Dr. Erlinda Ulloa, Pediatric Infectious Disease

Dr. Erlinda “Chulie” Ulloa is a distinguished Pediatric Infectious Diseases specialist and physician-scientist serving as an Assistant Professor at UC Irvine and an Attending Physician at CHOC. A graduate of Stanford University with training from Harvard and UPenn, she has focused her research on antimicrobial resistance and the synergy between antibiotics and the innate immune system. She is particularly renowned for her “bench-to-bedside” approach, which recently included the pioneering use of phage therapy and novel antibiotics to treat life-threatening, multi-drug-resistant infections in pediatric cancer patients.

Beyond her clinical and laboratory work, Dr. Ulloa is a prominent advocate for health equity and public health education. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she played a vital role in developing school safety protocols and conducting bilingual community outreach to support underserved populations. Recognized with numerous honors, including the 2025 Rising Stars Award and a Latina of Influence Award, she balances cutting-edge translational research with a commitment to mentoring the next generation of medical scientists through programs like PRIME-LC. We are proud to have her as part of our team keeping the children of Orange County healthy.

Locations

CHOC Specialists, Infectious Disease
1201 W. La Veta Ave.
Orange, CA 92868
phone: 714-509-8403
fax: 714-509-4014

Education

• Medical School
  Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA
• Residency
  Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA
• Fellowship
  Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA

Academic Appointments

• Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics and Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics
  University of California, Irvine School of Medicine

Administrative Appointments

• Infectious Diseases CHOC Specialists

Professional Organizations/Editorial Boards

• American Academy of Pediatrics
• Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society
• Infectious Diseases Society of America
• European Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases
• Society for Pediatric Research

Honors and Awards

• Phi Beta Kappa
• Fulbright Scholar
• UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship – University of California Office of the President
• Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program – Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
• Early Career Investigator, Pediatric Research – American Pediatric Society, European Society for Paediatric Research, Society for Pediatric Research
• Latina of Influence Award – Hispanic Lifestyle
• Outstanding Early-Career Faculty Research Award – UCI School of Medicine
• Rising Stars Award – UCI School of Medicine
• Distinguished Early-Career Faculty Award for Teaching – Academic Senate, UC Irvine

Major Invited Talks

• 2021 – Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Harold Amos Conference, “The Innate Immune System, Antibiotics and Their Interactions”
• 2021 – Yale School of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, “The Innate Immune System, Antibiotics, and Their Interactions”
• 2022 – Invited Debate, Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) Conference, “Infectious Thrombophlebitis Should Not Be Treated the Same as Endocarditis”
• 2022 – Invited Presentation for NICHD Director Visit, UC Irvine Beall Applied Innovation, “The Innate Immune System, Antibiotics and Their Interactions”
• 2022 – University of California Regents Health Services Committee (invited), “Pediatric Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 Infection (Long COVID)”
• 2022 – Clinical Controversies Session (invited), IDWeek 2022, “Management of Persistent MSSA Bacteremia”
• 2024 – Grand Rounds, NYU School of Medicine, Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, “Management of Persistent MSSA Bacteremia”
• 2024 – Texas Children’s Hospital/Baylor College of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, “Novel Therapeutic Strategies for Difficult-To-Treat Bacterial Infections”
• 2025 – Gordon Research Conference on Antimicrobial Peptides (invited), “Interactions Unveiled: Antimicrobial Peptides and Antibiotics in Current Therapeutics”
• 2025 – Latino Medical Student Association National Conference, “From Medical Detectives to Change Makers: Exploring the Multifaceted Roles of Pediatric Infectious Diseases Specialists”
• 2025 – Sharp Rees-Stealy Infectious Diseases Symposium (invited). “Applying cfDNA Testing in Pediatric Infectious Diseases Diagnostics”
• 2026 – Grand Rounds, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Department of Infectious Diseases, “Management of Persistent Staphylococcal Bacteremia”
• 2026 – Invited Debate, IDWeek 2026, “The New Guard vs. Vancomycin: Who Wins in Pediatric MRSA?”

