Unraveling Long COVID Care: Clinical Advances and Future Directions

As a young physician at Louisiana State University, Dr. Bonilla focused on the Clinical Management of HIV/AIDS and HCV, two neglected and stigmatized diseases for which effective therapies were in their infancy. While learning the clinical aspects of the two diseases, Dr. Bonilla saw a need to create and organize a support community to promote understanding and management of the conditions. Subsequently, he went to Summa Health System in Akron, Ohio, and he continued his work where he specialized in HIV/HCV as well as in Infectious Diseases Clinical Practice. In addition to teaching medical residents and students, Dr. Bonilla participated in numerous clinical trials and developed clinical research projects. Furthermore, he led the Infection Renal Transplant Program, HIV and HCV clinics, and he participated in several cooperative studies with Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Bonilla’s interest in academia led him to the University Of Pittsburgh Medical Center where he was an Assistant Professor, Clinician, and Medical Educator in the Department of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases. Due to his interest in cytokines and immunological responses, Dr. Bonilla became a researcher at ImmunoScience Inc., a biotechnology company in California that works to develop a therapeutic HIV vaccine. Dr. Bonilla’s experience of treating HIV/HCV combined with his interest in inflammatory response is the driving force behind his desire to understand ME/CFS. Dr. Bonilla is a strong patient advocate, and he believes in integrated care—care in which physicians communicate and coordinate efforts to deliver the best medical outcome for patients. His ME/CFS patients are his inspiration, and he is committed to continuing research to seek answers to their health challenges.

I am a neurological physical therapist with 14 years experience dedicated to providing innovative and curated interventions for patients who suffer from chronic headaches, neck pain, and vestibular dysfunction. In my current position, I work with veterans and first responders with mild-to-moderate traumatic brain injuries as part of UNC's THRIVE Program and with retired NFL players as part of UNC's Brain & Body program. I previously worked in outpatient neurological and ENT clinics, providing care to patients with vestibular dysfunction and craniofacial pain. I have also provided guest lectures in university and clinic settings on vestibular therapy, and ECHOs on vestibular and therapeutic interventions for Long-COVID.

Dr. Gubatan is a physician scientist, board-certified gastroenterologist, and instructor of medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. He earned his medical degree from Harvard Medical School and completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at Harvard's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He completed his gastroenterology fellowship at Stanford where he served as chief fellow and was an American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) editorial fellow for Gastroenterology. Dr. Gubatan’s research is focused on translational studies using single-cell multi-omics to understand mechanisms of therapy failure, elucidate the role of host immune and gut microbiome interactions in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and develop precision medicine strategies to improve outcomes in patients with IBD. Dr. Gubatan’s work has been featured in Gastroenterology, Gut, American Journal of Gastroenterology, Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Journal of Crohns & Colitis, and Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. Dr. Gubatan's research and career development has been supported by a Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Physician Scientist Scholar Award, a Stanford Translational Research and Applied Medicine (TRAM) Scholar Award, an NIH NIDDK LRP Award, and a Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Physician Scientist Fellowship Award.