Jillian Hurst, PhD

Dr. Jillian Hurst is a translational scientist whose research bridges clinical epidemiology, microbiome science, and real-world data to uncover risk factors for recurrent infections in early childhood. Her work focuses on acute otitis media (AOM), the most common bacterial infection of childhood, and integrates large-scale electronic health record analyses, multi-omic profiling, and prospective clinical cohorts to identify host, microbial, and environmental drivers of disease susceptibility. Dr. Hurst serves as Principal Investigator on several NIH- and FDA-supported studies, including the HOPE 1000 birth cohort, the ROAM study of children undergoing tympanostomy tube placement for recurrent AOM, and VAMPP, a study of the impact of period products on the cervicovaginal microbiome.

Dr. Hurst’s independent research program is supported by a National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Mentored Career Development (K01) Award, which is focused on the effects of early life exposures on the respiratory microbiome and infection risk. She co-led the development of the Duke Clinical Research Datamart and has published over 60 peer-reviewed articles in journals such as Nature Communications and Clinical Infectious Diseases. A strong advocate for team science and research training, Dr. Hurst also leads initiatives to enhance scientific communication and to mentor emerging child health researchers across disciplines.