Emily Parsons

Emily Parsons, MD, PhD, serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the Uniformed Services University (USU) School of Medicine. A board-certified general pediatrician and U.S. Army Captain, she is based at USU in Bethesda, Maryland, where her work bridges military medicine and pediatric infectious disease research.

Education:

• Pediatric Residency (2018-2021), Madigan Army Medical Center, Tacoma, WA
• M.D./Ph.D. (2011-2018), Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD
• B.S. in Biology (2007-2011), Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, MI

Research Focus: Dr. Parsons' immunology research centers on T cell responses in infectious diseases and vaccine development. Her doctoral work examined regulatory T cells in endemic Burkitt lymphoma and malaria vaccine responses. Current investigations focus on SARS-CoV-2 immunopathology and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), with expertise spanning bacterial, viral, and parasitic disease mechanisms.

Publication Trends: Her scholarly output reveals a strategic evolution from foundational malaria/lymphoma research (2015-2016) to pandemic-responsive investigations (2021-2022). Early work established her expertise in regulatory T cell dynamics during Plasmodium infections and Burkitt lymphoma, while recent publications address urgent pediatric infectious disease challenges including MIS-C, SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequencing, and complex bacterial infections in military-relevant contexts.

Professional Context: As an active-duty Army physician-scientist, Dr. Parsons integrates clinical pediatrics with military medical research. Her international collaborations in Kenya and Central America address operational health threats, particularly malaria in military populations, demonstrating the direct application of her research to military medical readiness.