Affiliation: University of Connecticut Health, Department of Medicine

Dr. Melissa Caimano received her Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology from the University of Rhode Island and her PhD from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, focusing on the genetic elements involved in Streptococcus pneumoniae capsule biosynthesis. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the University of Connecticut Health, Department of Medicine. For more than two decades, she has been engaged in spirochete research, working with four pathogenic species, Borrelia burgdorferi, Treponema denticola, T. pallidum and Leptospira interrogans. The overarching goals of her research include: (i) gene regulation in response to host-specific signals; (ii) structure and function of spirochetal membrane proteins; and (iii) identification of spirochetal gene products required to infect and persist in mammals. She has co-authored more than 90 peer-reviewed papers related to microbial pathogenesis and her work has been funded by multiple NIH- and foundation-funded grants. She also serves on the Editorial Boards of journals such as Infection and Immunity, PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases and BMC-Infectious Diseases.