New Researchers Join Global Lyme Alliance’s Scientific Advisory Board

Three top scientists join GLA's world-class Scientific Advisory Board whose members have all made valuable contributions to the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases.

 

Greenwich, Conn (July 21, 2016) - Global Lyme Alliance (GLA), the leading private nonprofit dedicated to conquering Lyme and tick-borne diseases through research and education, today announced it has appointed three new members to its Scientific Advisory Board.

The Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) is made up of some of the most distinguished researchers and clinical innovators in multidisciplinary fields in Lyme and tick-borne diseases. These leaders advise on overall strategy to direct GLA’s grant funds into research programs judged to have the best prospects of delivering measurable results and the greatest impact.

“Our new SAB members bring world-class experience to GLA’s growing advisory network of distinguished scientists,” said Scott Santarella, CEO of GLA. “We are delighted to welcome them to our team and we look forward to their input and guidance as we seek new pathways to better diagnose, treat, prevent and ultimately cure Lyme and other tick-borne diseases.”

The three individuals join GLA’s nine other esteemed SAB members, including Dr. Neil Spector with Duke University who joined this past February. All have made valuable contributions to the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of Lyme. The new members are:

• Catherine A. Brissette, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biomedical Studies, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Grand Forks, North Dakota. Her research focuses on the causative agent of Lyme disease, the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and how it interacts with its hosts. Additionally, she has mapped the Western expansion of Lyme disease bacteria into North Dakota. Dr. Brissette has published nearly 40 scientific papers.
• Richard Goldstein, D.V.M., Chief Medical Officer, Animal-Medical Center, New York City. Dr. Goldstein is internationally recognized for his expertise in infectious diseases in dogs and cats, especially those common to animals and humans, most notably Lyme disease and Leptospirosis. He is board certified in Small Animal Internal Medicine by both the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine and the European College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, Companion Animals. He is the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, Endocrinology Society Research Award and the Noreen Distinguished Teaching Award.
• Andreas Kogelnik, M.D., Ph.D., Founder and Director of the Open Medicine Institute (OMI) in Mountain View, California. As an infectious disease specialist, Dr. Kogelnik is centrally involved with the bioinformatics and genomic revolution in medicine and is committed to the study and treatment of chronic infectious diseases, neuro-immune diseases and immunology. With the Open Medicine Institute, he has led in the formation of chronic fatigue syndrome and Lyme registries and biobanks, and has created an infrastructure for providers to collect better data and implement clinical trials across a network of sites.

“I look forward to working with these talented and respected experts as we continue to make strides in the fight against Lyme and other tick-borne diseases,” says GLA Chief Scientific Officer, Harriet Kotsoris.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS GLA has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for research grants to be awarded in 2016. Grant applications will be accepted until September 15, 2016. Grant awards will be announced in November 2016. Information on the grant application and application forms can be found here.

ABOUT GLOBAL LYME ALLIANCE Global Lyme Alliance is the leading private nonprofit dedicated to conquering Lyme disease through innovative research and education programs. The 501(c)(3) organization is headquartered in Greenwich, CT. For more information, go to GLA.org.