Jill E. Weatherhead, MD, MSc, cTropMed, FAAP

Dr. Weatherhead is board certified in pediatrics, pediatric infectious diseases, internal medicine and adult infectious disease with a sub-specialty Certificate in Tropical Medicine and Travelers’ Health (cTropMed) from the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. She is the Director of the Pediatric Tropical Medicine clinic at Texas Children’s Hospital and the Adult Tropical Medicine clinic in Harris Health System in Houston, TX. The Tropical Medicine clinics aim to diagnose and treat children and adults in the Houston area with parasitic and tropical diseases including Chagas Disease, leishmaniasis, neurocysticercosis, and soil-transmitted helminths. We also evaluate patients with eosinophilia for possible infectious etiologies. 

Dr. Weatherhead is the Director of Medical Education at the National School of Tropical Medicine (NSTM) at BCM and teaches didactic courses on tropical medicine and global health as well as lab-based parasitology diagnostic techniques. As a physician-scientist, Dr. Weatherhead’s clinical and scientific work is motivated by her passion and determination to improve the lives of millions of people living in parasite-endemic, poverty-stricken communities around the world. Her research focuses on parasite-host immune response interactions that lead to long-term morbidity in children. Understanding the impact of parasites on the host immune response may lead to novel therapeutic agents such as vaccines against neglected tropical diseases.

Clinical Interests

Tropical medicine, traveler’s health, parasitic infections, eosinophilia

Education

,

,

,

,

,

Organizations

,

,

,

* Texas Children’s Hospital physicians’ licenses and credentials are reviewed prior to practicing at any of our facilities. Sections titled From the Doctor, Professional Organizations and Publications were provided by the physician’s office and were not verified by Texas Children’s Hospital.

Research interests

Parasitic infections, Parasite – Host immune response interactions, Parasitic causes of end-organ disease, eosinophilia

Weatherhead JE, P Porter, A Coffey, D Haydel, L Versteeg, B Zhan, ME Bottazzi, PJ Hotez, DB Corry, CM Beaumier. Ascaris Larval Infection and Lung Invasion Directly Induces Severe Allergic Airway Disease. Infection and Immunity. 2018. 86: e00533-18.

Weatherhead JE, Gazzinelli-Guimaraes, Knight, Fujiwara, Hotez, Bottazzi, Corry. Host Immunity and Inflammation to Pulmonary Helminth Infections. Frontiers in Immunology. 2020. 11: 594520.

Wu, Y, E Li, M Knight, G Adeniyi-Ipadeola, L Song, AR Burns, AC Gazzinelli-Guimaraes, Fujiwara, ME Bottazzi, JE Weatherhead. Transient Ascaris suum larval migration induces intractable chronic pulmonary disease and anemia in mice. PLOS NTD. 2021. 14(7): e0008484.

Milia-Phiri, Lissauer, JE Weatherhead. Global Representation During a Global Pandemic. JAMA Pediatrics. 2022.

Ness, T, R Martin-Blais, JE Weatherhead. How I Approach Leishmaniasis: Diagnosis and Treatment in the United States. Jourrnal of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc. 2022. 11(11): 525-532. Doi:10.1093/jpids/piac087.

Wu, Y, M Duffey, S Alex, C Suarez-Reyes, E Clark, JE Weatherhead. The role of helminths in the development of non-communicable diseases. Frontiers in Immunology. 2022. 13: 941977. Doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.941977.

Ness, T, T Erickson, V Diaz, A Frimes, R Rochat, S Anvari, J Hajjar, JE Weatherhead. Pediatric eosinophilia: A review and multiyear investigation into etiologies. Journal of Pediatrics. 2022. Doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2022.09.048.

PubMed Publications

Google Scholar Publications