Next-gen leaders in diarrheal disease: Q&A with Brittany Feijoo

March is Women’s History Month, a chance to celebrate the countless generations of women who have made strides in the fight against diarrheal disease. But it’s also an opportunity to highlight the next cohort of students, researchers, and young professionals who are writing a new chapter on child health.

Brittany Feijoo, MSN, FNP-BC, a research associate at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, is one of those next-generation leaders. We talked to Brittany about her path from nursing to global health, her research on Shigella in Kenya, and her role models both inside and outside the scientific community.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Tell us a bit about your background and your areas of study. How did you become interested in global health and immunization research?

I am a registered nurse by training and started my career at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in 2008, which sparked my interest in clinical trials research and infectious disease. It was during this time that I was thrown into the H1N1 flu pandemic in 2009 and provided care to some of the most vulnerable patients at the Clinical Center.

Over the next few years, I realized I wanted more training and autonomy, and I earned my master’s degree and became a Family Nurse Practitioner. I pivoted toward family medicine while working in a primary and urgent care setting, but in doing so I became very interested in immunizations and the importance of childhood vaccines, which led me to the Johns Hopkins Center for Immunization Research in 2015.

This opened new opportunities for me in vaccine research. I’ve had the opportunity to work on trials for an array of pathogens such as ETEC, Shigella, Campylobacter, RSV, Dengue, and influenza. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I worked on the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine studies for adults and children, as well as the adult AstraZeneca COVID-19 study.

You were just in Kenya working on an enteric challenge study, the first one ever to be done in Africa. Can you tell us more about the study and what it’s hoping to accomplish?

We’re hoping to develop the first vaccine against Shigella. Like many other diarrheal diseases, Shigella is endemic in many countries and has an outsized impact on children less than five years old. It is critical to study the vaccines in the intended recipient populations. Challenge studies—where we assess the effectiveness of the vaccine against its pathogen—can help us appropriately tailor the vaccine.

This study has been years in the making, and we can now say with enthusiasm that an enteric challenge study has officially occurred on the African continent, where children stand to benefit most from this vaccine. Although results of the study are pending, we feel confident that subsequent trials will follow.

What was it like being in Kenya and collaborating with researchers there on the study?  

While I have conducted studies in the United States for almost 10 years now, doing work on a global scale has been extremely rewarding. Partnering with our colleagues in Kenya has allowed me to approach research from another perspective, and combining different areas of expertise to reach a common goal has been incredible.

Our team at Johns Hopkins joined the project as advisors, but I can say that I have acquired so much knowledge about clinical trials in an endemic rural setting that will help me in future trials in the U.S. and abroad.

Do you have any role models in the scientific community?

This may sound cliché, but my number one role model in my life has been my father, Augustus Eugene Johnson. He is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University School of Engineering and spent over 30 years as an engineer for the United States Department of Defense.

He graduated at a time when African Americans were few and far between in science and engineering, and they faced countless obstacles throughout the journey. He taught me at an early age the importance of perseverance and patience—two very distinct and interrelated words that describe his ability to excel despite adversity. And like many children, I believe we really do not appreciate the sacrifices and triumphs of our parents until we become adults in the professional world. It wasn’t until I reached a certain level in my career that I recognized the trailblazing qualities of my dad and his contributions to our country through federal service.

How has mentorship shaped your career?

Over the years, I have realized that it is sometimes the informal mentors that largely affect your career trajectory. For example, the colleagues you can ask to review a paper, pick their brains over tea or coffee, or connect you to others with similar interests. It’s about the interactions, experiences, and exposures that really propel you throughout your career. Kawsar Talaat, MD, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins, has been an incredible mentor for me. I can truly say my knowledge and growth over my almost 10 years at Hopkins is a result of her immeasurable mentorship.

What’s a piece of new research you’ve seen recently that excites you, and why?

I am excited about anything vaccine-related, especially flu vaccines. In fact, I love flu vaccines so much that I volunteer every year to give flu vaccines to everyone in our center during the fall season.

An exciting update in flu vaccines is that the FDA recently approved FluMist for at-home administration, a nasal spray vaccine that individuals will be able to give themselves or their children at home. This opens the doors for increased access to flu vaccines and flu vaccine uptake. I am beyond excited to see the results of this approval in the 2025-2026 season. Vaccines save lives and I always look forward to new advances in vaccine science.

What advice do you have for the next generation of students and young professionals working in global health?

My advice for the next generation would be to continue to move forward. The current climate is different from when I began my career 18 years ago, especially given how things have drastically changed in the last two months. However, I would tell those new to the profession that global health will always be essential, and we must continue to work in these areas. Connecting with your colleagues and strengthening ties with others worldwide is key. Most importantly, you have the knowledge and skills to do anything in this world. Do not limit yourself or others from new opportunities.

This article is part of a series on next-gen leaders in diarrheal disease. Click here to read the interview with Dr. Elizabeth Rogawski McQuade, associate professor of epidemiology at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health.