Peter R. Kerndt

Dr. Kerndt received a B.S. in Biology from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and his MD from the University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa. He completed a rotating Internship at San Francisco General Hospital in San Francisco, California and an Internal Medicine Residency and Chief Medical Residency at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. He began his career in Public Health with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a commissioned officer with the US Public Health Service in the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) assigned to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and later to the Acute Communicable Disease Control Program in the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. He completed a Preventive Medicine Residency at the CDC and earned a MPH from UCLA.  He is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Preventive Medicine. 

Dr. Kerndt previously served as Director of the Tuberculosis (TB) Control Program in the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LAC DPH), where he oversaw public health activities related to surveillance, research, legal orders for examination and/or detention, and medical consultation on the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of TB. Prior to that he served as Director of the HIV Epidemiology and Sexually Transmitted Disease Control Programs in the LAC DPH from 1988 to 2013.  In addition, Dr. Kerndt holds an appointment as Senior Scientist/Medical Officer in Social and Scientific Systems, Inc., in the Center for Infectious Diseases Research and serves as Deputy Director of the STAR Sexually Transmitted Infections, Clinical Trials Group funded by the National Institutes of Health.  Dr. Kerndt has published more than 100 papers on HIV and other STD-related research in peer reviewed professional journals.

Education


  • MPH, University of California, Los Angeles, CA
  • MD, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
  • BS, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI

Areas of Interest


  • HIV/AIDS
  • Tuberculosis Control and Prevention
  • Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS)

Society Memberships


  • Los Angeles County Medical Association (LACMA) 
  • California Medical Association (CMA) 
  • American Medical Association (AMA) 
  • American Public Health Association (APHA) 
  • California Academy of Preventive Medicine (CAPM) 
  • California STD Controllers Association (CSTDCA) 
  • International AIDS Society (ISA) 
  • National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD) 
  • American Sexually Transmitted Diseases Association (ASTDA) 

