What I do:

Lyme borreliosis (Lyme disease) is the most common vector transmitted disease in the northern hemisphere. It is caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi and other Borrelia species. The disease is typically transmitted from infected mice to humans by a bite from an infected tick. If not properly diagnosed and treated, Lyme disease can be severely debilitating and may result in arthritis, neurological symptoms, heart abnormalities and a variety of other problems. Global warming is promoting the expansion of areas where infected ticks and Lyme borreliosis is found. Borrelia burgdorferi is a fascinating organism with a variety of intriguing features. Our studies focus on several aspects of the biology of Borrelia burgdorferi: 1) B. burgdorferi dissemination – Lyme spirochetes can enter the host vasculature and ride for free throughout the body, exiting at diverse locations to cause a variety of symptoms. The process of dissemination is complex and poorly understood. We are studying this important problem using genetic approaches coupled with intravital imaging . Our intravital microscopic analysis has revealed important new information and is the first real-time high resolution imaging of spirochetes at work in a living mammalian host. 2) Antigenic variation – By constantly changing the sequence of a surface-bound liopoprotein, VlsE, B. burgdorferi can stay one step ahead of the host immune system and outrun the acquired immune response. This escape in immune-surveillance results in persistent infection of the host. The antigenic variation process is driven by DNA recombination events at the vlsE locus. The molecular details governing antigenic variation remain unknown and are under investigation in the lab. We use a wide variety of methodologies to study the above problems, including genomics, proteomics, molecular biology, genetics, next generation sequencing, nucleic acid biochemistry, protein biochemistry, structural biology and intravital microscopy.

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Dr. George Chaconas is a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Immunology & Infectious Diseases in the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary. He completed his PhD in Medical Biochemistry at the University of Calgary and completed post-doctoral studies at Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory in New York. Supported by a Guggenheim Fellowship, George spent a sabbatical year at the NIH Rocky Mountain labs in 1990-2000 where he began studies on the Lyme disease spirochete. He held the position of Canada Research Chair in Molecular Biology of Lyme Borreliosis from 2003-2017.

Sector: Academia (Post Secondary)

English proficiency: Read, Write, Speak

Title: Dr.