My research interests are broad and fall within two main categories: diagnostic virology and microbiology; and the impact of laboratory testing and practices on patient management. More specifically, I have worked on the molecular diagnosis of infectious agents, including Bordetella pertussis, Chlamydia trachomatis, enteroviruses, and respiratory viruses. These studies include evaluations of novel commercial nucleic acid amplification technologies. We have also evaluated immunoassays for detection of dengue virus and HIV. The UTMB Clinical enterprise provides access to a variety of interesting patient populations (e.g. transplant, burn wounds, a variety of ethnic groups, pregnancy) that generate evaluations of diagnostic tests, as well as interesting case reports.

Post-Doctoral Fellow	American Academy of Microbiology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY.	Medical and Public Health Laboratory Microbiology	1990
Post-Doctoral Researcher	Diagnostic Hybrids, Inc., Athens, OH		1988
PhD	Ohio University, Athens, OH	Microbiology	1987
BS	University of Iowa, Iowa City	Microbiology	1982

---

Certifications
Diplomate, American Board of Medical Microbiology

2010	American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Division C Chair Nominating Committee
2009	UTMB Best Clinical Pathology Faculty Award
2002-2009	American Board of Medical Microbiology (ABMM) Exam Development Committee
2007-2008	Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)/Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Workgroup
2004-2005	Board of Directors, Association of Public Health Laboratories

Professional Affiliations

2010	Southwestern Association of Clinical Microbiology
1996-Present	Pan-American Society for Clinical Virology
1983-present	American Society for Microbiology

---

Editorial Responsibilities

2003-present	Review board member, Journal of Clinical Microbiology
Ad hock reviewer	Clinical and Vaccine Immunology, Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology

1. Jain S, Basraon S, Loeffelholz MJ, Patel JA. 2010. The pattern of indeterminate HIV Western blot test and follow-up evaluation in pregnant women. Amer. J. Perinatology 2010 Dec 6 [Epub]
2. Loeffelholz M, and Chonmaitree T. 2010. Advances in Diagnosis of Respiratory Virus Infections. Int. J. Microbiol. doi:10.1155/2010/126049
3. Stevenson HL and Loeffelholz MJ. 2010. Poor positive accuracy of Quickvue rapid antigen tests during the influenza A (H1N1) 2009 pandemic. J. Clin. Microbiol. 48(10):3729-31
4. Loeffelholz MJ. 2010. Avian influenza A H5N1 virus. Clin Lab Med. 30(1):1-20
5. Kalu SU, Loeffelholz M, Beck E, Patel JA, Revai K, Fan J, Henrickson, KJ, and Chonmaitree T. 2010. Persistence of adenovirus nucleic acids in nasopharyngeal secretions: a diagnostic conundrum. Pediatr Infect Dis. J. 29(8):746-50
6. Loeffelholz MJ, Jirsa SJ, Teske RK, Woods JN. 2001. Effect of Endocervical Specimen Adequacy on Ligase Chain Reaction Detection of Chlamydia trachomatis. J Clin Microbiol. 39(11):3838-41
7. Reischl U, Lehn N, Sanden GN, Loeffelholz MJ. 2001. Real-time PCR assay targeting IS481 of Bordetella pertussis and molecular basis for detecting Bordetella holmesii. J Clin Microbiol. 39(5):1963-6.
8. Farrell DJ, McKeon M, Daggard G, Loeffelholz MJ, Thompson CJ, Mukkur TK. 2000. Rapid-cycle PCR method to detect Bordetella pertussis that fulfills all consensus recommendations for use of PCR in diagnosis of pertussis. J Clin Microbiol. 38(12):4499-502.
9. Loeffelholz MJ, Thompson CJ, Long KS, Gilchrist MJ. 2000. Detection of Bordetella holmesii using Bordetella pertussis IS481 PCR assay. J Clin Microbiol. 38(1):467.
10. Loeffelholz MJ, Thompson CJ, Long KS, Gilchrist MJ. 1999. Comparison of PCR, culture, and direct fluorescent-antibody testing for detection of Bordetella pertussis. J Clin Microbiol. 37(9):2872-6.
11. Thompson CJ, Daly C, Barrett TJ, Getchell JP, Gilchrist MJ, Loeffelholz MJ. 1998. Insertion element IS3-based PCR method for subtyping Escherichia coli O157:H7. J Clin Microbiol. 36(5):1180-4.
12. Loeffelholz MJ, Thompson CJ, Gaunt DD, Koontz FP, Gilchrist MJ. 1996. Polymerase chain reaction typing of nonviable Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis. 26(3-4):149-51.
13. Tanel RE, Kao SY, Niemiec TM, Loeffelholz MJ, Holland DT, Shoaf LA, Stucky ER, Burns JC. 1996. Prospective comparison of culture vs genome detection for diagnosis of enteroviral meningitis in childhood. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 150(9):919-24.
14. Abzug MJ, Loeffelholz M, Rotbart HA. 1995. Diagnosis of neonatal enterovirus infection by polymerase chain reaction. J Pediatr. 126(3):447-50.
15. Rotbart HA, Sawyer MH, Fast S, Lewinski C, Murphy N, Keyser EF, Spadoro J, Kao SY, Loeffelholz M. 1994. Diagnosis of enteroviral meningitis by using PCR with a colorimetric microwell detection assay. J Clin Microbiol. 32(10):2590-2.
16. Greisen K, Loeffelholz M, Purohit A, Leong D. 1994. PCR primers and probes for the 16S rRNA gene of most species of pathogenic bacteria, including bacteria found in cerebrospinal fluid. J Clin Microbiol. 32(2):335-51.
17. Bauwens JE, Clark AM, Loeffelholz MJ, Herman SA, Stamm WE. 1993. Diagnosis of Chlamydia trachomatis urethritis in men by polymerase chain reaction assay of first-catch urine. J Clin Microbiol. 31(11):3013-6.
18. Talley AR, Garcia-Ferrer F, Laycock KA, Loeffelholz M, Pepose JS. 1992. The use of polymerase chain reaction for the detection of chlamydial keratoconjunctivitis. Am J Ophthalmol. 114(6):685-92.
19. Loeffelholz MJ, Lewinski CA, Silver SR, Purohit AP, Herman SA, Buonagurio DA, Dragon EA. 1992. Detection of Chlamydia trachomatis in endocervical specimens by polymerase chain reaction. J Clin Microbiol. 30(11):2847-51.
20. Yagupsky P, Loeffelholz M, Bell K, Menegus MA. 1991. Use of multiple markers for investigation of an epidemic of Shigella sonnei infections in Monroe County, New York. J Clin Microbiol. 29(12):2850-5.

NIH Biosketch