Selected Publications


  • Golden MR, Kerndt P. What is the role of sexually transmitted disease clinics? Sex Transm Dis. 2015; 42(5):294-6. doi: 10.1097/OLQ.0000000000000271. 
  • Stahlman S, Plant A, Javanbakht M, Cross J, Montoya JA, Bolan R, Kerndt PR. Acceptable interventions to reduce syphilis transmission among high-risk men who have sex with men in Los Angeles. Am J Public Health. 2015; 105(3):e88-94. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2014.302412. Epub 2015 Jan 20. 
  • Kirkcaldy RD, Weinstock HS, Moore PC, Philip SS, Wiesenfeld HC, Papp JR, Kerndt P, Johnson S, Ghanem KG, Hook EW 3rd. The efficacy and safety of gentamicin plus azithromycin and gemifloxacin plus azithromycin as treatment of uncomplicated gonorrhea. Clin Infect Dis. 2014; 59(8):1083-91. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciu521. Epub 2014 Jul 16 
  • Dittus PJ, DeRosa CA, Jeffries R, Afifi AA, Cumberland WG, Chung EQ, Martinez E, Kerndt PR, Ethier KA. The Project Connect Health Systems Intervention: Linking sexually experienced youth to sexual and reproductive healthcare. J Adolesc Health. 2014; pii: S1054-139X(14)00182-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2014.04.005. 
  • Dunne EF, Flagg EW, Unger ER, Hsu K, Ghanen K, Kerndt P, Shlay JC, Koutsky LA, Datta DS, Panicker G, Zaidi A, Weinstock H, Markowitz LE. Would young women attending sexually transmitted disease clinics benefit from human papillomavirus vaccination? An assessment of human papillomavirus DNA and seropositivity from human papillomavirus sentinel surveillance, 2003-2005. Sex Transm Dis. 2014; 41(1):46-49. 
  • Plant A, Javanbakht M, Montoya JA, Rotblatt H, O'Leary C, Kerndt PR. Check yourself: A social marketing campaign to increase syphilis screening in Los Angeles County. Sex Transm Dis. 2014; 41(1):50-57.  
  • Rotblatt H, Montoya JA, Plant A, Guerry S, Kerndt PR. There's no place like home: First-year use of the "I Know" Home Testing Program for chlamydia and gonorrhea. Am J Public Health. 2013; 103(8):1376-1380. 
  • Steinberg J, Butler R, McGrath MR, Kerndt PR. STDs/HIV in the adult film industry. In: Fielding JE, Teutsch SM, Caldwell SN, eds. Public Health Practice: What Works. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2013:355-374. 
  • Chesson HW, Flagg EW, Koutsky L, Hsu, K, Unger ER, Shlay JC, Kerndt PR, Ghanem KG, Zenilman JM, Hagensee M, Weinstock H, Datta SD. Modeling the impact of quadrivalent HPV vaccination on the incidence of Pap test abnormalities in the United States. Vaccine. 2013; 31(29):3019-24. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2013.04.051. Epub 2013 May 10. 
  • Rodriguez-Hart C, Chitale RA, Rigg R, Goldstein BY, Kerndt PR, Tavrow P. Sexually transmitted infection testing of adult film performers: Is disease being missed? Sex Transm Dis. 2012. 39(12):989-94. 
  • Cohen SE, Chew Ng RA, Katz KA, Bernstein KT, Samuel MC, Kerndt PR, Bolan G. Repeat syphilis among men who have sex with men in California, 2002-2006: implications for syphilis elimination efforts. Am J Public Health. 2012; 102(1):e1-e8. 
  • De Rosa CJ, Jeffries RA, Afifi AA, Cumberland WG, Chung EQ, Kerndt PR, Ethier KA, Martinez E, Loya RV, Dittus PJ. Improving the implementation of a condom availability program in urban high schools. J Adolesc Health. 2012; 51(6):572-579. 
  • Javanbakht M, Gorbach P, Stirland A, Chien M, Kerndt P, Guerry S. Prevalence and correlates of rectal Chlamydia and gonorrhea among female clients at sexually transmitted disease clinics. Sex Transm Dis. 2012; 39(12):917-22.  
  • Rudy E, Aynalem G, Cross J, Ramirez F, Bolan RK, Kerndt PR. Community-embedded disease intervention specialist program for syphilis partner notification in a clinic serving men who have sex with men. Sex Transm Dis. 2012; 39(9):701-705. 
  • Leibowitz AA, Harawa N, Sylla M, Hallstrom CC, Kerndt PR. Condom distribution in jail to prevent HIV infection. AIDS Behav. 2013; 17(8):2695-702. doi: 10.1007/s10461-012-0190-5. 
  • Plant A, Rotblatt H, Montoya JA, Rudy ET, Kerndt PR. Evaluation of inSPOTLA.org: An internet partner notification service. Sex Transm Dis. 2012; 39(5):341-345.
  • Gaffga NH, Flagg EW, Weinstock HS, Shlay JC, Ghanem KG, Koutsky LA, Kerndt PR, Hsu KK, Unger ER, Datta SD. Monitoring HPV type-specific prevalence over time through clinic-based surveillance: a perspective on vaccine effectiveness. Vaccine. 2012; 30(11):1959-1964.
  • Cohen SE, Cohen SE, Chew Ng RA, Katz KA, Bernstein KT, Samuel MC, Kerndt PR, Bolan G. Repeat syphilis among men who have sex with men in California, 2002-2006: implications for yphilis elimination efforts. Am J Public Health. 2012; 102(1):e1-e8.
