Expert Directory
Larry Schlesinger, MD
President/CEO Texas Biomedical Research Institute
Texas Biomedical Research InstituteMicrobiology, Immunology, Molecular Genetics
Larry S. Schlesinger, MD is an internationally recognized authority in infectious diseases with a particular interest in tuberculosis and lung biology. He earned a BA in Biology from Cornell University and MD from Rutgers Medical School. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan and clinical and research fellowships in Infectious Diseases at UCLA. He joined the faculty at the University of Iowa in 1991 where he served as Fellowship Director for the Division of Infectious Diseases and Associate Chair of the Department of Medicine. He moved to the Ohio State University in 2002 where he served as Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine until 2011 when he became first chair of Microbial Infection & Immunity. During his tenure he founded the Center for Microbial Interface Biology, a Board of Trustees approved university-wide center with a focus on infectious diseases of concern to public health. In 2017 he became President and CEO of Texas Biomedical Research Institute in San Antonio, TX. Dr. Schlesinger is a leading physician scientist whose studies focus on the pathogenesis of tuberculosis and other airborne infectious agents that subvert lung immune mechanisms. His discoveries have led to greater insight into the unique attributes that soluble and cellular components of the innate immune system of humans bring to the microbe-host interface (with a focus on human macrophages), translating them into drug discovery platforms. He is a prolific scholar, having authored more than 170 peer-reviewed articles, served as editor of 2 books and has written several chapters in leading textbooks on tuberculosis and lung biology. He has been continually funded for nearly 30 years by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other federal agencies as well as private foundations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He is a current NIH NIAID Council member, Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Association of American Physicians and American Academy of Microbiology, and OSU’s 2011 Distinguished Scholar and 2105 COM Distinguished Professor.
Joanne Turner, PhD
VP of Research, Texas Biomedical Research Institut
Texas Biomedical Research InstituteTuberculosis, Aging and Disease, Immunology
Joanne Turner, Ph.D., is the Vice President for Research at Texas Biomedical Research Institute. In addition to her administrative role, where she oversees the research functions of Texas Biomed, she also manages a research program. Her research focuses on immunology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and immunology of aging. More specifically, she studies the changes that take place in the immune system during the natural aging process and how those changes can influence both innate and adaptive immune function when infected with M. tuberculosis. She also studies immune responses that correlate with an individual’s susceptibility to reactivate a previously latent infection with M. tuberculosis. Dr. Turner received her Ph.D. in Immunology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She started with Texas Biomed this past summer, having previously served as a Professor and Biosafety Level 3 Program Director at The Ohio State University.
Tuberculosis, lung microbiome
Dr. Torrelles’ research is focused on the study of the human lung environment and its effect on the outcome of TB disease due to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) infection. He also aims to improve the diagnosis of susceptible and drug resistant TB in high burden areas. Beyond the diagnosis of TB, Dr. Torrelles and his team aim to understand the impact of the human lung mucosa in TB pathogenesis. He and his team have found that there are enzymes in the human lung mucosa that modify the bacteria prior to infecting host cells, thus, potentially redefining the M.tb pathway of infection and disease outcome. Dr. Torrelles is originally from Catalonia, Spain. He received his Ph.D. in biochemistry/ microbiology in 2003 from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. During his graduate studies, he moved to Fort Collins, Colorado to serve as a visiting scientist at Colorado State University. He finished his Ph.D. and became a research associate and lab manager before moving to The Ohio State University for his postdoctoral fellowship, where over the years he became independent and obtained the appointment of tenured Associate Professor.
Robert Lanford, PhD
Dir. of Southwest National Primate Research Center
Texas Biomedical Research InstituteHepatitis, Primate Research, Liver Disease
Dr. Robert Lanford, PhD, is currently the Director of the Southwest National Primate Research Center, one of seven NIH National Primate Research Centers. He is a Scientist at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center. Dr. Robert E. Lanford received a B.S. degree from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1974 and a Ph.D. in Virology from Baylor College of Medicine in 1979. He served as Assistant Professor at Baylor College of Medicine until 1984 when he moved to the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (now Texas Biomedical Research Institute) to initiate programs on the use of nonhuman primates as models for human hepatitis infections. Dr. Lanford has published over 170 scientific papers and serves as a reviewer for several journals. His laboratory performs research on multiple hepatitis viruses HAV, HBV, HCV and GBV-B. One of the primary goals of his research program is to better understand the interactions of the virus with the host, and how these interactions influence either viral clearance or persistence and disease progression. His studies in the chimpanzee were the first to use total genome microarray analysis to examine viral-host interactions and the innate immune response to HCV. In collaboration with pharmaceutical companies, he has utilized the chimpanzee model of chronic HBV and HCV infections to evaluate efficacy of new antiviral therapies as the last preclinical step prior to human clinical trials. These studies contributed to the development of cocktails of antivirals that can now cure HCV infection in 12 weeks. Recently, Dr. Lanford has developed a primate model for liver cancer by the genetic engineering of primary baboon hepatocytes with activated baboon oncogenes and autologous transplantation of the cells to the liver of the immunocompetent hepatocyte donor. Efforts are ongoing in his laboratory to develop new nonhuman primate models for HBV research.
