Lydia Aoun-Barakat, MD
Cards
About
Titles
Associate Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases)
Director, Yale Center for Infectious Diseases, Infectious Diseases; Program Director, HIV Primary Care Training Track, Internal Medicine
Positions outside Yale
Project Director, Connecticut New England AIDS Education & Training Center, HRSA
Biography
Dr. Lydia Aoun Barakat is the Medical Director of the Yale Center for Infectious Diseases and she oversees the infectious diseases ambulatory services at YNHH and Yale Medicine, including the care of over 1,500 patients living with or at risk of HIV, general infectious diseases, and transplant infectious disease.
Dr. Barakat’s career is highlighted by her commitment to improving the care for people with HIV and aging with HIV. She has received and contributed to multiple HRSA and CDC grants that are dedicated to the mission of serving the people living with HIV/AIDS and require a long term vision in accomplishing a high standard quality of care as well as a focus on outcome measures.
Dr. Barakat is a leader in Quality Improvement in HIV care and served as member on several local and national committees dedicated to improving HIV Quality. Her work has been recognized nationally by the presentation of the “Senior Leadership Award” for her role in building an HIV Quality infrastructure for patient care.
Dr. Barakat is nationally recognized and involved in workforce development in the area of HIV primary care, infectious diseases, and DEI. She is passionate about teaching residents, infectious disease fellows, and students, mentoring them for presentations in national meetings and completing clinical research projects. She has been honored to receive “Teacher of the year award” on several occasions during the last two decade. She also serves as the Program Director for the HIV Training Track within the Yale Primary Care Residency Program that she established and implemented since 2011.
Dr. Barakat has taken every opportunity to expand her knowledge and expertise in the fields of Medicine and Infectious Diseases. She enjoys the investigative process that results in the diagnosis of challenging infectious disease cases; whether diagnosing a “Fatal Inhalation Anthrax in a 94-year-old Connecticut Woman” published in JAMA, the patient who almost lost his vision due to Cat Scratch Disease or one of the first patients with COVID-19 reported in “Diagnosis” in the New York Times magazine.
Dr. Barakat is dedicated to her role as clinician educator scholar at Yale where caring for patients, mentoring students and trainees, and developing innovative research and curriculum are paramount.
Appointments
AIDS
Associate Professor on TermPrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
Education & Training
- Fellow
- Yale New Haven Hospital (2000)
- Resident
- Griffin Hospital (1998)
- MD
- Lebanese University (1994)
Research
Overview
Medical Research Interests
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
Clinical Care
Overview
Lydia Aoun-Barakat, MD, is an infectious diseases specialist who is recognized nationally for her work with HIV/AIDS. She is the medical director of the Nathan Smith Clinic at Yale New Haven Hospital and the program director of the HIV Primary Care Training Track at Yale, which provides care for more than 900 adults with the disease. She says she has always been driven by “the privilege to serve this special population.”
An associate professor of medicine (AIDS), Dr. Barakat says one of her goals is to help change the “health disparity and human injustice associated with HIV.” In addition to her clinical practice, she is an active researcher pursuing ongoing projects on HIV outcomes and aging. She has received and contributed in multiple federal grants dedicated to serving people who are living with HIV/AIDS and are in need of a long-term vision in achieving a high standard quality of care while focusing on outcome measures. Dr. Barakat also enjoys the investigative process involved in diagnosing other challenging infectious disease cases. She garnered attention for her work in two notable cases: “Fatal Inhalation Anthrax in a 94-year-old Connecticut Woman” published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, and a patient who almost lost his vision due to cat scratch disease reported in The New York Times magazine.
Clinical Specialties
Fact Sheets
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
Learn More on Yale MedicineSexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)
Learn More on Yale MedicinePediatric Cancer Immunotherapy
Learn More on Yale MedicinePediatric Sepsis
Learn More on Yale Medicine
Board Certifications
Infectious Disease
- Certification Organization
- AB of Internal Medicine
- Latest Certification Date
- 2011
- Original Certification Date
- 2001
Internal Medicine
- Certification Organization
- AB of Internal Medicine
- Latest Certification Date
- 2020
- Original Certification Date
- 1998
Yale Medicine News
News & Links
News
- November 20, 2024
Lydia Aoun-Barakat Named Associate Chair of Ambulatory Clinical Affairs
- July 09, 2024
Department of Medicine’s Consortium Builds Robust Educational Opportunities Across Connecticut
- January 30, 2024
Fostering Equity and Inclusion in Infectious Diseases at Yale
- April 03, 2023
Initiative Tackles Diversity, Equity, and Anti-racism Within Infectious Diseases