WILTON, Conn., Oct. 2, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- The National Research Fund for Tick-Borne Diseases (NRFTD), a non-profit organization dedicated to funding innovative research into tick-borne infections, is pleased to announce the addition of two leading scientists to its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB): Dr. Adriana Marques of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID); and Dr. Stephen J. Dumler of the Johns Hopkins Hospital's Department of Pathology.
Dr. Marques is the Head of the Clinical Studies Unit at NIAID's Laboratory of Clinical Infectious Diseases. As lead investigator of NIAID's intramural chronic Lyme disease program, she has studied clinical, microbiological and immunological aspects of Lyme disease (LD) for more than 10 years and published papers on topics ranging from audiologic manifestations of LD to T- and B-cell reactivity in patients with the disease. She has also conducted studies of Herpes simplex and chronic Epstein-Barr infections. In joining NRFTD's Scientific Advisory Board, she brings a wealth of clinical experience and insight that complements and augments the microbiological and laboratory expertise of the existing members.
Dr. Dumler has conducted investigations into microbiological aspects of virtually all the known North American tick-borne infections, including Borrelia (the agent of Lyme disease), Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, Rickettsia and Babesia. He has also studied Plasmodium species (the causative agent of malaria) and the Trypanosoma organisms responsible for African sleeping sickness. Dr. Dumler is best known for his work on Anaplasma species, where he has played a leading role in characterizing both the clinical manifestations of the disease it causes (human granulocytic anaplasmosis) and the microbiological aspects of the pathogen itself. Dr. Dumler also has expertise in the interactions of these tick-borne infections with their arthropod hosts.
The addition of Drs. Marques and Dumler to NRFTD's Scientific Advisory Board brings the total number of current members to five. The others are: Dr. Mario Philipp, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the Tulane Primate Research Center; Dr. Sheila Lukehart, Professor of Medicine/Infectious Diseases at the University of Washington; and Dr. Steven J. Norris, Greer Professor and Vice Chair for Research, University of Texas Medical School at Houston.
About the National Research Fund for Tick-Borne Diseases, Inc.
The NRFTD is a nonprofit organization devoted to funding scientific research in the rapidly expanding field of tick-borne diseases. It is determined to advance scientific understanding of these complicated infections by sponsoring innovative research of the highest quality at premier institutions throughout the world.
The NRFTD was founded in 1999 to address the complex and critical research questions raised by thousands of patients afflicted with emerging tick-borne diseases, including Lyme disease, relapsing fever borrelia, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, bartonella and ehrlichiosis. The need for answers has grown markedly as Lyme disease has spread dramatically throughout the country and as other tick-borne infections have been recognized as public health threats.
For more information about the NRFTD, or to make a tax-deductible donation, visit www.nrftd.org.