Suzette Tardif, PhD
Scientist and Associate Dir. of Primate Research
Texas Biomedical Research Institutezika, Reproductive Biology, Aging, Obesity
Dr. Tardif is Associate Director of Research and Senior Management Team member for SNPRC and has extensive experience coordinating large, integrated research projects throughout her professional career. She served as the marmoset expert for the team charged with sequencing the marmoset genome and as the species expert for recent studies on development of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPS cell) technologies. Her research is focused on metabolism, behavior and reproduction and, most recently, on the characterization of the marmoset as a model for obesity and aging. Dr. Tardif has more than 30 years of expertise in the development of common marmoset monkeys as biomedical models in diverse areas including: Reproductive biology Infectious disease Neuroscience Aging and obesity
Marcel Daadi, PhD
Leader of SNPRC Regenerative Medicine & Aging Unit
Texas Biomedical Research InstituteRegenerative Medicine, Stroke, Parkinson's Disease, Translational Research
Dr. Daadi is an expert in regulated translational research and has developed therapeutic neural stem cell lines (NSC) for clinical use in Parkinson’s disease, stroke, and to target brain tumors in both industrial and academic settings. He discovered a novel technique of engineering these stem cell lines from pluripotent human embryonic stem cells and continues to develop this therapeutic cell line for clinical use. Dr. Daadi came to Texas Biomed in 2014 and is the team leader for the SNPRC Regenerative Medicine and Aging research unit. Results from his studies are the foundation of translational research and help to repair diseased or injured brain through transplantation of highly purified NSCs and stimulation of internal repair mechanisms.
Marie-Claire Gauduin, PhD
Assoc. Scientist, Virology & Immunology
Texas Biomedical Research InstituteHIV, AIDS
Dr. Gauduin has more than 25 years of experience in HIV/AIDS research and medical microbiology. She has been working extensively on HIV and the development of novel vaccine strategies using the non-human primate model for AIDS. In her work, she uses epithelial stem cells and weakened recombinant papillomavirus as vaccine- vectors to protect against multiple low-dose mucosal challenges. Dr. Gauduin is also developing a neonatal model for tuberculosis to study HIV/TB co-infection in pediatric AIDS. Her specific research interests are: Early events of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) transmission in a macaque model Host immune responses to infectious diseases Early virus-specific T cell responses in neonates Tuberculosis/SIV coinfection in pediatric AIDS
Animal Behavior, Veterinarian
Dr. Bernal oversees all aspects of the SNPRC animal care and use program. He has more than 36 years of experience in laboratory animal care and medicine. To increase the number of certified laboratory animal technicians at Texas Biomed and other institutions, he has developed institution-wide training and certification programs. Dr. Bernal has been integral to developing the SNPRC study process manual that details all of the steps required to complete a study from start to finish. Dr. Bernal oversees and develops standard operating procedures for: Comprehensive socialization and environmental enrichment plan Preventative medicine program (frequent physicals, TB testing, parasite evaluation, viral testing) Veterinary care program Aseptic technique Management of pain and distress Animal enclosure sanitation.
Ebola, zika, Biodefense, Biocontainment, biocontainment lab, Biocontainment Laboratory
Dr. Patterson’s laboratory works on the development of countermeasures against potential biological weapons. Her group focuses on the development of therapies and vaccines against naturally occurring pathogens that can cause sporadic but lethal outbreaks, and her most recent studies concentrate on hemorrhagic fever viruses. Dr. Patterson has been involved in the development of three vaccines against Ebola and two vaccines against Lassa fever that are undergoing further studies. Her lab utilizes the maximum containment laboratory (BSL-4) at Texas Biomed. Dr. Patterson helped develop a marmoset model used for multiple infectious agents: Ebola virus Marburg virus Lassa fever Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus
Cancer, Epidemology, Cancer Prevention, Breast Cancer, Health Disparities
Cancer, Breast Cancer Screening, Radiology, Mammography, breast cancer early detection, Breast Cancer, Breast Imaging, breast biopsy, Diagnostic Imaging, diagnostic radiology
Breast Cancer, Breast Cancer Surgery, Surgery, cancer incidence, Health Care Delivery, Health Care Outcomes
Neurosurgery, Glioblastoma, Brain Cancer, immunotheraphy, Cancer Vaccines
Cancer Genetics, Cancer Therapies, Drug Discovery, Radiation effects
Robotic Surgery, Bladder Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Cancer
Tobacco, Tobacco Control, tobacco policy, Epidemiologic, Public Health, e-cigarretes, vaping
Cancer, Cancer Research, Vitamin D, immunotheraphy, Cancer Vaccines, Genomics, Personalized Medicine, Cancer Therapies, Medical Research
Pediatric Cancer, Hodgkin Lymphoma, pediatric leukemia, Cancer Therapies
Liver Cancer, Pancreatic, Cancer, Pancreatic Cancer, abdominal cancer , Gastrointestinal Cancer, Stomach Cancer, Gallbladder Cancer
Martin Mahoney, MD
Chair of the Department of Clinical Prevention
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer CenterFamily Medicine, Primary Care, Preventive Medicine, Health Behavior, Lung Cancer, Smoking Cessation, HPV, Vaccination
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