Email

enrico.barrozo@bcm.edu

Positions

Assistant Professor

Obstetrics & Gynecology
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, US

Professional Statement

At Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital, I strive to understand the rules governing host-microbe interactions and early immune development. I have secured funding, including an NSF postdoctoral fellowship, an NIH Loan Repayment Award in Pediatrics, an R03 Maternal and Infant Environmental Health Riskscape (MIEHR) Pilot Award, and a $100,000 Career Development Award from the American Society for Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT). With this funding, we have pioneered spatial transcriptomics in human and mouse placenta tissue, identifying immune microenvironments in congenital ZIKV mouse models and placentae from human COVID-19 gravidae. We apply this approach to understand how environmental exposures, such as microplastic accumulation in the placenta, correlate with health disparities and developmental immunotoxicology. Additionally, we have conducted groundbreaking single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) studies on amniotic fluid and fetal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cells collected during laparoscopic fetoscopic repair of spina bifida. This research revealed clonal expansion and activation of fetal T cells as early as the second trimester in utero. Furthermore, we generated the first scRNA-seq data from pediatric RSV + SARS-CoV-2 co-infected subjects, uncovering synergistic and antagonistic innate immune responses. The combination of my training in multiomics, viral pathogenesis, and environmental exposures lend to a promising niche that aligns with the directives of the NICHD, NIAID, NIEHS, and NIMHD. Continued mentorship in maternal-fetal immunology and microbiome research will further enhance my capabilities. I am committed to leveraging Baylor's intellectual resources and Texas Children’s Hospital's facilities to explore genetic, environmental, and microbial molecular mechanisms driving perinatal and pediatric disease states.

Selected Publications

• Barrozo ER, Seferovic MD, Castro ECC, Major AM, Moorshead DN, Jochum MD, Rojas RF, Shope CD, Aagaard KM "SARS-CoV-2 niches in human placenta revealed by spatial transcriptomics." Med. 2023 Jul 7; Pubmed PMID: 37423216
• Barrozo ER, Seferovic MD, Hamilton MP, Moorshead DN, Do T, O’Neil D, Aagaard KM "Zika virus co-opts microRNA networks to persist in placental niches detected by spatial transcriptomics." Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2023 Aug 18; Pubmed PMID: 37598997
• Enrico R. Barrozo, Kjersti M. Aagaard "Human placental biology at single-cell resolution: a contemporaneous review." BJOG. 2021 Oct 15;
• Hunter R, Baird B, Garcia M, Begay J, Goitom S, Lucas S, Herbert G, Scieszka D, Padilla J, Brayer K, Ottens AK, Suter MA, Barrozo ER, Hines C, Bleske B, Campen MJ "Gestational Ozone Inhalation Elicits Maternal Cardiac Dysfunction and Transcriptional Changes to Placental Pericytes and Endothelial Cells." Toxicol Sci. 2023 Sep 11; Pubmed PMID: 37695302

Memberships

American Association for the Advancement of Science

Member (07/2015)

American Society for Virology

Member (07/2017)

Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society

Member (11/2019)

American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy

Associate Member (07/2019)

National Postdoc Association

Member (12/2020)

Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine

Member (01/2021)

American Society for Microbiology

Member (02/2021)

10x Genomics Clinical Translational Research Network

Member (05/2021)

Society for Reproductive Investigation (SRI)

Member (01/2022)

Funding

F31 NIH Predoctoral Fellowship - #F31AI140713

(08/08/2019 - 12/31/2020) Grant funding from NIAID

Career Development Award in Immunological Aspects of Gene Therapy and Vaccines

$100,000.00 (01/01/2022 - 01/01/2023)

Grant funding from American Society for Gene & Cell Therapy

Molecular Mechanisms of Immune Programming In Utero - #2208903

$138,000.00 (06/01/2022 - 02/01/2024)

Grant funding from NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology

NIH Loan Repayment Program, Pediatric Research - #1L40AI171990-01

$100,000.00 (07/01/2022 - 06/01/2024)

Grant funding from NIAID