ILADEF Officers and Directors
Garth Ehrlich, PhD, FAAAS
PRESIDENT
Dr. Ehrlich is Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, and Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia. He also directs three Research Centers of Excellence within the University’s Institute of Molecular Medicine and Infectious disease: the Center for Genomic Sciences (CGS); the Center for Advanced Microbial Processing (CAMP); and the Center for Chronic Infections and Biofilms. Dr. Ehrlich’s team utilize a broad array of microbiological analyses, comparative genomic techniques and bioinformatic tools, many developed in-house, to identify and characterize virulence genes within pathogens, and susceptibility genes to pathogens within their hosts. Dr. Ehrlich is also one of the founders of the field of Clinical Molecular Diagnostics (MDx), having been involved in the original application of PCR for the detection of human retroviruses in 1985. Dr. Ehrlich received his PhD from Syracuse University in molecular biology in 1987.
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SECRETARY
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TREASURER
B. Robert Mozayeni, MD
DIRECTOR
Dr. B. Robert Mozayeni was trained in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology at Yale and at NIH. He has had pre- and post-doctoral Fellowships in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale, and also at NIH where he was a Howard Hughes Research Scholar at LMB/DCBD/NCI and later, Senior Staff Fellow at LMMB/NHLBI/NIH. He is an expert in Translational Medicine, the science and art of advancing medical science safely and efficiently. He is a Fellow of the non-profit Think Lead Innovate Foundation and is a co-founder of the Foundation for the Study of Inflammatory Diseases. He is a Founder of the Foundation for the Study of Inflammatory Diseases to crowd-source medical solutions for complex conditions using existing knowledge, diagnostic methods, and therapies to meet patient needs immediately. He is the Chief Medical Officer of Galaxy Diagnostics, LLC. And, he was recently appointed to be a Board member of the Human-Kind Alliance. Dr. Mozayeni has held admitting privileges (since 1994) on the clinical staff of Suburban Hospital, a member of Johns Hopkins Medicine and an affiliate of the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center.
Armin Schwarzbach, MD, PhD
DIRECTOR
Dr. Armin Schwarzbach, Medical Doctor and Specialist of Laboratory Medicine, founder of ArminLabs in Augsburg/Germany, has been at the forefront of tick-borne research for more than 25 years and is an expert in diagnosing and treating infectious diseases. He is an Advisory Board member of AONM London, England, and Board Member of the German Borreliosis Society and Member of the German Society of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine. Dr. Schwarzbach has experiences in biochemistry, pharmacy, hormones, immunology, infectious diseases, oncology, internal medicine and did his PhD in the development of the first Radioimmunoassay for hGIP. He has served as an expert on advisory committees on Lyme Disease in Australia, Canada, Ireland, France, England, Sweden and Germany.
Jyotsna Shah, PhD, CCLD, MBA
DIRECTOR
Dr. Shah is the President and Laboratory Director of IGeneX Clinical Laboratory, Palo Alto, California. Dr. Shah has more than 40 years of research experience in immunology, molecular biology and microbiology. She received a BS and MS in biological sciences from the UK, and her PhD in diagnostic immunology from Nairobi University. She did a postdoctoral fellowship at International Laboratory for Research on Animal Diseases in Nairobi, Kenya and a fellowship at Harvard University, Department of Tropical Medicine. She is an expert on the use of Fluorescent in Situ Hybridization (FISH) technique for direct detection of pathogens in clinical samples, and is a recipient of several SBIR grants.
Leo J. Shea III, PhD
DIRECTOR
Dr. Shea is Clinical Associate Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine at Rusk Institute, a division of New York University Langone Health, where he is also a senior psychologist and co-director of the Family Therapy Training Program. Dr. Shea is President of Neuropsychological Evaluation and Treatment Services, with offices in New York City and Quincy, Massachusetts. His practice focuses on injuries and illnesses of the central nervous system, tick-borne diseases, forensic and medico-legal matters. Treatment modalities include individual cognitive remediation and psychotherapy, family and spousal therapy and executive life coaching. He was formally the Chairman Emeritus of the National Research Fund for Tick-borne Diseases, Inc. which funded scientific research at major medical and academic institutions.
Nikki M. Schultek
DIRECTOR
Nikki received her BS in Business Administration from Villanova University, studying Marketing, French and International Business. She began her career in industry with Pfizer and Genentech. Shortly after accepting her most treasured role, “mom”, Nikki fell systemically ill, including frightening neurodegenerative symptoms. After being diagnosed with Lyme Disease, Chlamydia pneumoniae and other co-infections and receiving antibiotic therapy, she experienced remission. Nikki is accelerating innovation in IACCIs, such as Alzheimer’s Disease, Asthma, and others by building interdisciplinary research collaborations. In 2017 she Founded Intracell Research Group, LLC, to unite researchers, clinicians, and stakeholders across the globe. Nikki also serves as a co-investigator of a, 3,200-patient asthma trial (iTREAT-PC), Guest Editor of a special issue on infections for the Springer Nature Journal "Molecular Neurobiology", Co-Founder and Executive Director of The Alzheimer’s Pathobiome Initiative, and President of the new CureChronic Disease Foundation, Inc. (501c3 pending).
Louis Teulieres, MD
DIRECTOR
Dr. Teulieres studied Medicine at the Universities of Toulouse and Nice in France, followed by advanced training at the Institut Pasteur de Paris, where he earned degrees in Bacteriology (1982), Epidemiology (1983), and Immunology (1984). He served as Head of Bacteriology within the International Pasteur Institutes Network and later as Clinical Research Director in Paris. Currently, he practices in private clinics, specializing in the treatment of chronic immune and infectious diseases. Dr. Teulieres is also the co-founder of the Leicester University/Phelix Charity Bacteriophages Joint Group.
Aron Will
DIRECTOR
Mr Will is a lifelong Houstonian and has been with CBRE, the world’s largest real estate firm, his entire career. In 2016, Mr. Will was named the youngest Vice Chairman in company history. Today, Mr. Will serves as Vice Chairman and Co-Head of CBRE National Senior Housing within Capital Markets which is comprised of the firm’s mortgage banking practice (Agency lending, loan placement, two proprietary debt funds), investment sales practice, and real estate investment banking function. He has 17 years of experience in the real estate industry, and he is a respected expert serving on numerous commercial real estate and senior living related industry boards. He was recently appointed as the first non-clinician on the ILADEF Board.