Beginning. Journey. Future.
Our Vision
Founders Rima Abdel-Massih, MD, and John Mellors, MD partnered to create Infectious Disease Connect to address the growing demand for ID expertise and expand its accessibility.
Since then, ID Connect has become a world leader in telemedical care of infectious diseases, antimicrobial stewardship, and infection control and prevention. At the heart of this success has been technological innovation, including the acquisition of ILÚM Health Solutions and its real-time decision support software. Our technology, precision medicine, and data science are paired with world-class ID physicians to effectively manage infectious diseases across the US.
At ID Connect, we strive to make people healthy, improve outcomes, and keep our communities free of infectious diseases.
Our Mission
To improve access and enable world-class specialized ID expertise to enrich lives and improve outcomes in a cost-effective manner with compassion, respect and integrity.
Meet Our Team
Who makes it all possible
Executive Team
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Dave Zynn
President & Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Zynn is the President and CEO of ID Connect. He is a proven leader with over 30 years of experience leading healthcare services and telehealth companies through the growth stage to success.
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Rima Abdel-Massih, MD
Chief Medical Officer & Co-Founder
Dr. Abdel Massih is the co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of ID Connect. Having a special interest in telehealth models of care applied in the infectious diseases specialty, Dr. Abdel-Massih was instrumental in the formation of ID Connect.
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Riaan Erwee
Chief Financial Officer
With over 25 years of experience operating and leading functions in Finance, Operations, Business Development, Supply Chain Management and Global ERP Systems Deployment in the US and abroad, mainly in the healthcare industry, he enjoys finding solutions that are mutually beneficial for all parties.
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Benjamin Curtis
Chief Technology Officer
Over his career Ben has worked in the technology and healthcare industry building and leading Development, Strategy, Operations, and Creative teams focused primarily on pharmaceutical and hospital services to support customer’s ever-growing needs.
Dave Zynn
President & Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Zynn is the President and CEO of ID Connect. He is a proven leader with over 30 years of experience guiding healthcare services and telehealth companies through the growth stage to success. Dave brings organizational development, growth strategy and leadership to ID Connect.
Dave is also an advisor to his alma maters school of business, a member of a for-profit board of directors and is active with the Folds of Honor organization. He also enjoys sports, travel and is a longtime foodie.
Rima Abdel-Massih, MD
Chief Medical Officer & Co-Founder
Dr. Abdel-Massih is the co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of ID Connect. She is an expert in developing and instituting models of telemedicine services in Infectious Diseases (Tele-ID). She became the Director of Tele-ID Services at UPMC in 2016 and led its rapid growth regionally. The success of the Tele-ID program and the growing demand for access to ID specialists led Dr. Abdel-Massih and Dr. John Mellors, Chief of Infectious Diseases at UPMC to form ID Connect and extend academic level ID expertise to areas in need for ID specialists.
Dr. Abdel-Massih has been a faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC since 2009. She joined the Division of Infectious Diseases at UPMC after completing her transplant infectious diseases fellowship training at the Mayo Clinic. She continues to serve as Director of Tele-ID Services at UPMC and as the Director of the Infectious Disease Fellowship Training Program. She is a member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America’s workgroup on Telehealth specialty.
Riaan Erwee
Chief Financial Officer
As ID Connect’s Chief Financial Officer, Riaan is responsible for the financial and business operations of the organization, as well as strategic business development activities.
Most recently, Riaan was one of the co-founders and Chief Operating Officer of ILÚM Health Solutions which was acquired by ID Connect in 2020. Riaan also spent over 21 years with Merck & Co., Inc. as Executive Director in Business Development, Strategy & Operations, which included managing the execution of strategic corporate initiatives from incubation to full scale operations as well as sourcing and closing multiple business development transactions. He served as a board member on invested entities and supported multiple exits and divestitures. Riaan started his career as an external auditor at EY.
Riaan is a Chartered Accountant (CA) and holds a Honors Bachelor of Accounting Science from the University of South Africa and a Bachelor of Commerce in Accountancy from the University of Pretoria. He was also a Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) from the American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS). He enjoys spending time outdoors and loves to cook over an open fire.
Benjamin Curtis
Chief Technology Officer
As the CTO of ID Connect, Ben leads development and implementation, including strategic and feature prioritization of our products.
