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Maria Gomes-Solecki, DVM

Dr. Maria Gomes-Solecki

Professor
858 Madison Ave.
301 Molecular Science Building
Memphis, TN 38163
mgomesso@uthsc.edu
Phone: 901.448.2536
Fax: 901.448.7360

Education

  • Research Scholar and Post-Doctoral Associate, SUNY at Stony Brook (Stony Brook University), 1995-1998.
  • Fellowship, National Institute of Technology (Lisbon, Portugal), 1992-1995
  • DVM, University of Lisbon, 1992

Research Interests

Gomes-Solecki with lab personnel

 

My laboratory focuses on the study of Borrelia burgdorferi and pathogenic Leptospira sp. The objective of my research program for Lyme disease is to continue understanding the interactions of tick transmitted B. burgdorferi with the mammalian immune system as it can shed light onto new pathways that can be targeted for development of marketable biologics. We use a number of microbiological, biochemical, molecular and immunology techniques to understand these mechanisms at a fundamental level; the biomarkers identified in these studies are then applied to pre-clinical development of new diagnostics and vaccines. The same scientific method is applied to understanding host-pathogen interactions of L. interrogans. 

I am known in the field of Lyme disease research as an expert developer of oral vaccines based on commensal bacteria (i.e. Lactobacillus sp. and E. coli). For Leptospirosis my laboratory has contributed with further development of mouse models of disease.

Pubmed Profile (Gomes-Solecki)

ORCID: 0000-0002-3715-4543

Research Gate: Gomes-Solecki 

Entrepreneurial activity:

Federal Funding: NIH RePorter: PI, Gomes-Solecki; select 2003 to present 

Funded Projects

  • R01 AI139267 (MPI, Petersen and Gomes-Solecki)
    NIH NIAID
    Field Trial and Modeling of transmission blocking vaccine to prevent Lyme disease
    University of Iowa
    06-19-2019 to 05-31-2024
  • R01 AI175417 (MPI, Zeglis and Gomes-Solecki)
    NIH NIAID
    ImmunoPET Probes for the Imaging of Lyme Disease
    Hunter College
    09-19-2023 to 07-31-2028
  • R44 AI167605 (PI, Gomes-Solecki)
    NIH NIAID
    Intranasal Vaccine Against Lyme Disease
    Immuno Technologies, Inc (ITI)
    07-12-2022 to 06-30-2025
Dec 11, 2023