Email

vicki.mercado@bcm.edu

Positions

Medical Resident

Department of Pathology & Immunology
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas United States

Education

BS from Whittier College

05/2015 - Whittier, California United States

Biology

MD-PhD from Baylor College of Medicine

05/2025 - Houston, TX USA

Honors & Awards

Richard R. Dickason, Jr., M.D., Ph.D. Outstanding Physician Scientist Award, 2025

Baylor College of Medicine

Kelly K. Woodard Award- Outstanding Achievement in Scientific Scholarship, Research, and Leadership, 2021

Baylor College of Medicine

Outstanding Teaching Assistant in Immunology and Microbiology, 2021

Baylor College of Medicine

Baylor Research Advocates for Student Scientists (BRASS) Scholarship

09/2019 - 12/2023

Stuart A Wallace Award for outstanding performance in Pathology, 2025

Baylor College of Medicine, Department of Pathology & Immunology

Professional Interests

• Medical Education
• Cytopathology
• Dermatopathology
• Gynecologic Pathology

Selected Publications

• "Gestational diabetes augments group B Streptococcus perinatal infection through disruptions in maternal immunity and the vaginal microbiota." Nature Communications. 2024; Pubmed PMID: 38310089
• "Gestational diabetes as a risk factor for GBS maternal rectovaginal colonization: a systematic review and meta-analysis." BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. 2024; Pubmed PMID: 39033123
• "Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1 Alpha is dispensable for host defense of group B Streptococcus colonization and infection." Journal of Innate Immunity. 2021; Pubmed PMID: 34023827
• "Racial/ethnic disparities in infertility treatment utilization in the US, 2011–2019. Systems Biology in Reproductive Medicine." Systems Biology in Reproductive Medicine. 2022; Pubmed PMID: 35345953

Memberships

American Society for Clinical Pathology

College of American Pathologists

Funding

Characterizing the Impact of Gestational Diabetes on Immunity and Group B Streptococcal Virulence in the Maternal Reproductive Tract - #5F31AI167547-04

$178,297.00 ( 12/03/2021 - 05/03/2025 )

Grant funding from National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease

Grant for Emerging Researchers Mentorship Program (GERM)

( 04/02/2022 - 04/02/2023 )

Grant funding from The Infectious Diseases Society of America