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Erika Edwards

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Erika Edwards
NationalityAmerican
OccupationProfessor, researcher
Known forResearch on plant evolutionary biology and neonatal health outcomes
AwardsNational Science Foundation CAREER Award

Erika Edwards is an American academic affiliated with the University of Vermont (UVM), where she has built a research record spanning evolutionary plant biology and clinical health services research focused on neonatal and perinatal outcomes. Her published work, which totals 128 papers with an aggregate citation count of 5,751 and an h-index of 40 according to Semantic Scholar metrics, reflects a career built on sustained federal grant funding from both the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).[1] Her scholarship has appeared in journals ranging from evolutionary biology publications to leading medical outlets such as the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and Pediatrics.[2]

Education

Edwards completed a Ph.D. and a Master of Public Health in epidemiology at the Boston University School of Public Health, finishing in 2011.[3]

Career

Erika Edwards holds a faculty position at the University of Vermont.[4] Over the course of her career, she has maintained two distinct lines of funded research: one centered on the evolutionary biology of plants, particularly photosynthetic pathway evolution in the Caryophyllales, and another centered on health services research addressing disparities in neonatal intensive care access and outcomes.

Her plant biology research program was substantially supported through a series of NSF awards administered while she held prior appointments, including at Yale University. These awards, totaling more than $2.2 million across five identified grants, funded investigations into the evolution of Montiaceae and Portulacineae, the physiological mechanisms underlying C4 and CAM photosynthesis in the genus Portulaca, and comparative work on leaf form evolution in the genus Viburnum.[5]

- "The evolution of Montiaceae: integrating phylogeny, life history, and physiology to understand a global ecological radiation," funded at $988,130, awarded November 16, 2023, administered through Yale University.[6] - "Evolution and function of an unusual photosynthetic metabolism: Portulaca, the C4-CAM plant," funded at $722,848, awarded May 14, 2018, administered through Yale University.[7] - A CAREER award titled "Defining the evolutionary trajectory of CAM photosynthesis in Portulacineae (Caryophyllales)," funded at $117,892, awarded September 1, 2017, administered through Yale University.[8] - "COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Testing a new hypothesis for global patterns in leaf form using Viburnum (Adoxaceae)," funded at $65,616, awarded August 24, 2017, administered through Yale University.[9] - "Collaborative Research: Replicated evolution of leaf form in a neo-tropical radiation of Viburnum (Adoxaceae)," funded at $347,714, awarded August 22, 2017, administered through Yale University.[10]

In total, NSF records attribute 12 awards to Edwards amounting to $5,197,661 in funding across her research career.[11]

Separately, Edwards's work in neonatal and perinatal health has been supported by NIH funding directed toward addressing racial and geographic disparities in access to high-level neonatal intensive care. Two related NIH-funded projects, both titled "Reducing Disparities in Access to High-level Neonatal Intensive Care and Neonatal Outcomes" and administered through the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, received $716,916 and $736,279 respectively, for a combined total of $1,453,195.[12]

Research

Edwards's research portfolio reflects two parallel areas of scholarly inquiry. The first concerns the evolutionary biology and physiology of plants in the order Caryophyllales, with particular attention to the origins and diversification of specialized photosynthetic pathways such as CAM (crassulacean acid metabolism) and C4 photosynthesis. Her work on the genus Portulaca examined how a single lineage can exhibit both C4 and CAM photosynthetic metabolisms, a subject of interest for understanding the physiological flexibility and evolutionary transitions between carbon-concentrating mechanisms in plants.[13] Related projects investigated the Montiaceae family, integrating phylogenetic reconstruction with life history and physiological data to understand a global pattern of ecological radiation.[14] Her comparative work on Viburnum, conducted collaboratively, tested hypotheses about global patterns in leaf form evolution and examined replicated evolutionary outcomes in a neotropical radiation of the genus.[15]

The second area of Edwards's research addresses clinical and health services questions in neonatology, with a focus on disparities in care and outcomes for premature and critically ill infants. Her published work in this area includes analyses of periviable birth outcomes, neonatal sepsis epidemiology, transfer patterns among preterm infants, and racial and ethnic disparities in outcomes for neonates born at extremely low gestational ages.

