TOP DOCTORS 2024: Infectious Disease Q&A

Dr. Melanie K. Brown, clinical chief of infectious disease, Sentara Health; provider, Sentara Infectious Disease Specialists, Norfolk, Virginia Beach

Education: Bachelor’s degree and medical degree, University of Kansas; residency and fellowship, VCU Health 

Family: Husband is a retired Air Force officer who now works for the Navy; we have two rambunctious little boys in elementary school. My mother is a recently retired nurse who worked for 50-plus years in ICU and ER. 

Career mentors: My mother, first and foremost. I wouldn’t be where I am without her. My former program director, Dr. Jane Cecil, and Dr. Gonzalo Bearman, chair of VCU infectious disease, who helped guide my career early on; and Dr. Daniel Nixon at VCU Health, the smartest physician with whom I have had the opportunity to work. When I am coming up with a clinical plan, I think about what Dr. Nixon would do. Dr. Bogdan Neughebauer with Sentara has been an invaluable mentor in my post-fellowship career. 

Fan of: All about KU basketball and Kansas City Chiefs football! I greatly enjoy reading — particularly mysteries — and playing with my boys.

Where haven’t you been that you’d like to vacation? My family and I love to travel and have already seen a lot. However, we have not made it to Alaska and Australia, but we hope to remedy that sometime soon. 

What kinds of diseases do you most often encounter? I work closely with my orthopedic colleagues treating joint infections. I also spend a great deal of time treating multi-drug-resistant bacterial infections, particularly in the form of pneumonias and respiratory infections. 

How did COVID affect your practice? COVID impacted my practice and all health care workers’ lives in ways that cannot be described in just a few sentences.   

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