.D.

Professional Background

Joanna Kimball, MD is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas. She completed her undergraduate and medical school studies at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri before returning to her hometown of Kansas City for her Internal Medicine residency at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Following residency, Joanna completed her fellowship in Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. While there, she developed and pursued interests in general infectious diseases, antimicrobial stewardship, transplant infectious diseases, medical education, and influenza vaccine failure. Since returning to KU, Joanna joined the antimicrobial stewardship team where she now serves as medical director and also enjoys working with our great infectious diseases fellows and other learners on service.

• BS, Biological Sciences with University Honors, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO
• BA, Psychology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO
• MD, Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO
• Residency, Internal Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS
• Clinical Fellowship, Infectious Diseases, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN

• American College of Physicians, Member, 2021 - Present
• KUMC ID Wellness Committee, ID Wellness Committee, Co-Chair, 2021 - Present
• KUMC Antimicrobial Stewardship Program, Antimicrobial Stewardship Program, Member, 2020 - Present
• Society of Healthcare Epidemiologists of America, Member, 2019 - Present
• Infectious Diseases Society of America, Member, 2017 - Present

Research

Overview

Joanna's research pursuits during fellowship included influenza vaccine failure and antimicrobial stewardship. Her influenza research demonstrated that older patients and immunocompromised patients are at increased risk for hospitalization with influenza vaccine failure. Her fellowship antimicrobial stewardship research focused on the strategies used to decrease concomitant vancomycin and piperacillin-tazobactam use at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and creating a model for future stewardship interventions. She presented both of these topics at ID Week 2020. At KU, she has focused most of her research efforts on antimicrobial stewardship with current and recent research projects focusing on dalbavancin use, extended-infusion beta-lactams, hepatitis A vaccination, single-dose aminoglycoside use for UTIs, health equity in antimicrobial stewardship, costs of MDRO infections, and C. difficile infections.

• Regunath Hariharan, Kimball Joanna, Smith L. Patrick, Salzer William, Loeffelholz M. J. 2015. Severe Community-Acquired Pneumonia with Bacteremia Caused by Herbaspirillum aquaticum or Herbaspirillum huttiense in an Immune-Competent Adult. Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 53 (9), 3086-3088. https://doi.org/10.1128/jcm.01324-15
• Kimball Joanna, Zhu Yuwei, Wyatt Dayna, Trabue Christopher H, Talbot H Keipp. 2021. Influenza Vaccine Failure Associated With Age and Immunosuppression. The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 224 (2), 288-293. https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiaa757
• Kimball Joanna M, Deri Connor, Nesbitt Whitney J, Nelson George E, Staub Milner B. 2021. Development of the Three Antimicrobial Stewardship E's (TASE) Framework and Association Between Stewardship Interventions and Intended Results Analysis to Identify Key Facility-Specific Interventions and Strategies for Successful Antimicrobial Stewardship. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 73 (8), 1397-1403. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33983389/
• Tichenor Jordan, Massey Brenton, Poddutoori Padma, Kujath Scot, Kimball Joanna. 2021. Case #21007: A female in her seventies with a history of coronary artery disease and peripheral vascular disease presented to our hospital for dizziness, fatigue and headache.. Partners Infectious Disease Images. http://www.idimages.org/idreview/case/caseid=595
• Black Cassandra E, Gregory Eric, Wilson Nicole, Shoemaker D Matthew, Haas Gabriel Ann, Wark Kellie, Kimball Joanna. 2023. 1178. The Dalba Diary: A Retrospective Review of Dalbavancin Use, Clinical Outcomes, and Treatment Adherence Challenges at an Academic Medical Center. Open Forum Infectious Diseases, 10 (Supplement_2). https://doi.org/10.1093/ofid/ofad500.1018
• Belote Alex, Konz Regan, Gregory Eric, Kimball Joanna, Wark Kellie, Haas Gabe. 2026. P-1063. Morbidity and Mortality Analysis of Carbapenem-Resistant versus Carbapenem-Susceptible Acinetobacter baumannii infections in patients hospitalized at an Academic Hospital from 2019-2023. Open Forum Infectious Diseases, 13 (Supplement_1). https://doi.org/10.1093/ofid/ofaf695.1258
• Savage Elizabeth, Wark Kellie, Kimball Joanna, Lamberton Kathryn, Haas Gabe. 2026. P-2063. Who Gets What? Examining Demographic Influences on Antibiotic Prescriptions for Hospitalized Patients with Community-Acquired Pneumonia. Open Forum Infectious Diseases, 13 (Supplement_1). https://doi.org/10.1093/ofid/ofaf695.2227
• Walkenhorst Molly S, Savage Elizabeth, Wark Kellie, Kimball Joanna, Weihe Rachel, Lamberton Kathryn, Hamilton-Seth Robert, Hankins Julia D, Lakis Nelli S, Banerjee Ritu. 2026. Remarkable recovery from a Cladophialophora bantiana fungal brain abscess in an immunocompromised patient: a case report. ASM Case Reports, 2 (2). https://doi.org/10.1128/asmcr.00150-25