  • Delaney KP, Heffelfinger JD, Wesolowski LG, Owen SM, Meyer WA 3rd, Kennedy S, Uniyal A, Kerndt PR, Branson BM.  Performance of an alternative laboratory-based algorithm for HIV diagnosis in a high-risk population. J Clin Virol. 2011; 52 Suppl 1:S5-10. doi: 10.1016/j.jcv.2011.09.013. Epub 2011 Oct 22.
  • Ghanem KG, Datta SD, Unger ER, Hagensee M, Shlay JC, Kerndt P, Hsu K, Koutsky LA. The association of current hormonal contraceptive use with type-specific HPV detection. Sex Transm Infec. 2011; 87(5):385-8.
  • Goldstein BY, Steinberg JK, Aynalem G, Kerndt PR. High Chlamydia and gonorrhea incidence and reinfection among performers in the adult film industry.  Sex Transm Dis. 2011; 38(7):644-8.
  • Ethier KA, Dittus PJ, DeRosa CJ, Chung EQ, Martinez E, Kerndt PR. School-based health center access reproduction health care and contraceptive use among sexually experienced high school students. J Adolesc Health. 2011; 48 (6):562-5.
  • Alfonsi GA, Datta SD, Mickiewicz T, Koutsky LA, Ghanem K, Hagensee M, Kerndt P, Hsu K, Weinstock H, Shlay JC. Prevalence of high-risk HPV types and abnormal cervical cytology in American Indian/Alaska Native women, 2003-2005. Public Health Rep. 2011; 126(3):330-7.
  • Kerndt PR, Ferrero DV, Aynalem G, Monga D, Wang S, Zhang N, Wong C, Liggins M, Meng Q. First report of performance of the Versant CT/GC DNA 1, 0 assay (kPCR) for detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrheaJ Clinic Microbiol. 2011; 49(4): 1347-53.
  • Steinberg J, Grella C, Boudov M, Kerndt P, Kadrnka C. Methamphetamine Use and High-risk sexual behaviors among incarcerated female adolescents with a diagnosed STD. Journal of Urban Health. 2011; 88(2) 352-364.
  • Delaney KP, Branson BM, Uniyal A, Phillips S, Candal D, Owen SM, Kerndt PR. Evaluation of the performance characteristics of 6 rapid HIV antibody tests. Clin Infect Dis. 2011; 52(2): 257-263.
  • Guerry S, De Rosa C, Markowitz L, Walker S, Liddon N, Kerndt P, Gottlieb S. Human papillomavirus vaccine initiation among adolescent girls in high-risk communities. Vaccine. 2011; 29(12):2235-41.
  • Kerndt P, Ferrero DV, Aynalem G, Monga D, Wang S, Zhang N, Wong C, Liggins M, Meng W. First report of performance of the Versant CT/GC DNA 1.0 Assay (kPCR) for detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. J Clin Microbiol. 2011; 49(4):1347-53. doi: 10.1128/JCM.01634-10. Epub 2011 Feb 9.
  • Habel MA, Dittus PJ, DeRosa CJ, Chung EQ, Kerndt PR. Daily participation in sports and students’ sexual activity. Perspect Sex Reprod Health. 2010; 42(4):244-50.
  • De Rosa CJ, Ethier KA, Kim DH, Cumberland WG, Affifi AA, Kotlerman J, Loya RV, Kerndt PR. Sexual intercourse and oral sex among public middle school students: prevalence and correlates. Perspect Sex Reprod Health. 2010; 42(3):197-205.
  • Hutchinson A, Patel P, Sansom S, Farnham P, Sullivan T, Bennett B, Kerndt P, Bolan R, Heffelfinger J, Prabhu V, Branson B. Cost-effectiveness of pooled mucleic acid amplification testing for acute HIV infection after third-generation HIV antibody screening and rapid testing in the United States:  A comparison of three public health settings. PLoS Med. 2010; (9):1-10.
  • Javanbakht M, Guerry S, Gorbach P, Stirland A, Chien M, Anton P, Kerndt P. Prevalence and correlates of heterosexual anal intercourse among clients attending public sexually transmitted disease clinics in Los Angeles County. Sex Transm Dis. 2010; 37(6):369-76.
  • Golden MR, Kerndt PR. Improving Clinical Operations: Can we and should we save our STD clinics? Sex Transm Dis. 2010; 37(4):264-265.
  • Javanbakht M, Gorbach PM, Amani B, Walker S, Cranston RD, Datta SD, Kerndt PR. Concurrency, sex partner risk, and high-risk human papillomavirus infection among African American, Asian, and Hispanic women. Sex Transm Dis. 2010; 37(2):68-74. doi: 10.1097/OLQ.0b013e3181bcd3e7.
  • McCree D, Daley EM, Gorbach P, Hamm RM, Sharpe PA, Brandt HM, McFarlane M, Kerndt P, McDermott RJ, Kay Perrin KM, St. Lawrence JS.  Awareness of diagnosis and knowledge of HPV in women patients: Data from a multi-site study. Am J Health Educ. 2010; 41(4):197-205.
  • Patel P, Mackellar D, Simmons P, Uniyal A, Gallagher K, Bennett B, Sullivan TJ, Kowalski A, Parker MM, LaLota M, Kerndt P, Sullivan PS. Detecting acute human immunodeficiency virus infection using 3 different screening immunoassays and nucleic acid amplification testing for human immunodeficiency virus RNA, 2006-2008. Arch Intern Med. 2010; 170(1):66-74.
  • Plant A, Montoya JA, Rotblatt H, Mall KL, Pappas L, Kent CK, Klausner J, Kerndt PR. Stop the Sores: The making and evaluation of a successful social marketing campaign. Health Promot Pract. 2010; 11(1) 23-33.