Biography

Dr. Adhikari is a member of the Division of Maternal–Fetal Medicine in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.  Her clinical practice is in the Parkland Health and Hospital System where she serves as Medical Director of Perinatal Infectious Diseases.  She works closely with the leadership at Parkland Hospital and the Dallas County Health Department to coordinate infectious disease surveillance and treatment for pregnant women with HIV and syphilis as well as emerging pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2, zika, measles, and ebola viruses. Additionally, she is a leader in the screening and treatment of pregnant women with opioid-use disorder in pregnancy at Parkland Hospital.

After graduating from Rice University in Houston, Texas with a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and Spanish in 2003, Dr. Adhikari completed two years of medical school at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock (2006-2008).  After her second year, she accepted a Doris Duke Clinical Research Fellowship at UT Southwestern in Dallas and spent a year learning clinical research design. 

In 2010, she was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society, and subsequently received her Doctor of Medicine at UT Southwestern in 2011.  This was followed by a residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Parkland Memorial Hospital where she was named Chief Resident in her final year.  After residency, Dr. Adhikari completed a three-year Fellowship in Maternal–Fetal Medicine in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at UT Southwestern, with a focus on infectious diseases affecting pregnant women. In 2018, she joined the Department’s faculty as an Assistant Professor on the clinical scholar track.

Early on in her training, Dr. Adhikari recognized that women who have limited access to healthcare outside of pregnancy were most at risk for developing both obstetrical and neonatal complications.  This led her to dedicate her career to optimizing maternal health outcomes in disadvantaged populations.

In addition to caring for pregnant women at Parkland Hospital and teaching physicians in training, Dr. Adhikari conducts research aimed at fighting infectious diseases in pregnancy, reducing the primary cesarean delivery rate, and understanding opioid-use disorder among pregnant women. Her research is supported by the Parkland Obstetric Quality and Research Center, which receives grant funding through the Simmons Sister Fund.

Dr. Adhikari is a Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Associate member in the Society for Maternal–Fetal Medicine, a member of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine and the American Sexually Transmitted Diseases Association, and an Associate member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. 

She has attended National Institutes of Health (NIH) workshops focused on reducing maternal mortality and eliminating congenital syphilis in the United States.  At the local and state levels, she is a voting member of the Institutional Review Board at UT Southwestern, a clinical expert on the Dallas Fetal Infant Mortality Review board for Congenital Syphilis, and is Parkland’s Maternal-Fetal Medicine physician lead in the Texas Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) state collaborative to treat opioid-use disorder in pregnancy. She is a reviewer for the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Clinical Infectious Diseases, and AIDS Patient Care and STDs and was among the top 10% of reviewers for Obstetrics and Gynecology in 2018 and 2019.

Education

Medical School
Texas Tech Health Sciences Center School of Medicine (2008)
Clinical Research Fellowship
UT Southwestern Medical Center/Doris Duke Research Fellowship (2009), Nutrition & Metabolic Diseases
Medical School
UT Southwestern Medical School (2011)
Residency
UT Southwestern Medical Center (2015), Obstetrics & Gynecology
Fellowship
UT Southwestern Medical Center (2018), Maternal Fetal Medicine

Research Interest

  • Diagnostic testing in pregnancy
  • Induction of labor
  • Infectious diseases in pregnancy
  • Maternal health outcomes research

Publications

Featured Publications LegendFeatured Publications

Foley Bulb Added to an Oral Misoprostol Induction Protocol: A Cluster Randomized Trial.
Adhikari EH, Nelson DB, McIntire DD, Leveno KJ, Obstet Gynecol 2020 Nov 136 5 953-961
Pregnancy Outcomes Among Women With and Without Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection.
Adhikari EH, Moreno W, Zofkie AC, MacDonald L, McIntire DD, Collins RRJ, Spong CY, JAMA Netw Open 2020 11 3 11 e2029256
Comment on Evidence for and against vertical transmission for SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19).
Brion LP, Chang C, Adhikari E, Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 2020 Aug
Syphilis in Pregnancy.
Adhikari EH, Obstet Gynecol 2020 May 135 5 1121-1135
Syphilis Immunoassay Signal Strength Correlates with Active Infection in Pregnant Women.
Zofkie AC, Seasely AR, Gaffney D, Rogers VL, Mcintire DD, Roberts SW, Adhikari EH, Am J Perinatol 2020 Jan
Abbott ARCHITECT Syphilis TP Chemiluminescent Immunoassay Accurately Diagnoses Past or Current Syphilis in Pregnancy.
Adhikari EH, Frame IJ, Hill E, Fatabhoy R, Strickland AL, Cavuoti D, McIntire DD, Hollaway RM, Am J Perinatol 2020 Jan 37 1 112-118
Factors Associated with Postpartum Loss to Follow-Up and Detectable Viremia After Delivery Among Pregnant Women Living with HIV.
Adhikari EH, Yule CS, Roberts SW, Rogers VL, Sheffield JS, Kelly MA, McIntire DD, Barnes A AIDS Patient Care STDS 2019 Jan 33 1 14-20
Opioid Detoxification During Pregnancy: A Systematic Review.
Dashe JS, Nelson DB, Stewart RD, Adhikari EH, Roberts SW, Wendel GD Obstet Gynecol 2018 Oct 132 4 1061
Diagnostic accuracy of fourth-generation ARCHITECT HIV Ag/Ab Combo assay and utility of signal-to-cutoff ratio to predict false-positive HIV tests in pregnancy.
Adhikari EH, Macias D, Gaffney D, White S, Rogers VL, McIntire DD, Roberts SW Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 2018 Jun
Reply.
Adhikari EH, Nelson DB Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 2017 Mar

Books

Featured Books Legend Featured Books

Honors & Awards

  • Chief Resident in Obstetrics and Gynecology
    Senior resident at Parkland Memorial Hospital and UT Southwestern (2014-2015)
  • Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society
    (2010)

Professional Associations/Affiliations

  • American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (2016)
  • American Sexually Transmitted Diseases Association (2019)
  • American Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (2011)
  • Infectious Diseases Society of America (2019)
  • Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (2015)