SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY BOARD

Director of Research and Science, Global Lyme Alliance

Dr. Hsu received a Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology from McGill University. She received postdoctoral training at Rockefeller University in New York City and subsequently worked in infectious diseases research in the pharmaceutical industry, academia, and a non-governmental organization. As GLA’s Director of Research and Science, Dr. Hsu’s responsibilities are to coordinate the research grant program, scientific writing, and research development.

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.

Senior Scientist and Disease Ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY

Dr. Ostfeld’s research focuses on the interactions among organisms that influence the risk of human exposure to vector-borne diseases and the dynamics of terrestrial communities. He is adjunct professor at the University of Connecticut and Rutgers University.

Professor of Medicine, Pathology, Molecular Biology & Genetics and Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD

Dr. Soloski is director of the Immunology Training Program at Johns Hopkins, and co-Principal Investigator with Dr. John Aucott of the landmark SLICE (Study of Lyme disease Immunology and Clinical Events) prospective cohort study examining the impact of acute Lyme disease on long-term health outcomes and immune function.

Biostatistician, Brown University’s Center for Statistical Sciences in the Department of Public Health, Providence, R.I.

Allison DeLong is an ASA certified professional statistician (PSTAT) and has Master degrees in applied statistics and applied mathematics. She works as a Biostatistician in the Center for Statistical Sciences in the School of Public Health at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, USA. She has worked in this capacity for more than 10 years and has experience with virtually all aspects of biomedical studies, including study design, grant preparation, advanced statistical methods, data analysis, scientific programming and dissemination of study findings. She is a co-author on over 50 peer-reviewed, scientific publications and 70 abstracts presented at scientific conferences. She has particular expertise in the analysis of observational data, such as medical record data, clinical trials, and genomic data. In addition to Lyme disease, her research has focused on HIV and other chronic diseases and health care delivery in resource-limited settings.

Associate Professor of Medicine and of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology at Duke University, Durham, NC; Director of the Developmental Therapeutics program for the Duke Cancer Institute.

An internationally recognized cancer researcher, Dr. Spector leads the translational research programs for two molecularly targeted therapies that were FDA-approved for the treatment of HER2+ breast cancer and pediatric leukemia. He is the author of the book “Gone in a Heartbeat: A Physician’s Search for True Healing,” in which he shares his personal experiences as a physician-scientist who nearly lost his life from a devastating case of Lyme disease that ultimately required a life-saving heart transplant.

DVM, DACVIM (SAIM), DECVIM-CA; Chief Medical Officer, Animal Medical Center, New York City

Internationally recognized for his expertise in infectious disease in dogs and cats, especially those common to animals and humans, most notably Lyme Disease and Leptospirosis – Dr. Richard Goldstein 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. Dr. Goldstein currently serves on the advisory board of the One Health Commission and the chair of the annual One Health Conference at the Animal Medical Center. Prior to joining AMC as Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Goldstein was a faculty member at Cornell University, College of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Clinical Sciences. Most recently he served as an Associate Professor of Small Animal Medicine and chief of the medicine service. Goldstein is the recipient of several prestigious awards including; the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, Endocrinology Society Research Award and the Norden Distinguished Teaching Award. A respected researcher, author, lecturer and teacher, he has published over 60 research papers and textbook chapters to date, mainly on the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of canine and feline infectious diseases.

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.

Dr. Andy Kogelnik received his MD from Emory University and PhD in bioengineering from Georgia Tech. He received further clinical training in medicine and infectious diseases at Stanford University, where he continued his career as a physician-researcher. Working at the intersection of genomics, medicine, and bioinformatics, he left academia to found the Open Medicine Institute. There, he has driven personalized medicine, integrating information and biotechnology. His research interests have focused around rapidly emerging complex conditions such as autism, diabetes, and various viral and immunologic syndromes.

Vice President, Early Clinical Development and Experimental Sciences, Rare Diseases, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Dr. Mellis received medical scientist training at Washington University School of Medicine and postgraduate training in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He joined Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Group in 1990 with a focus on Zithromax® (azithromycin), including research on B. burgdorferi in collaboration with academic colleagues.  Dr. Mellis joined Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in 2001, and led clinical development for ARCALYST® (rilonacept), a medication for an ultra-rare auto-inflammatory disease.  He then led Regeneron’s translational and precision medicine initiatives across the general medicine portfolio.  He is a co-founder of the Regeneron Genetics Center.  Dr. Mellis is now leading an effort to optimize Regeneron’s development of new medications for patients with rare diseases.

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.