Molecular Sciences Faculty Directory
Maria Gomes-Solecki, DVM
Assistant Professor
858 Madison Ave.
301 Molecular Science Building
Memphis, TN 38163
Email: mgomesso@uthsc.edu
Phone: 901-448-2536
Fax: 901-448-7360
Research Interests
One major project is the development of a Reservoir Target Vaccine for the Control of Lyme Borreliosis. Borrelia burgdorferi causes Lyme disease (LD) and is the most common vector borne infectious disease in the United States. This spirochete is maintained in endemic areas of LD by cycling between wildlife reservoirs (i. e. white-footed mice, shrews) and the Ixodes scapularis tick vector. Human disseminated infection can cause permanent damage to the nervous and musculoskeletal systems and currently, there is no vaccine approved for prevention of this disease. A promising method to reduce human LD incidence is to break the mouse-tick transmission cycle by eliminating the spirochete from the reservoir and from the ticks that feed on them. To accomplish this we have developed an oral vaccine based in OspA and we are currently testing its efficacy in a field trial.
Another project relates to the development of a human oral vaccine against two Category B select agents, Burkholderia pseudomallei and Burkholderia mallei. B. mallei is an obligate vertebrate pathogen and causes glanders, a disease primarily of equine animals that is accidentally transmitted to humans. B. pseudomallei is a saprophyte that can be isolated from soil and is the causative agent of melioidosis. The two pathogens are closely related, with B. mallei having evolved from B. pseudomallei by elimination of numerous genes. Therefore, a vaccine that targets a common immunodominant antigen will likely be effective against both pathogens.
Another zoonotic disease that is the focus of our attention is Q fever. It is caused by Coxiella brunetti, a highly infectious bacterium that forms spores and infects humans mainly via inhalation. For this reason, it is listed by the CDC as a Category B select agent. Ruminants are the primary reservoirs of C. burnetii and an arthropod vector may be involved in the organism life cycle. We have planed to study the transmission cycle of this bacterium and its relationship with the arthropod vector.
UT commercials featuring Dr. Gomes-Solecki peanut allergy research (Pic1, 2 and 3)
Building a medical city (By Daniel Connolly, Memphis Commercial Appeal)
Education
- Postdoc, SUNY at Stony Brook, 1995-1998
- Fellowship, National Institute of Technology (Lisbon, Portugal), 1992-1995
- DVM, University of Lisbon, 1992
