Marc Roger Couturier,
PhD

Languages Spoken: English, French
Dr. Couturier is the medical director of Microbial Immunology, Parasitology and Fecal Testing, and Infectious Disease Rapid Testing at ARUP. He is also an assistant professor of pathology at the University Of Utah School Of Medicine. Dr. Couturier received his PhD in medical microbiology and immunology with specialty in bacteriology from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He served as a research associate/post-doctoral fellow at the Alberta Provincial Laboratory for Public Health and completed a medical microbiology fellowship (ABMM) at the University of Utah. He is board certified in medical microbiology, and a member of the American Society for Microbiology and Infectious Disease Society of America.
Dr. Couturier is interested in diarrheal illnesses and improving the sensitivity of their diagnosis, in particular, emerging and underappreciated agents of diarrhea. Through his training in the Alberta Provincial Laboratory for Public Health, he developed molecular diagnostic methods for the detection of Enterohaemorrhagic E. coli. His continued interest in diarrheal pathogens has sparked research efforts in Campylobacter spp., Clostridium difficile, parasitic protozoa, and enteric viruses.
Dr. Couturier has research experience in the field of H. pylori pathogenesis, and is now investigating the prevalence of this pathogen in a poorly defined population in Utah. In addition to defining the local prevalence, Dr. Couturier is actively working to identify sub-populations of high risk individuals with disparate access to medical care in attempts to identify patients at increased risk of developing severe complications such as gastric cancers.
Specialties
Board Certification and Academic Information
Academic Departments | Pathology
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Professor (Clinical) Community Physician Group - Moonlighter Midlevel |
Academic Divisions | Clinical Pathology Moonlighter |
Dr. Couturier is the medical director of Microbial Immunology, Parasitology and Fecal Testing, and Infectious Disease Rapid Testing at ARUP. He is also an assistant professor of pathology at the University Of Utah School Of Medicine. Dr. Couturier received his PhD in medical microbiology and immunology with specialty in bacteriology from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He served as a research associate/post-doctoral fellow at the Alberta Provincial Laboratory for Public Health and completed a medical microbiology fellowship (ABMM) at the University of Utah. He is board certified in medical microbiology, and a member of the American Society for Microbiology and Infectious Disease Society of America.
Dr. Couturier is interested in diarrheal illnesses and improving the sensitivity of their diagnosis, in particular, emerging and underappreciated agents of diarrhea. Through his training in the Alberta Provincial Laboratory for Public Health, he developed molecular diagnostic methods for the detection of Enterohaemorrhagic E. coli. His continued interest in diarrheal pathogens has sparked research efforts in Campylobacter spp., Clostridium difficile, parasitic protozoa, and enteric viruses.
Dr. Couturier has research experience in the field of H. pylori pathogenesis, and is now investigating the prevalence of this pathogen in a poorly defined population in Utah. In addition to defining the local prevalence, Dr. Couturier is actively working to identify sub-populations of high risk individuals with disparate access to medical care in attempts to identify patients at increased risk of developing severe complications such as gastric cancers.
Academic Locations
Board Certification and Academic Information
Academic Departments | Pathology
-
Professor (Clinical) Community Physician Group - Moonlighter Midlevel |
Academic Divisions | Clinical Pathology Moonlighter |
Education History
Fellowship | University of Utah, Department of Pathology Medical Microbiology Fellow, 2011 |
Postdoctoral Fellowship | Alberta Provincial Laboratory for Public Health, Department of Molecular Diagnostics Microbiology Postdoctoral Fellow, 2009 |
Doctoral Training | University of Alberta, Department of Medical Microbiology & Immunology Bacteriology Ph.D., 2008 |
Undergraduate | Acadia University Biology with Honours B.S., 2003 |
Selected Publications - Journal Articles
Journal Article
- Shakir SM, Otiso J, Keller G, Heule HV, Osborn LJ, Cole N, Schuetz AN, Richter SS, Couturier MR (2022). Multicenter Evaluation of a Gradient Diffusion Method for Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing of Helicobacter pylori. Microbiol Spectr, 10(2), e0211121.
- Peaper DR, Rhoads DD, Sullivan KV, Couturier MR, Humphries RM, Martin IW, Nolte FS, Rowlinson MC, She RC, Simner PJ, Theel ES, Wojewoda CM (2021). Considerations from the College of American Pathologists for Implementation of an Assay for SARS-CoV-2 Testing after a Change in Regulatory Status. J Clin Microbiol, 59(10), e0116721.
