Jennifer Bermick, MD
Associate Professor of Pediatrics-Neonatology
Introduction
Dr. Bermick runs a basic science laboratory that focuses on understanding how the neonatal immune system develops under normal and inflammatory conditions. This includes the study of fetal and neonatal immune responses during chorioamnionitis and neonatal sepsis, with the goal of identifying therapies that can mitigate the morbidities and mortality associated with these conditions.
Current Positions
- Associate Professor of Pediatrics - Neonatology
Education
- BS, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States
- MD, Ohio State University College of Medicine & Public Health, Ohio, United States
Graduate Program Affiliations
Center, Program and Institute Affiliations
Research Interests
- Neonatal immune development and function
- Epigenetic regulation of early life immune function
- Improving outcomes before, during and after neonatal sepsis
- The impact of early life inflammation on immune development and function
- Longitudinal immune profiling of preterm neonates
Licenses & Certifications
- Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, American Board of Pediatrics
- Iowa medical license, State of Iowa, Iowa
- Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine board certification, American Board of Pediatrics, United States
- General Board certification, American Board of Pediatrics, United States
- Basic Life Support
Selected Publications
- Misel-Wuchter KM, Thurman AL, Johnson JT, Teghanemt A, Gautam N, Pezzulo AA, Bermick JR, Butler NS, Issuree PD. Developmental epigenetic programming by Tet1/3 determines peripheral CD8 T cell fate. EMBO Rep. 2025 Apr 2. doi: 10.1038/s44319-025-00439-z. Online ahead of print. PMID: 40175595.
- Lorenger LE, Boly TJ, Hyland RM, Bermick JR. Longitudinal inflammatory biomarker profiling in intrauterine growth restricted preterm infants. Cytokine. 2025 Mar 25:190:156916. doi: 10.1016/j.cyto.2025.156916. Online ahead of print. PMID: 40138981.
- Boly TJ, Lozano-Chinga MM, Reyes-Hernandez ME, Elgin TG, Ballas Z, Bermick JR. Reducing Capillary Leak Syndrome Mortality in Extremely Premature Infants: A Pilot Investigation. Clin Pediatr (Phila). 2025 Mar;64(3):425-433. doi: 10.1177/00099228241272037.Epub 2024 Aug 9. PMID: 39123307.
- Szachowicz PJ, Wohlford-Lenane C, Donelson CJ, Ghimire S, Thurman A, Xue B, Boly TJ, Verma A, MašinoviĆ L, Bermick JR, Rehman T, Perlman S, Meyerholz DK, Pezzulo AA, Zhang Y, Smith RJH, McCray PB Jr. Complement is primarily activated in the lung in a mouse model of severe COVID-19. iScience. 2025 Feb 1;28(3):111930. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.111930. eCollection 2025 Mar 21. PMID: 40034849. PMCID: PMC11875145.
- Gavulic AE, Dougherty D, Li SH, Carver AR, Bermick JR, Mychaliska GB, Hirschl RB, Perrone EE. Fetal hemoglobin levels in premature newborns. Should we reconsider transfusion of adult donor blood? J Pediatr Surg. 2021 Nov;56(11):1944-1948. doi: 10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2021.04.018. Epub 2021 Apr 24. PMID: 34052004.
- Bermick J, Schaller M. Epigenetic regulation of pediatric and neonatal immune responses. Pediatr Res. 2022 Jan;91(2):297-327. doi: 10.1038/s41390-021-01630-3. Epub 2021 Jul 8. PMID: 34239066.
- Bermick JR, Lincoln PM, Allen RM, Kunkel SL, Schaller MA. Elevated Notch ligands in serum are associated with HIV/TB coinfection. J Clin Tuberc Other Mycobact Dis. 2021 Jun 27;24:100258. doi: 10.1016/j.jctube.2021.100258. eCollection 2021 Aug. PMID: 34307905.
- Fonseca W, Malinczak CA, Fujimura K, Li D, McCauley K, Li J, Best SKK, Zhu D, Rasky AJ, Johnson CC, Bermick J, Zoratti EM, Ownby D, Lynch SV, Lukacs NW, Ptaschinski C. Maternal gut microbiome regulates immunity to RSV infection in offspring. J Exp Med. 2021 Nov 1;218(11):e20210235. doi: 10.1084/jem.20210235. Epub 2021 Oct 6. PMID: 34613328.
- Boly TJ, Bermick JR. Maternal-fetal tolerance: Not just a uterine affair. J Leukoc Biol. 2022 Mar;111(3):515-517. doi: 10.1002/JLB.5CE1021-560. Epub 2022 Jan 10. PMID: 35014085.
- Boly TJ, Reyes-Hernandez ME, Daniels EC, Kibbi N, Bermick JR, Elgin TG. Hyperglycemia and cytopenias as signs of SARS-CoV-2 delta variant infection in preterm infants. Pediatrics. 2022 Jun 1;149(6):e2021055331. doi: 10.1542/peds.2021-055331. PMID: 35237826