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| Timothy Casselli, Ph.D., is studying the mechanisms of how the bacterium that causes Lyme disease enters the central nervous system. |
The ultimate goal of his research is to identify treatments for Lyme disease, a complex infection transmitted by ticks most often during the hottest summer months.
“Because there are no vaccines or effective vector controls against the infection, the disease is and will continue to be a significant public health concern,” Casselli said.
Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease, with more than 300,000 new cases diagnosed each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of new cases has been increasing in recent years, and the areas where ticks are found are expanding, which puts more people in more states at potential risk.
Caused by infection with the tick-borne pathogen Borrelia burgdorferi, Lyme disease can lead to inflammatory health conditions impacting the joints, heart, and nervous systems. Neurologic disease, referred to as Lyme neuroborreliosis, can include meningitis, cranial and peripheral neuritis/neuropathy, and encephalopathy.
Work conducted with grant funds on this project will provide the foundation for a long-term research program focused on mechanisms of Lyme neuroborreliosis pathogenesis, Casselli said.
The bacterium that causes Lyme disease, Borrelia burgdorferi, can enter the central nervous system causing disease. This central nervous system invasion only occurs in some Lyme disease patients, although the reasons for differences in infection outcomes are unknown. To address this, the study will use a lab model of Lyme disease to identify the site of entry and host immune responses that influence bacterial entry into the central nervous system.
Understanding the mechanisms of central nervous system entry by Borrelia burgdorferi could lead to the identification of novel risk factors to explain or predict the different outcomes between Lyme disease patients, as well as inform the development of novel diagnostic tests and treatments for neuroborreliosis.
Casselli, who joined USA in 2025, earned a Ph.D. in immunology and infectious diseases from Washington State University in Pullman, Washington; an M.S. in microbiology and infectious diseases from the University of Calgary in Calgary, Alberta, in Canada; and a BMS degree in microbiology and immunology from what is now Western University in London, Ontario.
A member of the review editorial board for the journal Frontiers in Microbiology from 2016-2022, Casselli is also a member of the American Association of Immunologists and the American Society for Microbiology.
Overall, his research seeks to identify how Borrelia, the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, can access the central nervous system and the mechanisms leading to disease known as neuroborreliosis.