Prior to joining ID Connect, Ben served as an executive team member for Syneos Health Managed Markets in charge of Integrated Strategic and Creative Services for hospital and market access initiatives with a focus on technology, operations, media, planning, and creative. During this time Ben acted as a client liaison for technical and strategic matters, and was hands-on in the creation, branding, and development of pharmaceutical services and the products themselves. Before joining Syneos Health, Ben worked with companies where he helped evolve a relationship marketing business into a more digital focused entity through both customer strategy and application development, and was involved in the design and development of one of the first online payroll applications.
In addition, Ben kicked off his technology career as one of three individuals launching, building, and managing an Internet Service Provider leading to the company’s acquisition.
Clinical Experts
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Rima Abdel-Massih, MD
Chief Medical Officer & Co-Founder; Program Director Infectious Diseases Fellowship; Director of Telemedicine
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Christina Andrzejewski, PharmD, BCPS, BCIDP
Clinical Intelligence Specialist
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J. Ryan Bariola, MD, FIDSA, FACP
Medical Director, ID Connect Virtual Antimicrobial Stewardship; Co-Director UPMC Community Hospital Antimicrobial Stewardship Efforts; Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases UPMC
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Sarah Burgdorf, MD, PhD
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Karin Byers, MD, MS
Associate Chief of Clinical Care | Clinical Director, Division of Infectious Diseases | Director, Surgical Infections Unit
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Christiane M. Hadi, MD, MPH, MSc
Infectious Disease Specialist
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Julia K. Cornett, MD
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Carolyn Fernandes, MD
Director, Travel Health, Division of Infectious Diseases
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Nupur Gupta, DO, MPH
Internal Medicine, Infectious Disease Specialist
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Vidya Jagadeesan, MD
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Tina Khadem PharmD, BCPS
Pharmacy Director, ID Connect Virtual Antimicrobial Stewardship; Co-director, UPMC Community Hospital Antimicrobial Stewardship Efforts Program; Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease UPMC
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Sui-Kwong Li, MD
Internal Medicine, Infectious Disease Specialist
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Gul Madison, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, UPMC
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Erin K. McCreary, PharmD, BCPS, BCIDP
Director of Stewardship Innovation, Infectious Disease Connect; Infectious Diseases Pharmacist, UPMC; Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, UPMC
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Linda Nabha, MD
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Sowmya Nanjappa, MBBS, MD, FACP
Internal Medicine, Infectious Disease Specialist
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Christian O. Perez, MD
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Rocco Richards, MD
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Neel B. Shah, MD
Internal Medicine, Infectious Disease Specialist
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Kathleen Sheridan, DO
Director, Outpatient Parenteral Antibiotic Therapy Program, UPMC
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Suzanne Templer, DO, FACP, FIDSA
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Alex Trzebucki, MD
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J. Alexander Viehman, MD
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Peter Volpe, MD
Internal Medicine, Infectious Disease Specialist
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Nicole White, MD
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Julia Zefirova, MD
Rima Abdel-Massih, MD
Chief Medical Officer & Co-Founder; Program Director Infectious Diseases Fellowship; Director of Telemedicine
Dr. Abdel-Massih is the co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of ID Connect. She is an expert in developing and instituting models of telemedicine services in Infectious Diseases (Tele-ID). She became the Director of Tele-ID Services at UPMC in 2016 and led its rapid growth regionally. The success of the Tele-ID program and the growing demand for access to ID specialists led Dr. Abdel-Massih and Dr. John Mellors, Chief of Infectious Diseases at UPMC to form ID Connect and extend academic level ID expertise to areas in need for ID specialists.
Dr. Abdel-Massih has been a faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC since 2009. She joined the Division of Infectious Diseases at UPMC after completing her transplant infectious diseases fellowship training at the Mayo Clinic. She continues to serve as Director of Tele-ID Services at UPMC and as the Director of the Infectious Disease Fellowship Training Program. She is a member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America’s workgroup on Telehealth specialty.
Christina Andrzejewski, PharmD, BCPS, BCIDP
Clinical Intelligence Specialist
Christina Andrzejewski, PharmD, BCPS, BCIDP is a Clinical Intelligence Specialist at Infectious Disease Connect, Inc.
She received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Duquesne University and completed a PGY1 Pharmacy residency and subsequent training in Infectious Diseases at UPMC Mercy. She continued to serve as an Infectious Diseases Clinical Pharmacist and Associate Director of Antimicrobial Stewardship at UPMC Mercy before joining ID Connect.
Her practice interests include antimicrobial stewardship, antimicrobial resistance, HIV/AIDS pharmacotherapy, and optimizing clinical pharmacy workflows.
