{"id":510,"date":"2017-05-16T14:51:40","date_gmt":"2017-05-16T18:51:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/spirochete-lab\/lyme-disease-research\/lyme-team-2\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T14:45:56","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T18:45:56","slug":"leptospirosis-team","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/spirochete-lab\/leptospirosis-research\/leptospirosis-team\/","title":{"rendered":"Leptospirosis Research Team"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"in-page-tabs\"><ul id=\"menu-leptospirosis-subnav\" class=\"menu nav nav-tabs\"><li id=\"menu-item-550\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page\"><a href=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/spirochete-lab\/leptospirosis-research\/leptospirosis-research\/\">Leptospirosis Research<\/a><\/li><li id=\"menu-item-545\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page\"><a href=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/spirochete-lab\/leptospirosis-research\/leptospirosis-team\/\">Leptospirosis Research Team<\/a><\/li><li id=\"menu-item-546\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page\"><a href=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/spirochete-lab\/leptospirosis-research\/leptospirosis-collaborations\/\">Leptospirosis Collaborations<\/a><\/li><li id=\"menu-item-547\" class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page\"><a href=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/spirochete-lab\/leptospirosis-research\/leptospirosis-publications\/\">Leptospirosis Publications<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><div id=\"pl-510\"  class=\"panel-layout\" ><div id=\"pg-510-0\"  class=\"panel-grid panel-no-style\" ><div id=\"pgc-510-0-0\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-510-0-0-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_black-studio-tinymce widget_black_studio_tinymce panel-first-child panel-last-child\" data-index=\"0\" ><div class=\"textwidget\"><h5>Leptospirosis Research<\/h5>\n<h1>Leptospirosis Team<\/h1>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"pg-510-1\"  class=\"panel-grid panel-no-style\" ><div id=\"pgc-510-1-0\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-510-1-0-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_widget_sp_image widget_sp_image panel-first-child panel-last-child\" data-index=\"1\" ><div class=\"panel-widget-style panel-widget-style-for-510-1-0-0\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"100\" height=\"125\" alt=\"Melissa J. Caimano, Ph.D.\" class=\"attachment-full\" style=\"max-width: 100%;\" src=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/spirochete-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/133\/2019\/02\/caimano-melissa-20181114-encarnacion-8253.jpg\" \/><\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"pgc-510-1-1\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-510-1-1-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_black-studio-tinymce widget_black_studio_tinymce panel-first-child panel-last-child\" data-index=\"2\" ><div class=\"textwidget\"><h2>Melissa Caimano, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Medicine<\/h2>\n<p>Melissa Caimano received a B.S. degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1989. She attended graduate school at the University of Alabama at Birmingham doing her thesis work on the genetic elements involved in <em>Streptococcus pneumoniae<\/em> capsule biosynthesis. In 1996, Caimano began a postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. Justin Radolf at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, relocating to the University of Connecticut in 1999. Her work has focused primarily on the regulatory pathways and molecular mechanisms underlying mammalian host adaptation and maintenance of <em>Borrelia burgdorferi <\/em>within its natural enzootic cycle. Most notably, these studies have led to the discovery that the alternate sigma factor RpoS plays a critical role in the down-regulation, as well as up-regulation, of borrelial genes specifically in response to mammalian host signals. She has published more than 46 peer-reviewed articles on microbial pathogenesis and related areas in high impact journals. Her work examining the interaction between the Lyme disease spirochete and its arthropod vector is supported by grants awarded to her by the National Research Fund for Tick-Borne Diseases (NRFTD) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH\/NIAID). Caimano currently is an associate professor in the UConn Health Department of Medicine. She also has served on the Editorial Board of Infection and Immunity since 2006.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/facultydirectory.uchc.edu\/profile?profileId=Caimano-Melissa\">Faculty Profile<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"pg-510-2\"  class=\"panel-grid panel-no-style\" ><div id=\"pgc-510-2-0\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-510-2-0-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_widget_sp_image widget_sp_image panel-first-child panel-last-child\" data-index=\"3\" ><div class=\"panel-widget-style panel-widget-style-for-510-2-0-0\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"593\" height=\"703\" alt=\"Andr\u00e9 Alex Grassmann, Ph.D.