Among her most cited recent publications is a 2024 systematic review in Pediatrics on quality improvement interventions to prevent intraventricular hemorrhage, which has accumulated 21 citations.[16] Another widely cited 2024 study, also published in Pediatrics, examined potentially better practices for follow-through care in neonatal intensive care units, accumulating 10 citations.[17]

Her 2025 study in JAMA, "Active Treatment and Survival Trends for Periviable Births by Race and Ethnicity," examined how treatment decisions and survival outcomes for infants born at the threshold of viability have shifted over time and differ across racial and ethnic groups; this paper has been cited 7 times and was also referenced in a subsequent entry in Obstetrical and Gynecological Survey.[18][19]

Other notable publications include a 2024 JAMA Network Open study on racial and ethnic differences in outcomes of neonates born at less than 30 weeks' gestation between 2018 and 2022, cited 5 times,[20] and a 2024 Journal of Pediatric Surgery paper comparing healthcare needs in extremely low birth weight infants with necrotizing enterocolitis versus spontaneous intestinal perforation, also cited 5 times.[21]

Her 2024 study in Pediatrics on transfer patterns among infants born at 28 to 34 weeks' gestation examined how referral and transport practices affect care continuity for moderately preterm infants,[22] while a 2024 study in the Journal of Clinical and Translational Science addressed methodological issues in clinical research, specifically the quality of source data verification practices.[23]

A 2025 paper in the American Journal of Perinatology reported on neonatal sepsis epidemiology at a major public hospital in Mexico City, extending her disparities-focused research to an international clinical setting.[24]

Recognition

Her cumulative citation record, exceeding 5,700 citations across 128 publications with an h-index of 40, reflects sustained scholarly impact across both of her principal research areas.[25]

Publications

Selected publications by Erika Edwards include:

