Elisabeth Adderson, MD, MSc

Infections pose a significant threat to patients undergoing therapy for cancer and other catastrophic diseases. Treatments for these conditions often leave patients with weakened immune systems, rendering them vulnerable to bacterial, fungal and viral infections. My research focuses on understanding the infections that complicate care for patients at St. Jude and developing better ways to manage, prevent and treat those infections.

Elisabeth Adderson, MD, MSc, is a Department of Infectious Diseases associate member. She graduated from the University of Alberta School of Medicine and pursued training in Pediatrics and Pediatric Infectious Diseases from Dalhousie University and Washington University School of Medicine. Adderson is board-certified in Pediatrics, with subspecialty certification in Pediatric Infectious Diseases. She earned her Master of Science in Clinical Trials from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

In addition to her clinical research work at St. Jude, Adderson has placed a strong emphasis on mentorship and training for physician-scientists. She is the Associate Designated Institutional Official for St. Jude Hematology/Oncology programs and associate director of the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital/University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center Pediatric Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program; these programs provide training in clinical medicine and basic, clinical, and translational science research to physicians. Adderson has also developed training programs in Infections of Immunocompromised Children and Adolescents, Pediatric Infectious Diseases for Global Practitioners and Pediatric HIV medicine and has enthusiastically mentored postdoctoral fellows, graduate and undergraduate students. She is a faculty member in the St. Jude Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, where she teaches in the Clinical Investigation Master’s program.