Laura Certain
( out of 72 reviews )

Laura Certain, MD, PhD

Languages spoken: English

  • Dr. Certain joined the Infectious Diseases Division at the University of Utah in the fall of 2017. She sees patients in the infectious disease outpatient clinic and on the inpatient infectious diseases consult services at the University of Utah Hospital. Her particular area of interest is orthopedic infections, and she works closely with the Orthopedic Surgery department to improve care for patients with these infections. That said, she enjoys the variety offered by a general ID practice and is happy to see patients with any infectious complaint.

    Specialties

    Board Certification

    American Board of Internal Medicine (Sub: Infectious Disease)
    American Board of Internal Medicine

    Patient Rating

    4.9 /5
    ( out of 72 reviews )

    The patient rating score is an average of all responses on our patient experience survey. The rating averages scores for all questions about care from our providers.

    The scale on which responses are measured is 1 to 5 with 5 being the best score.

    Patient Comments

    Patient comments are gathered from our patient experience survey and displayed in their entirety. For the convenience of our visitors, some patient comments have been translated from their original language into English while preserving their original meaning as accurately as possible. Patients are de-identified for confidentiality and patient privacy.

    ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

    Excellent care and goes extra mile to get answers

    ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

    Has a great bedside maner.

    ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

    She is a very good and caring provider. She asks and answers questions thoroughly. She lets me know that she is concerned about my health and does the research to know what is best for my care. She is very friendly and she is easy to talk to. Im glad she is my doctor.

    ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

    The best ID physician I've ever known.

    ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

    Very thoughtful, thorough, and patient

    ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

    Good

    ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

    Talked to me about the steps before surgery

    UH HOSPITALS AND CLINICS

    Dr Certain is great to work with

    ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

    I recommend Dr. Certain to anyone needing an infectious disease specialist.

  • Dr. Certain joined the Infectious Diseases Division at the University of Utah in the fall of 2017. She sees patients in the infectious disease outpatient clinic and on the inpatient infectious diseases consult services at the University of Utah Hospital. Her particular area of interest is orthopedic infections, and she works closely with the Orthopedic Surgery department to improve care for patients with these infections. That said, she enjoys the variety offered by a general ID practice and is happy to see patients with any infectious complaint.

    Board Certification and Academic Information

    Academic Departments Orthopaedics -Adjunct Associate Professor
    Internal Medicine -Associate Professor (Clinical)
    Academic Divisions Infectious Diseases
    Board Certification
    American Board of Internal Medicine (Sub: Infectious Disease)
    American Board of Internal Medicine

    Education history

    Undergraduate Chemistry - Princeton University B.A.
    Doctoral Training Genome Sciences - University of Washington School of Medicine Ph.D.
    Professional Medical Medicine - University of Washington School of Medicine M.D.
    Residency Internal Medicine - Massachusetts General Hospital Resident
    Fellowship Infectious Diseases - Massachusetts General Hospital / Brigham and Women's Hospital Fellow
    Research Fellow Infectious Diseases - Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University Postdoctoral Research Fellow

