Scientific Advisory Board
GLA’s Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) provides strategic guidance and direction for our research and scientific programs. It is made up of some of the most distinguished researchers and clinical innovators in multidisciplinary fields in Lyme and tick-borne disease. 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.
GLA hosts an annual symposium for SAB members and grant recipients, to foster brainstorming of new diagnostic and therapeutic measures, communication of ideas and collaboration.
The Financial Review Sub-Committee of the SAB is composed of business leaders with extensive strategic, operational and senior management experience. Its priority is to bridge the gap between the research community and the marketplace with the goal of transitioning successful research programs into accessible treatments that are readily available to patients.
Committee Members
Linden Hu
M.D.Linden Hu
M.D.Vice Dean of Research and Professor of Molecular Biology and Microbiology at Tufts University School of Medicine
Dr. Hu’s research has focused on Lyme disease, where he has been involved in both basic laboratory and clinical research for almost 20 years. He has participated in the development of both human and animal vaccines for Lyme disease as well as the development of new diagnostic tests. At the bench, his laboratory is interested in host-pathogen interactions between Borrelia burgdorferi and the innate immune system.
John Belisle
Ph.D.John Belisle
Ph.D.Professor, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University
The laboratory of Dr. Belisle has focused on the characterization of the physiology of bacterial pathogens (in particular Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Mycobacterium leprae and Francisella tularensis) and how products of these bacteria interact with the hosts. These research activities have included the purification and characterization of bacterial proteins, lipids, and glycolconjugates; discovery of diagnostic and vaccine antigens; and the definition of specific molecular interactions involving the innate immune response.
Catherine A. Brissette
Ph.D.Catherine A. Brissette
Ph.D.Assistant Professor of Biomedical Sciences, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Grand Forks, ND
Dr. Brissette’s research focuses on bacteria-host interactions, with a particular interest in pathogenic spirochetes. The overarching theme of her laboratory is to discover how these microbes persist and cause long-term infections. Dr. Brissette is particularly interested in understanding why B. burgdorferi has tropism for the central nervous system, and in elucidating the function of outer surface proteins that interact with the mammalian host.
Charles Chiu
M.D., PH.D.Charles Chiu
M.D., PH.D.Assistant Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases, University of California, San Francisco; Director of the UCSF-Abbott Viral Diagnostics and Discovery Center (VDDC); Associate Director, UCSF Clinical Microbiology Laboratory
Dr. Chiu is an expert in development and implementation of advanced genomic technologies, microarrays and next-generation sequencing – for pathogen discovery and clinical assay validation in the microbiology laboratory. He holds over 50 patents and peer-reviewed publications on these topics.
Utpal Pal
Ph.D.Utpal Pal
Ph.D.Professor, Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Maryland
Dr. Pal is an expert on pathogenic spirochete biology, with several research interests related to Borrelia and Leptospira species. He identifies virulence factors in Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease, and deciphers their roles in promoting transmission between the tick vector and mammalian hosts. He also studies vector-host interactions that allow bacterial persistence in the tick, which has a complex life cycle and an immunological response to the pathogen. An additional area of interest is the identification of bacterial surface proteins that are involved in triggering Lyme arthritis and the induction of inflammation.
R. Mark Wooten
Ph.D.R. Mark Wooten
Ph.D.Professor, Chair-Institutional Biosafety Committee, Course Director-Infectious Disease Block, The University of Toledo
Dr. Wooten’s laboratory is interested in the host/pathogen interactions that lead to the development of two different infectious diseases: Lyme disease and melioidosis.
Richard T. Marconi
Ph.D.Richard T. Marconi
Ph.D.Richard T. Marconi, Ph.D. is a Professor in the School of Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center.
Dr. Marconi earned his Ph.D. at the University of Montana and conducted his post-doctoral training at The Roche Institute of Molecular Biology and the National Institutes of Health-Rocky Mountain Laboratories. Dr. Marconi is well recognized for his diverse research accomplishments and has studied pathogenic spirochetes for over 25 years. He has published over 100 peer reviewed articles and has lectured worldwide. A central research focus of the Marconi lab is the development of vaccines for tick-borne diseases for both human and veterinary applications.
Adriana Marques
M.D.Adriana Marques
M.D.Chief, Clinical Studies Unit, Laboratory of Clinical Immunology and Microbiology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH
Dr. Marques’ main areas of research include: evaluation, treatment, and follow-up of patients with Lyme disease to assess clinical outcomes; development of new diagnostic tests and identification biomarkers for Lyme disease; investigation of the immune response to B. burgdorferi infection; understand the mechanisms underlying post-treatment Lyme disease symptoms; and search for the cause of STARI.
Susan Swedo
M.D.Susan Swedo
M.D.Principal Investigator, Chief Pediatrics & Developmental Neuroscience Branch, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Dr. Swedo and her NIMH team were the first to identify a new subtype of pediatric OCD, in which symptoms are triggered by cross-reactive antibodies produced in response to infections with Group A beta-hemolytic streptococci. The subgroup is known by the acronym, PANDAS, which stands for: Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infections. This work led to the development of several novel therapies, including use of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) and plasmapheresis to treat acutely ill children, and antibiotics prophylaxis to prevent strep-triggered neuropsychiatric exacerbations. Subsequent work has revealed that the cross-reactive antibodies are unique to the PANDAS subgroup and have biologic activity in the CNS.
GLA: Research Leadership
Armin Alaedini
Ph.D.Armin Alaedini
Ph.D.Assistant Professor of Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center
Dr. Alaedini’s laboratory focuses on the etiology and biomarkers of post-infection rheumatic and neurocognitive symptoms. His laboratory is currently conducting in-depth studies to understand the connection between the bacterial strain genotype in specific infections such as Lyme disease and the persistence of inflammation and symptoms following antibiotic treatment.
Financial Review Committee
