Barrozo Lab Members

Assistant Professor at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital
Email: enrico.barrozo@bcm.edu

Bio: Dr. Enrico R. Barrozo is an early-stage investigator focusing on understanding the interactions between host-microbe dynamics and early immune development. Dr. Barrozo completed his Ph.D. in Genetics and Genomics at the University of Florida and his postdoctoral training in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital. He has received funding, including an NIH Predoctoral Fellowship, NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship, NIH Loan Repayment Award in Pediatrics, pilot awards from the Maternal and Infant Environmental Health Riskscape (MIEHR) Research Center and Gulf Coast Center for Precision Environmental Health (GC-CPEH), and a Career Development Award from the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT).

His pioneering research includes using single-cell and spatial transcriptomics in placentas to identify immune microenvironments in a congenital Zika virus (ZIKV) mouse model and from COVID-19 patients. Dr. Barrozo's research aims to translate these findings into interventions that improve maternal-fetal health outcomes, specifically focusing on how prenatal exposures impact the developmental origins of health and disease. His dedication to advancing the field of maternal-fetal medicine through innovative research makes him an emerging leader in his field.

For more details and Dr. Barrozo's complete list of publications, visit:
• PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Barrozo+ER
• Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=dWgmA-MAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate

Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Expertise: Bioinformatics, machine learning, large-scale data analysis
Bio: Dr. Jochum is an Assistant Professor in Obstetrics & Gynecology and collaborates with OB/GYN at Baylor Main with Dr. Barrozo and has an office in the Pavilion for Women II. Dr. Jochum is an experienced bioinformatician, as evidenced by his multiple publications showcasing his ability to process, analyze, and visualize large biological datasets. In the past, he has built and parameter-optimized several supervised and unsupervised machine-learning models to gain insight into how molecular mechanisms impact pregnancy, birth, and infancy. Dr. Jochum has over 10 years of experience as a computer scientist and bioinformatician, initially acquired in the U.S. Armed Services and later formalized in his graduate training at Texas A&M. After joining Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital for postdoctoral training, he collaborated with computational biologists at Rice University to develop a novel bioinformatic software package that enables the analyses of difficult to sequence low biomass samples and distinguish from contaminant controls. He has full fluency in both Python and R statistical programming languages and has deep experience processing and analyzing datasets from various omics technologies. He built and maintains the OB/GYN at Baylor Main bare metal high-performance research computing cluster. Dr. Jochum continues to develop data processing and analysis methods, design customized shell scripts to build analytic pipelines in support of this project, and contribute to the research training of Barrozo Lab trainees, OB/GYN Department Faculty, Residents and Fellows, Baylor medical students, and summer undergraduates. Dr. Jochum’s roles include aiding in the processing, analyzing, and interpreting large-scale datasets and utilizing state-of-the-art machine learning techniques to derive novel insights.

Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Expertise: Developmental origins of health and disease, environmental exposures
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Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Expertise: Multiomics including metabolomics, proteomics, and microbiome studies
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Second-year Development, Disease Models, and Therapeutics (DDMT) Graduate Student in the Medical Scientist Training Program
Bio: Maryshe has a profound interest in disease intervention and prevention during early development. She is working on developing and testing novel fetal gene therapeutic agents using a humanized mouse model. Her current research aims to establish a proof-of-concept model for in utero gene therapy to treat sickle cell disease (SCD). This work involves optimizing lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery systems for CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, assessing the phenotypic rescue of SCD, and evaluating potential immune responses. Maryshe has received numerous awards for her research presentations and is dedicated to incorporating health equity into her research initiatives.

Bio: Mrs. Cynthia Shope has been a cornerstone of the OB/GYN research team at Baylor College of Medicine since 2007. As the Senior Lab Manager, she plays a crucial role in maintaining the lab's day-to-day operations. Cindy organizes and tracks all aspects of tissue samples, models, metadata, and storage. She ensures the lab's functionality and compliance with IACUC and biosafety regulations at Baylor, Texas Children's Hospital, and Harris Health. Cindy's extensive regulatory compliance experience and dedication make her an invaluable asset to Dr. Barrozo’s Lab and the broader research community.

Bio: Ms. Lori Showalter has been a dedicated member of the OB/GYN research team at Baylor College of Medicine since 2007. She maintains cell cultures and organizes and tracks tissue samples, models, and metadata. Lori's outstanding molecular biology skillset, including techniques such as PCR, qPCR, and Western blotting, ensures the lab's research projects are executed with precision and accuracy. Her long-term commitment and expertise significantly enhance the lab's research capabilities and support the success of ongoing projects.