Jennifer Jao

Jennifer Jao, MD, MPH, is a Professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in the Departments of Pediatrics (Infectious Diseases) and Medicine (Infectious Diseases). She is also the Susan B. DePree Founders' Board Professor of Pediatric Adolescent and Maternal HIV Infection and a physician at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. Her work spans both clinical care and translational research in HIV, with a strong focus on maternal-child health and global populations.

• Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
• Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
• Robert J. Havey, MD Institute for Global Health

Education:

• BA: Tulane University (1994)
• MD: Medical College of Georgia (1998)
• MPH: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (2010)
• Residency: Rush University Medical Center, Internal Medicine/Pediatrics (2002)
• Fellowship: Mount Sinai Hospital, Infectious Diseases (2010)

Dr. Jao's research centers on the metabolic complications of HIV and its treatment in pregnant individuals and children. She leads NIH-funded studies in the U.S. and Africa, focusing on long-term health outcomes, chronic comorbidities, and perinatal transmission. Her work integrates global health perspectives with clinical and translational research. As a dual-certified specialist in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, she provides comprehensive HIV care across the lifespan.

Her recent publications reflect a strong trend in understanding the interplay between HIV, metabolism, pregnancy, and pediatric development. Themes include antiretroviral effects on glucose metabolism, cardiovascular risks in youth with HIV, placental biomarkers for fetal growth, and nutritional impacts on pregnancy outcomes. These studies employ cohort designs, biomarker analysis, and global health frameworks.

Scientific Awards:

• Dr. Harold and Golden Lamport Research Award (2016)
• Delta Omega Public Health Honor Society (2011)
• CROI Young Investigator Award (2010)

Dr. Jao is the Principal Investigator on multiple NIH-funded studies and plays key leadership roles in major HIV research networks. She is Co-Chair of the IMPAACT Network P1115 protocol and the PHACS Nutrition, Growth and Metabolism Working Group, and serves on the DHHS Guidelines Panel for HIV in pregnancy. Her advisory roles include scientific leadership in PHACS and IMPAACT, as well as service on the CROI Scientific Abstract Review Committee. She has no disclosed grants listed, but her role as PI on multiple NIH studies implies significant grant funding.

She is actively involved with the Robert J. Havey, MD Institute for Global Health and leads the section on maternal, pediatric, and adolescent HIV infection at Lurie Children’s. Her research teams operate across international sites, particularly in Africa, and collaborate with WHO and other global health entities.