Hospital infection control and epidemiology was a topic that Dr. Pfaller focused on from 1984 to 1997 (authoring 72 publications). He helped establish the role of the clinical microbiologist and the microbiology laboratory in epidemiology and hospital infection control. The emphasis was on a team approach involving the clinical microbiologist, hospital epidemiologist, and infection control professional for controlling the transmission of hospital-acquired infections by yeasts, bacteria, and viruses.