Selected Publications

Ulloa ER, Singh KV, Geriak M, Haddad F, Murray B, Nizet V, Sakoulas G. Cefazolin and Ertapenem Salvage Therapy Rapidly Clears Persistent Methicillin-Susceptible Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia. Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2020. PMID 31773134.

Ulloa ER, Uchiyama S, Gillespie R, Nizet V, Sakoulas G. Ticagrelor Increases Platelet-Mediated Staphylococcus aureus Killing Resulting in Clearance of Bacteremia. Journal of Infectious Diseases. 2021. PMID 33966075.

Gilbertie J*, Ulloa ER*[co-first author], Daiker JC, Nguyen K, Smelter D, Rose W, Geriak M, Schanel LV, Nizet V, Sakoulas G. Potent Activity of Ertapenem Plus Cefazolin Within Biofilms: A Contributing Factor in the Treatment of Methicillin-Susceptible Staphylococcus aureus Endocarditis. Open Forum Infectious Diseases. 2022. PMID 35493130. *Authors contributed equally to this work.

Ulloa ER and Sakoulas G. Azithromycin: An Underappreciated Quinolone-Sparing Oral Treatment for Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infections. Antibiotics. 2022. PMID 35453266.

Meier A, Nizet V, Sakoulas G, Ulloa ER. Neutrophil Extracellular Traps (NETs): An Emerging Therapeutic Target to Improve Infectious Diseases Outcomes. The Journal of Infectious Diseases. 2024. PMID 38728418.

Jankeel A, Pérez-Parra G, Khetarpal A, Alvarado I, Nizet V, Sakoulas G, Ulloa ER. Enhanced Killing of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus with Ceftaroline or Vancomycin in Combination with Carbapenems. The Journal of Infectious Diseases. 2025. PMID 39777519.

Olson J*, Khetarpal A*, Jankeel A, Lorenzana A, Nizet V, Sakoulas G, Ulloa ER. EDTA Enhances Vancomycin and Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS)-mediated Killing of Vancomycin-Intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (VISA). Open Forum Infectious Diseases. 2025. PMID 40476031. *Authors contributed equally to this work.

Garrigues JM*, Gray HK*, Ison RP*, Uslan DZ, Lima A, Gonzalez-Ferrer S, Trejo M, Zhuo R, Matysiak-Match CJ, Ulloa ER, Bhaurla S, Lewis V, Parti U, Sandoval T, Turay S, Walton S, Prabaker K, Garner OB, Chandrasekaran S, Green NM, Yang S. Outbreak of New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase carbapenemase-producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections in a Southern California hospital. American Journal of Infection Control. 2025. PMID 40518051. *Authors contributed equally to this work.

Alaguvel V*, Khetarpal A*, Jankeel A, Tapio-Cano WT, Martinez G, Lorenzana A, Hsiao Z, Rose W, Sakoulas G, Ulloa ER. Rapid Valve Sterilization with Meropenem and Ceftolozane-Tazobactam Combination Therapy for Pseudomonas aeruginosa Prosthetic Valve Endocarditis. JAC-Antimicrobial Resistance. 2025. PMID 40575184. *Authors contributed equally to this work.

Olson J, Alaguvel V, Pérez-Parra G, Jankeel A, Khetarpal A, Rodríguez-Guevara V, Vu V, Sakoulas G, Ulloa ER. Overcoming Ceftaroline Resistance in MRSA using Ceftaroline-Carbapenem Combination Therapy. Open Forum Infectious Diseases. 2026. PMID: 41567262.

Book Chapters

• Ulloa ER, He K, Chung E, Nieves D, Michalik DE, Behnoosh A. COVID-19 in Pediatrics: Presentations and Management. In: Dubé M, Gholamrezanezhad A, editors. Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): A Clinical Guide. Wiley-Blackwell. 2023.
• Ulloa ER, Nizet V. Focal Bacterial Infections. In: Remington JS, Klein JO, Wilson CB, Nizet V, Maldonado Y, editors. Remington and Klein’s Infectious Diseases of the Fetus and Newborn Infant, 9^th Elsevier Inc. 2024.