J. Ryan Bariola, MD, FIDSA, FACP
Medical Director, ID Connect Virtual Antimicrobial Stewardship; Co-Director UPMC Community Hospital Antimicrobial Stewardship Efforts; Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases UPMC
Sarah Burgdorf, MD, PhD
Karin Byers, MD, MS
Associate Chief of Clinical Care | Clinical Director, Division of Infectious Diseases | Director, Surgical Infections Unit
Dr. Karin Byers is the Associate Chief for Clinical Care for the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. She has been involved in providing telemedicine care since the first program was started when it only provided coverage for regional hospitals. In 2016 she turned over management to Dr. Abdel-Massih who has grown the program to include multiple states. She continues to oversee the clinical inpatient programs at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital.
She has been a faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC since 2001. She joined the Division of Infectious Diseases at UPMC after completing her infectious diseases fellowship at the University of Virginia. Her clinical interests include orthopedic and neurosurgical infections.
Christiane M. Hadi, MD, MPH, MSc
Infectious Disease Specialist
Julia K. Cornett, MD
Carolyn Fernandes, MD
Director, Travel Health, Division of Infectious Diseases
Nupur Gupta, DO, MPH
Internal Medicine, Infectious Disease Specialist
Vidya Jagadeesan, MD
Tina Khadem PharmD, BCPS
Pharmacy Director, ID Connect Virtual Antimicrobial Stewardship; Co-director, UPMC Community Hospital Antimicrobial Stewardship Efforts Program; Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease UPMC
Tina Khadem, PharmD, BCPS is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases. She serves as the Co-director of the Community Hospital Antimicrobial Stewardship Efforts (CHASE) program at UPMC and as the Pharmacy Director of Tele-Antimicrobial Stewardship Services at Infectious Disease Connect, Inc.
Dr. Khadem received her PharmD from the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy. She completed a PGY1 Pharmacy Practice residency at the Portland VA Medical Center in Oregon, and a PGY2 Infectious Diseases pharmacy residency at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York. Following her residency training, Dr. Khadem completed a fellowship in outcomes research and epidemiology at St. John Fisher College in Rochester NY.
Areas of interest include implementing and developing antimicrobial stewardship best practices in large healthcare systems and other acute care settings using data-driven interventions, including community hospitals with limited local antimicrobial stewardship resources and expertise.
Dept of Medicine | University of Pittsburgh
Sui-Kwong Li, MD
Internal Medicine, Infectious Disease Specialist
Gul Madison, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, UPMC
Erin K. McCreary, PharmD, BCPS, BCIDP
Director of Stewardship Innovation, Infectious Disease Connect; Infectious Diseases Pharmacist, UPMC; Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, UPMC
Erin McCreary, PharmD, BCPS, BCIDP is a Clinical Assistant Professor within the University of Pittsburgh Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and an Infectious Diseases Clinical Pharmacist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) and ID Connect, Inc. She received her PharmD from the Auburn University Harrison School of Pharmacy and completed her PGY1 Pharmacy and PGY2 Infectious Diseases residencies at the University of Wisconsin Health.
Dr. McCreary currently leads the UPMC System COVID-19 Therapeutics Committee and serves as a co-investigator for a global, adaptive, COVID-19 clinical trial. She has published more than 20 peer-reviewed manuscripts. In addition, she has co-authored nearly 40 abstracts at national and international scientific meetings. She has served the profession in numerous roles including most recently: member of ASM Microbe Planning Committee and chair of the SIDP Publications and Podcast committee.
Her practice interests include infectious diseases and antimicrobial stewardship, antimicrobial resistance, antimicrobial pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic optimization, recommending cefazolin, and convincing people to get vaccinated. She is also passionate about professional leadership, mentorship, and preceptorship.
Dept of Medicine | University of Pittsburgh
Linda Nabha, MD
Sowmya Nanjappa, MBBS, MD, FACP
Internal Medicine, Infectious Disease Specialist
Christian O. Perez, MD
Rocco Richards, MD
Neel B. Shah, MD
Internal Medicine, Infectious Disease Specialist
Kathleen Sheridan, DO
Director, Outpatient Parenteral Antibiotic Therapy Program, UPMC
Suzanne Templer, DO, FACP, FIDSA
Alex Trzebucki, MD
J. Alexander Viehman, MD
Peter Volpe, MD
Internal Medicine, Infectious Disease Specialist
Nicole White, MD
Julia Zefirova, MD
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