  • "Physical activity reduces mental health burden in adults with a history of adverse childhood experiences," Aging & Mental Health (2026).[26]
  • "Active Treatment and Survival Trends for Periviable Births by Race and Ethnicity," Journal of the American Medical Association (2025).[27]
  • "Neonatal Sepsis Epidemiology at a Major Public Hospital in Mexico City," American Journal of Perinatology (2025).[28]
  • "Transfer patterns among infants born at 28 to 34 weeks' gestation," Pediatrics (2024).[29]
  • "Racial and Ethnic Differences in Outcomes of Neonates Born at Less Than 30 Weeks' Gestation, 2018-2022," JAMA Network Open (2024).[30]
  • "Comparing Healthcare Needs in Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants With NEC and Spontaneous Intestinal Perforation," Journal of Pediatric Surgery (2024).[31]
  • "Quality Improvement Interventions to Prevent Intraventricular Hemorrhage: A Systematic Review," Pediatrics (2024).[32]
  • "Source Data Verification (SDV) quality in clinical research: A scoping review," Journal of Clinical and Translational Science (2024).[33]
  • "Potentially Better Practices for Follow Through in Neonatal Intensive Care Units," Pediatrics (2024).[34]
  1. ↑ Semantic Scholar author profile for Erika Edwards, accessed 2024.
  2. ↑ Semantic Scholar author profile for Erika Edwards, accessed 2024.
  3. ↑ ORCID record 0000-0001-6611-1502, education and employment sections, self-maintained by the subject.
  4. ↑ University of Vermont faculty directory, accessed 2024.
  5. ↑ National Science Foundation Award Search, awards to Erika Edwards, Yale University, 2017-2023.
  6. ↑ National Science Foundation Award Search, Award ID for Montiaceae evolution project, Yale University, awarded November 16, 2023.
  7. ↑ National Science Foundation Award Search, Award ID for Portulaca C4-CAM project, Yale University, awarded May 14, 2018.
  8. ↑ National Science Foundation Award Search, CAREER Award for CAM photosynthesis trajectory project, Yale University, awarded September 1, 2017.
  9. ↑ National Science Foundation Award Search, collaborative Viburnum leaf form project, Yale University, awarded August 24, 2017.
  10. ↑ National Science Foundation Award Search, replicated Viburnum leaf form evolution project, Yale University, awarded August 22, 2017.
  11. ↑ National Science Foundation Award Search, cumulative award totals for Erika Edwards.
  12. ↑ National Institutes of Health RePORTER, "Reducing Disparities in Access to High-level Neonatal Intensive Care and Neonatal Outcomes," Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
  13. ↑ National Science Foundation Award Search, Portulaca C4-CAM project description, Yale University.
  14. ↑ National Science Foundation Award Search, Montiaceae evolution project description, Yale University.
  15. ↑ National Science Foundation Award Search, Viburnum leaf form projects, Yale University.
  16. ↑ Erika Edwards et al., "Quality Improvement Interventions to Prevent Intraventricular Hemorrhage: A Systematic Review," Pediatrics, 2024.
  17. ↑ Erika Edwards et al., "Potentially Better Practices for Follow Through in Neonatal Intensive Care Units," Pediatrics, 2024.
  18. ↑ Erika Edwards et al., "Active Treatment and Survival Trends for Periviable Births by Race and Ethnicity," Journal of the American Medical Association, 2025.
  19. ↑ "Active Treatment and Survival Trends for Periviable Births by Race and Ethnicity," Obstetrical and Gynecological Survey, 2025.
  20. ↑ Erika Edwards et al., "Racial and Ethnic Differences in Outcomes of Neonates Born at Less Than 30 Weeks' Gestation, 2018-2022," JAMA Network Open, 2024.
  21. ↑ Erika Edwards et al., "Comparing Healthcare Needs in Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants With NEC and Spontaneous Intestinal Perforation," Journal of Pediatric Surgery, 2024.
  22. ↑ Erika Edwards et al., "Transfer patterns among infants born at 28 to 34 weeks' gestation," Pediatrics, 2024.
  23. ↑ Erika Edwards et al., "Source Data Verification (SDV) quality in clinical research: A scoping review," Journal of Clinical and Translational Science, 2024.
  24. ↑ Erika Edwards et al., "Neonatal Sepsis Epidemiology at a Major Public Hospital in Mexico City," American Journal of Perinatology, 2025.
  25. ↑ Semantic Scholar author profile for Erika Edwards, accessed 2024.
  26. ↑ Erika Edwards et al., "Physical activity reduces mental health burden in adults with a history of adverse childhood experiences," Aging & Mental Health, 2026.
  27. ↑ Erika Edwards et al., "Active Treatment and Survival Trends for Periviable Births by Race and Ethnicity," Journal of the American Medical Association, 2025.
  28. ↑ Erika Edwards et al., "Neonatal Sepsis Epidemiology at a Major Public Hospital in Mexico City," American Journal of Perinatology, 2025.
  29. ↑ Erika Edwards et al., "Transfer patterns among infants born at 28 to 34 weeks' gestation," Pediatrics, 2024.
  30. ↑ Erika Edwards et al., "Racial and Ethnic Differences in Outcomes of Neonates Born at Less Than 30 Weeks' Gestation, 2018-2022," JAMA Network Open, 2024.
  31. ↑ Erika Edwards et al., "Comparing Healthcare Needs in Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants With NEC and Spontaneous Intestinal Perforation," Journal of Pediatric Surgery, 2024.
  32. ↑ Erika Edwards et al., "Quality Improvement Interventions to Prevent Intraventricular Hemorrhage: A Systematic Review," Pediatrics, 2024.
  33. ↑ Erika Edwards et al., "Source Data Verification (SDV) quality in clinical research: A scoping review," Journal of Clinical and Translational Science, 2024.
  34. ↑ Erika Edwards et al., "Potentially Better Practices for Follow Through in Neonatal Intensive Care Units," Pediatrics, 2024.
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