Dr. Melby joined UTMB in 2010 as Professor of Internal Medicine in the
Division of Infectious Diseases and Director of the UTMB Center for
Tropical Diseases. His research program is related to the
immunopathogenesis of parasitic diseases, with a particular focus on
leishmaniasis. His laboratory has been involved in vaccine development,
studies to determine immunopathological mechanisms of disease, studies
to define the impact of malnutrition on innate immunity and visceral
leishmaniasis, and drug discovery. His interest in tropical diseases and
the neglected diseases of resource-poor developing countries started
thirty years ago when he first worked overseas in a hospital laboratory
in rural Egypt. He subsequently returned to the U.S. to attend medical
school at the University of Colorado and then went on to complete my
residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Missouri, a research
fellowship in the Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases at the National
Institutes of Health, and a clinical infectious diseases fellowship at
the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio. He is active
in the clinical practice of infectious diseases and in the teaching of
medical and graduate students, as well as clinical residents and
fellows.
Dr. Aguilar joined UTMB in 2010 as an Assistant Professor in the
Department of Pathology. Her primary research focus is to advance our
knowledge in the area of molecular pathogenesis of arthropod-borne virus
(arbovirus) infection and to shed light on the host immune responses to
these viruses. Another important aspect of her research has been
devoted to sensitizing the medical community in Latin America about the
distinct arbovirus pathogens that have been recognized in these endemic
areas. This has allowed her to establish collaborations to generate
novel and effective tools for the diagnosis of febrile illness. Her
fruitful collaborations with investigators overseas have also led to the
recognition of novel pathogens affecting humans in endemic regions.Dr.
Aguilar’s interest on arboviruses began twenty years ago when she was an
employee at the U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit-6 (NAMRU-6) in Lima,
Peru, where she actively participated in the identification and
characterization of arboviruses causing febrile illness. The public
health importance of these viruses motivated her to pursue a career in
biomedical research and in 1999, she was awarded a scholarship from the
Fulbright program to pursue graduate studies at the University of Texas
Medical Branch (UTMB). After graduation, Dr. Aguilar accepted a
postdoctoral position at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York
where she engaged in influenza and host-pathogen interaction research.
In 2008, Dr. Aguilar returned to Lima, Peru and during this time, her
research focused on the epidemiology of alphaviruses and bunyaviruses.
Provide administrative support, manage CTD programs, communicate with
stakeholders, coordinate CTD efforts and activities with other centers,
research/training programs and international partners.