- Mathison BA, Mehta N, Couturier MR (2021). Human acanthocephaliasis: A thorn in the side of parasite diagnostics. J Clin Microbiol, 59, JCM0269120.
- Rychert J, Couturier MR, Elgort M, Lozier BK, Laulu S, Genzen JR, Straseski JA, Delgado JC, Slev PR (2020). Evaluation of 3 SARS-CoV-2 IgG Antibody Assays and Correlation with Neutralizing Antibodies. J Appl Lab Med, 6(3), 614-624.
- Theel ES, Couturier MR, Filkins L, Palavecino E, Mitchell S, Campbell S, Pentella M, Butler-Wu S, Jerke K, Dharmarha V, McNult P, Schuetz AN (2020). Application, Verification, and Implementation of SARS-CoV-2 Serologic Assays with Emergency Use Authorization. J Clin Microbiol, 59(1).
- Theel ES, Slev P, Wheeler S, Couturier MR, Wong SJ, Kadkhoda K (2020). The Role of Antibody Testing for SARS-CoV-2: Is There One? J Clin Microbiol, 58(8).
- Mathison BA, Kohan JL, Walker JF, Smith RB, Ardon O, Couturier MR (2020). Detection of Intestinal Protozoa in Trichrome-Stained Stool Specimens by Use of a Deep Convolutional Neural Network. J Clin Microbiol, 58(6).
- Shakir SM, Mansfield CR, Hays ED, Couturier MR, Hillyard DR (2020). Evaluation of a Novel High-Definition PCR Multiplex Assay for Simultaneous Detection of Tick-Borne Pathogens in Human Clinical Specimens. J Clin Microbiol, 58(3).
- Hanson KE, Gabriel N, Mchardy I, Hoffmann W, Cohen SH, Couturier MR, Thompson GR 3rd (2019). Impact of IVIG therapy on serologic testing for infectious diseases. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis, 96(2), 114952.
- Mathison BA, Couturier MR, Pritt BS (2019). Diagnostic Identification and Differentiation of Microfilariae. J Clin Microbiol, 57(10).
- Couturier MR, Bard JD (2019). Direct-from-Specimen Pathogen Identification: Evolution of Syndromic Panels. Clin Lab Med, 39(3), 433-451.
- Miller HK, Binder AM, Peterson A, Theel ES, Volpe JM, Couturier MR, Cherry CC, Kersh GJ (2018). Trends in Q fever serologic testing by immunofluorescence from four large reference laboratories in the United States, 2012-2016. Sci Rep, 8(1), 16670.
- Swanson EA, March JK, Clayton F, Couturier MR, Arcega R, Smith R, Evason KJ (2018). Epithelial Inclusions in Gallbladder Specimens Mimic Parasite Infection: Histologic and Molecular Examination of Reported Cystoisospora belli Infection in Gallbladders of Immunocompetent Patients. Am J Surg Pathol, 42(10), 1346-1352.
- Jalaly JB, Couturier MR, Burnham CD, Gronowski AM, Munigala S, Theel ES (2017). Multicenter Evaluation of Helicobacter pylori IgG Antibody Seroprevalence Among Patients Seeking Clinical Care in the US. J Appl Lab Med, 2(6), 904-913.
Review
Case Report
- Snavely E, Hymas W, Couturier MR (2020). The Brief Case: Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever in a Returned Traveler. J Clin Microbiol, 58(6).
- Snavely E, Hymas W, Couturier MR (2020). Closing the Brief Case: Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever in a Returned Traveler. J Clin Microbiol, 58(6).
- Davis RE, Mathison BA, Couturier MR (2018). Raillietiniaisis in a Toddler From Hawaii: A Case of Mistaken Tapeworm Identity. Clin Infect Dis, 69(6), 1053-1055.
- Filkins LM, Gaston DC, Mathison B, Smith T, Couturier MR, Murphy RD, Ciarkowski C, Hanson KE, Cariello PF (2017). Biliary Strongyloides stercoralis With Cholecystitis and Extensive Portal Vein Thrombosis. Open Forum Infect Dis, 4(4), ofx217.
Global Impact
Education History
Doctoral Training | University of Alberta, Department of Medical Microbiology & Immunology Bacteriology Ph.D. |
Undergraduate | Acadia University Biology with Honours B.S. |