Overview
Dr. Cummings is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine at Columbia University. His research interests lie at the intersection of infectious diseases and critical illness in sub-Saharan Africa, a low-income region where the global burden of severe infectious diseases is overwhelmingly concentrated. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Cummings' led the first prospective studies to characterize the clinical epidemiology of severe and critical COVID-19 in the U.S. and Uganda, and served as a co-investigator for international clinical trials of convalescent plasma and hyperimmune immunoglobulin in severe COVID-19.
Areas of Expertise / Conditions Treated
- Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)
- Pulmonary Critical Care Medicine
- Respiratory Failure
- Sepsis
Academic Appointments
- Assistant Professor of Medicine at CUMC
Hospital Affiliations
- NewYork-Presbyterian / Columbia University Irving Medical Center
- NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital
Gender
- Male
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Location(s)
Insurance Accepted
Aetna
- Aetna Signature Administrators
- EPO
- HMO
- Medicare Managed Care
- NYP Employee Plan
- NY Signature
- POS
- PPO
- Student Health
Affinity Health Plan
- Essential Plan
- Medicaid Managed Care
AgeWell
- Medicare Managed Care
- Special Needs
Amida Care
- Special Needs
Cigna
- EPO
- Great West (National)
- HMO
- Medicare Managed Care
- POS
- PPO
Emblem/GHI
- Medicare Managed Care
- PPO
Emblem/HIP
- ConnectiCare
- EPO
- Essential Plan
- HMO
- Medicaid Managed Care
- Medicare Managed Care
- POS
- PPO
- Select Care (Exchange)
- Vytra
Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield
- EPO
- HMO
- Medicare Managed Care
- PPO
Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield HealthPlus
- Child/Family Health Plus
- Essential Plan
- Medicaid Managed Care
Fidelis Care
- Child/Family Health Plus
- Essential Plan
- Medicaid Managed Care
- Medicare Managed Care
Healthfirst
- Child/Family Health Plus
- Leaf (Exchange)
- Medicaid Managed Care
- Medicare Managed Care
Local 1199
- Local 1199
MagnaCare (National)
- MagnaCare
Medicare
- Railroad
- Traditional Medicare
Multiplan
- Multiplan
MVP Health Care
- Child/Family Health Plus
- Essential Plan
- HMO
- Medicaid Managed Care
Quality Health Management
- Quality Health Management
RiverSpring
- Special Needs
UnitedHealthcare
- Compass (Exchange)
- Empire Plan
- HMO
- Medicaid (Community Plan)
- Medicare Managed Care
- Oxford Freedom
- Oxford HMO
- Oxford Liberty
- POS
- PPO
VNSNY CHOICE
- Medicare Managed Care
- SelectHealth
- Special Needs
WellCare
- Medicaid Managed Care
- Medicare Managed Care
World Trade Center Health Plan
- World Trade Center Health Plan
Credentials & Experience
Education & Training
- MD, Albany Medical College
- Residency: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center
- Fellowship: NewYork-Presbyterian / Columbia University Irving Medical Center
Honors & Awards
- Visiting Scientist Award, Makerere University-UVRI Infection and Immunity Research Centre of Excellence, 2018
- Postdoctoral Clinical Fellow Research Award, Columbia University Medical Center, 2018
- Medical House Staff Award for Excellence in Critical Care Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, 2016
- Medical House Staff Award for Outstanding Clinical Teaching, Columbia University Medical Center, 2014
- Medical House Staff Research Award, Columbia University Medical Center, 2014
- Alpha Omega Alpha, Albany Medical College, 2012
- Gold Humanism Honor Society, Albany Medical College, 2012
Research
In collaboration with colleagues at Uganda Virus Research Institute and the Columbia Center for Infection and Immunity, current areas of focus include: (1) elucidating immunopathological mechanisms of sepsis and severe viral respiratory infections in Uganda, including COVID-19 (2) applying molecular methods to enhance diagnosis of severe HIV-associated tuberculosis, a major cause of sepsis in sub-Saharan Africa (3) advancing clinical and translational research capacity in low-income settings.
Selected Publications
- Cummings MJ, O'Donnell MR. Inverting the pyramid: increasing awareness of mycobacterial sepsis in sub-Saharan Africa. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. 2015;19:1128-34. PMID: 26459522
- Cummings MJ, Bakamutumaho B, Kayiwa J, et al. Epidemiologic and spatio-temporal characterization of influenza and severe acute respiratory infection in Uganda, 2010-2015. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2016;13: 2159-68. PMID: 27612095
- Cummings MJ, Goldberg E, Mwaka S, et al. A complex intervention to improve implementation of World Health Organization guidelines for diagnosis of severe illness in low-income settings: a quasi-experimental study from Uganda. Implement Sci. 2017;12:126. PMID: 29110667
- Cummings MJ, Bakamutumaho B, Yang W, et al. Emergence, epidemiology, and transmission dynamics of 2009 pandemic A/H1N1 influenza in Kampala, Uganda, 2009-2015. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2018; 98: 203-6. PMID: 29141723
- Cummings MJ, Tokarz R, Bakamutumaho B, et al. Precision surveillance for viral respiratory pathogens: virome capture sequencing for the detection and genomic characterization of severe acute respiratory infection in Uganda. Clin Infect Dis. 2019; 68:1118-1125. PMID: 30099510.
- Cummings MJ, Baldwin MR, Abrams D, et al. Epidemiology, clinical course, and outcomes of critically ill adults with COVID-19 in New York City: a prospective cohort study. Lancet. 2020;395:1763-1770. PMID: 32442528
- Bakamutumaho B, Cummings MJ, Owor N, et al. Severe COVID-19 in Uganda across Two Epidemic Phases: A Prospective Cohort Study. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2021;105:740-744. PMID: 34370701
- O'Donnell MR, Grinsztejn B, Cummings MJ, et al. A randomized double-blind controlled trial of convalescent plasma in adults with severe COVID-19. J Clin Invest. 2021;131:e150646. PMID: 33974559
- Cummings MJ, Bakamutumaho B, Owor N, et al. Stratifying sepsis in Uganda using rapid pathogen diagnostics and clinical data: a prospective cohort study. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2021;105:517-24. PMID: 34125696
- Sinha P, Furfaro D, Cummings MJ, et al. Latent Class Analysis Reveals COVID-19-related ARDS Subgroups with Differential Responses to Corticosteroids. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2021; doi: 10.1164/rccm.202105-1302OC. PMID: 34543591