    Selected Publications

    Journal Article

    1. Kelly MP, Gililland JM, Blackburn BE, Anderson LA, Pelt CE, Certain L (2022). Extended Oral Antibiotics Increase Bacterial Resistance in Patients Who Fail 2-Stage Exchange for Periprosthetic Joint Infection. The Journal of arthroplasty, 37, S989-S996. (Read full publication)
    2. Carlson VR, Dekeyser GJ, Certain L, Pupaibool J, Gililland JM, Anderson L (2020). Clinical Experience With a Coordinated Multidisciplinary Approach to Treating Prosthetic Joint Infection. Arthroplasty today, 6(3), 360-362. (Read full publication)
    3. Zainul-Abidin S, Amanatullah DF, Anderson MB, Austin M, Barretto JM, Battenberg A, Bedard NA, Bell K, Blevins K, Callaghan JJ, Cao L, Certain L, Chang Y, Chen JP, Cizmic Z, Coward J, DeMik DE, Diaz-Borjon E, Enayatollahi MA, Feng JE, Fernando N, Gililland JM, Goodman S, Goodman S, Greenky M, Hwang K, Iorio R, Karas V, Khan R, Kheir M, Klement MR, Kunutsor SK, Limas R, Morales Maldonado RA, Manrique J, Matar WY, Mokete L, Nung N, Pelt CE, Pietrzak JRT, Premkumar A, Rondon A, Sanchez M, Novaes de Santana C, Sheth N, Singh J, Springer BD, Tay KS, Varin D, Wellman S, Wu L, Xu C, Yates A (2019). General Assembly, Prevention, Host Related General: Proceedings of International Consensus on Orthopedic Infections. The Journal of arthroplasty, 34(2S), S13-S35. (Read full publication)
    4. Anderson MB, Arciola CR, Sarvanan SA, Campoccia D, Certain L, Diaz-Ledezma C, Montanaro L, Aguilera SP, Pelt CE, Puhto AP, Sergei O, Tikhilov R, Voloshin V, Yan C (2019). General Assembly, Treatment, Multidisciplinary Issues: Proceedings of International Consensus on Orthopedic Infections. The Journal of arthroplasty, 34(2S), S239-S243. (Read full publication)
    5. Certain LK, Way JC, Pezone MJ, Collins J (2017). Using Engineered Bacteria to Characterize Infection Dynamics and Antibiotic Effects In Vivo. Cell host & microbe, 22(3), 263-268.e4. (Read full publication)
    6. Gallagher CK, Cummins H, Benefield RJ, Certain L (2023). Switching from intravenous vancomycin to oral antibiotics reduces adverse events in a retrospective cohort of outpatients with orthopedic infections. Pharmacotherapy, (Read full publication)
    7. Cortes-Penfield N, Krsak M, Damioli L, Henry M, Seidelman J, Hewlett A, Certain (2023). How we approach suppressive antibiotic therapy (SAT) following debridement, antibiotics, and implant retention for prosthetic joint infection. Clinical infectious diseases, (Read full publication)
    8. Brown DG, Wahlig TA, Ma A, Certain LK, Chalmers PN, Fisher MA, Leung D (2023). Genomic Characterization of 2 Cutibacterium acnes Isolates from a Surgical Site Infection Reveals Large Genomic Inversion. Pathogens & immunity, 8(1), 64-76. (Read full publication)
    9. Savas MJ, Gray KF, Blackburn BE, Pelt CE, Gililland JM, Certain L (2023). Association of Acute Kidney Injury With Antibiotic Loaded Cement Used for Treatment of Periprosthetic Joint Infection. The Journal of arthroplasty, 38(12), 2704-2709.e1. (Read full publication)
    10. Certain LK, Benefield RJ, Newman M, Zhang M, Thomas F (2022). A Quality Initiative to Improve Postdischarge Care for Patients on Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy. Open forum infectious diseases, 9(7), ofac199. (Read full publication)
    11. Gray J, Benefield RJ, Gallagher CK, Cummins H, Certain L (2024). "Once more, with feeling": no difference in outcomes between patients discharged on oral versus intravenous antibiotics for orthopedic infections in a propensity score matched cohort at a US medical center. Antimicrobial stewardship & healthcare epidemiology, 4(1), e61. (Read full publication)
    12. Lewis DC, Blackburn BE, Archibeck J, Archibeck MJ, Anderson LA, Gililland JM, Certain LK, Pelt C (2024). Similar Efficacy and Lower Cost Associated With Ceftazidime Compared to Tobramycin Coupled With Vancomycin in Antibiotic Spacers in the Treatment of Periprosthetic Joint Infection. The Journal of arthroplasty, (Read full publication)
    13. Sylvester B, Fuller SD, Certain L, Shakoor A, Doan (2024). Bacillus coagulans-associated severe necrotizing scleral infection. American journal of ophthalmology case reports, 36, 102097. (Read full publication)
    14. Payne J, Sutton JD, Blackburn BE, Bansod S, Imlay H, Spivak ES, Pupaibool J, Gililland JM, Certain L (2025). Effect of oral antibiotics after two-stage revision for periprosthetic joint infection on subsequent antibiotic resistance within a national cohort of United States veterans. Journal of bone and joint infection, 10(1), 7-14. (Read full publication)
    15. Seidelman J, Ritter AS, Poehlein E, Green CL, Briggs DV, Chari T, Therien AD, Aitchison AH, Lunn K, Zirbes CF, Manohar T, Rijo DV, Hagen JE, Talerico MT, DeBaun MR, Pean CA, Certain L, Nelson S (2024). Multisite Study of the Management of Musculoskeletal Infection After Trauma: The MMUSKIT Study. Open forum infectious diseases, 11(6), ofae262. (Read full publication)
    16. Benefield RJ, Becker CK, Gray J, Cummins H, Certain L (2025). (Re)Moving the needle: a retrospective, quasi-experimental assessment of the impact of a treatment guideline on oral antibiotic prescribing for orthopedic infections. Antimicrobial stewardship & healthcare epidemiology, 5(1), e84. (Read full publication)
    17. Sreekantaswamy SA, Topham C, Certain L, Benefield RJ, Madigan L, Maclean E, Curtis J, Zone J, Bowen A (2025). Progressive centrofacial destruction due to Acanthamoeba infection from nasal rinsing. The Lancet. Infectious diseases, 25(6), e369. (Read full publication)
    18. Certain (2025). Embracing Change: Oral Antibiotics for Diabetic Foot Osteomyelitis. Foot & ankle international, 46(10), 1090-1091. (Read full publication)

    Review

    1. Hellwinkel JE, Working ZM, Certain L, García AJ, Wenke JC, Bahney C (2022). The intersection of fracture healing and infection: Orthopaedics research society workshop 2021. Journal of orthopaedic research, 40(3), 541-552. (Read full publication)

    Case Report

    1. Compton T, Ferguson NA, Certain L, Nixon (2024). Extrapulmonary, Chronic Septic Arthritis From Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the Ankle and Subtalar Joints. Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews, 8(3), (Read full publication)

    Editorial

    1. Certain L (2025). Themes and Challenges in Managing Musculoskeletal Infections. Infectious disease clinics of North America, (Read full publication)

    Letter

    1. Zukauckas K, Benefield RJ, Newman M, Certain (2022). Why Bother? Lab Monitoring in Beta-Lactam Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy. Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy, 66(6), e0057922. (Read full publication)