Episode 27: Finding a Cure for Lyme Disease
Dr. Eva Sapi
Dr. Sapi received her Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of Eotvos Lorand in Budapest, Hungary. She is a Professor and Department Chair at the University of New Haven in Connecticut, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate level biology courses and carries out Lyme disease research with her students.
To date, over 80 graduate students have received training in Lyme disease related research.
Her recent studies investigate the different forms of Borrelia burgdorferi to better understand how Borrelia can hide from the immune system as well as from antimicrobial therapies. Her recent research shows that Borrelia burgdorferi is capable forming a protective layer around itself – called biofilm – which could render it to be very resistant to antibiotics and provide a logical explanation as to why extensive antibiotic treatment for patients with a tick-bite history could fail.
The goal of her research group is to fully characterize this novel form and to identify antibacterial agents that are effective in killing all forms of Borrelia burgdorferi.
Dr. Sapi also organized and chaired seven Lyme Disease Symposiums at the University of New Haven during the last several years.