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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鈥檚 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. 

Dr. Torrelles鈥� 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.

Dr. Adey Nyamathi is a highly respected researcher, academician, and a distinguished professor. Dr. Nyamathi has been the principal investigator in nine NIH-funded RO1s and other NIH grants funded by NIDA, NIAAA, NICHD, NIAID, and NIMHD. During her over three decades of continuous RO1 NIH funding as a Principle Investigator, Dr. Nyamathi has conducted descriptive and randomized trials among vulnerable populations, including homeless, drug-addicted and incarcerated persons, gay/bisexual youth, men at risk for HIV/AIDS, and rural women living with AIDS in India. In her completing NIH-funded study with homeless adults diagnosed with LTBI, Dr. Nyamathi and her team have successfully ensured that 92% of homeless adults in the study have competed their prescribed 3 month treatment. Dr Nyamathi and her team are embarking now on newly funded studies related to HCV and COVID-19.

, is a professor of clinical medicine in the Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of California, San Diego. She sees patients in the Owen Clinic and the infectious diseases clinic. She also cares for people during hospital stays.
Dr. Torriani is medical director of the UC San Diego Infection Prevention and Clinical Epidemiology and the tuberculosis control units at UC San Diego Health. In collaboration with Atlas Public Health, she has been instrumental in creating an extensive electronic microbiology surveillance and pharmacy utilization program called Guardian that allows for internal data mining, surveillance, unit-specific antibiogram production, and external reporting of contagious infections to San Diego Public Health and to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) of Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI).
Since 2010, Dr. Torriani has served on the Metrics Group for CA HAI Reporting, an independent group of experts discussing best standards and methods for HAI reporting in California. 
She is fluent in five languages: Italian, French, German, Spanish and English.