Dr. Erika Claud is Professor of Pediatrics, Section of Neonatology, and of Medicine, Section of Gastroenterology. She received her combined undergraduate and medical degree at Northwestern University through the six year Honors Program in Medical Education, and then completed both her residency in Pediatrics and fellowship in Neonatology at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Following her clinical fellowship she completed a research fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital. She joined the faculty of the University of Chicago in 2004. She is NIH funded to investigate the role of microbes in intestinal development of the preterm infant and leads the MIND (Microbiome in Neonatal Development) cohort. The interaction between the intestine and its resident microbiota is a complex relationship with risk and benefit for the host. Perturbations in environmental cues or altered patterns of microbial selection can affect health and increase risk of disease in susceptible individuals. The simple microbial communities and limited environmental variation of the preterm infant provide a unique model in which to investigate microbial perturbations. Her laboratory utilizes state-of-the-art experimental approaches including: 16S rRNA and shotgun metagenomic analyses of the microbiome, gnotobiotic mouse models, rodent models of Neonatal Necrotizing Enterocolitis, organoid models, as well as cell culture models of immature and mature intestine to investigate the health impact of the microbiome on health outcomes of preterm infants. Dr. Claud is Director of Neonatology Research.
Training
- BS, 1988, Northwestern University. Medicine
- MD, 1990, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine
- Internship and Residency, 1993, Children’s Memorial Hospital, Pediatrics
- Fellowship, 2000, Children’s Memorial Hospital, Neonatology
- Research Fellowship, 2003, Massachusetts General Hospital