\" class=\"attachment-full\" style=\"max-width: 100%;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/spirochete-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/133\/2021\/09\/Unknown.jpg 593w, https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/spirochete-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/133\/2021\/09\/Unknown-253x300.jpg 253w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 593px) 100vw, 593px\" src=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/spirochete-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/133\/2021\/09\/Unknown.jpg\" \/><\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"pgc-510-2-1\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-510-2-1-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_black-studio-tinymce widget_black_studio_tinymce panel-first-child panel-last-child\" data-index=\"4\" ><div class=\"textwidget\"><h2>Andr\u00e9 Alex Grassmann, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics<\/h2>\n<p>Andr\u00e9 received his B.S. degree in Biological Sciences in 2009 from the Federal University of Pelotas (UFPel), Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. Since his undergraduate research, Andr\u00e9 has studied pathogenic <em data-start=\"378\" data-end=\"390\">Leptospira<\/em> and leptospirosis. He received his M.S. degree in 2011 and his Ph.D. in 2015, both from UFPel Biotechnology School. In 2013, he was awarded a one-year Science without Borders fellowship from the Brazilian government and joined Drs. Caimano and Radolf to investigate differential gene expression by <em data-start=\"689\" data-end=\"713\">Leptospira interrogans<\/em> within the mammalian host to identify potential novel vaccine targets. After two years of postdoctoral research in Brazil, he returned to the Radolf and Caimano lab in 2017 to continue studying gene regulation in <em data-start=\"927\" data-end=\"939\">Leptospira<\/em> during host infection. In 2019, Andr\u00e9 expanded his research to <em data-start=\"1003\" data-end=\"1025\" data-is-only-node=\"\">Borrelia burgdorferi<\/em>, focusing on gene regulation in response to host- and vector-specific cues, particularly the convergence of c-di-GMP\u2013 and PlzA-dependent signaling with the RpoS pathway. In 2022, he was promoted to Instructor, and since 2024 he has been an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine.\u00a0His current research focuses on the molecular mechanisms of <em data-start=\"1380\" data-end=\"1396\">B. burgdorferi<\/em> gene regulation during the tick\u2013mammal infectious cycle, which represents his major area of investigation. In addition, his research addresses pathogenesis and vaccine development against <em data-start=\"1585\" data-end=\"1605\">Treponema pallidum<\/em> (syphilis) and <em data-start=\"1621\" data-end=\"1645\">Leptospira interrogans<\/em> (leptospirosis).<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/facultydirectory.uchc.edu\/profile?profileId=Grassmann-Andre\">Faculty Profile<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"pg-510-3\"  class=\"panel-grid panel-no-style\" ><div id=\"pgc-510-3-0\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-510-3-0-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_widget_sp_image widget_sp_image panel-first-child panel-last-child\" data-index=\"5\" ><div class=\"panel-widget-style panel-widget-style-for-510-3-0-0\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1052\" height=\"1315\" alt=\"Melissa McLain\" class=\"attachment-full\" style=\"max-width: 100%;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/spirochete-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/133\/2022\/05\/Tom-picture-for-website.jpeg 1052w, https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/spirochete-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/133\/2022\/05\/Tom-picture-for-website-240x300.jpeg 240w, https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/spirochete-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/133\/2022\/05\/Tom-picture-for-website-819x1024.jpeg 819w, https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/spirochete-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/133\/2022\/05\/Tom-picture-for-website-768x960.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1052px) 100vw, 1052px\" src=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/spirochete-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/133\/2022\/05\/Tom-picture-for-website.jpeg\" \/><\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"pgc-510-3-1\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-510-3-1-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_black-studio-tinymce widget_black_studio_tinymce panel-first-child panel-last-child\" data-index=\"6\" ><div class=\"textwidget\"><h2>EVERTON B. BETTIN, PH.D., POST-DOCTORAL FELLOW<\/h2>\n<p><span>Everton obtained his PhD degree in Biotechnology from the Federal University of Pelotas (UFPel), Brazil in 2022. The major focus of his thesis was the development of vaccines against Leptospirosis. In 2019, he was granted a one-year fellowship from the Brazilian government to join Drs. Grassmann and Caimano to study the unique leptospiral Omp85 proteins. After finishing his PhD in 2022, he returned to the Spirochete Research Labs as post-doctoral fellow to work on he development of a vaccine against infection by <\/span><em>Treponema pallidum<\/em><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"pg-510-4\"  class=\"panel-grid panel-no-style\" ><div id=\"pgc-510-4-0\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-510-4-0-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_widget_sp_image widget_sp_image panel-first-child panel-last-child\" data-index=\"7\" ><div class=\"panel-widget-style panel-widget-style-for-510-4-0-0\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"728\" height=\"858\" alt=\"Tiffany T. Bunde\" class=\"attachment-full\" style=\"max-width: 100%;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/spirochete-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/133\/2026\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-02-27-at-11.14.02.jpeg 728w, https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/spirochete-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/133\/2026\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-02-27-at-11.14.02-255x300.jpeg 255w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px\" src=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/spirochete-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/133\/2026\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-02-27-at-11.14.02.jpeg\" \/><\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"pgc-510-4-1\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-510-4-1-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_black-studio-tinymce widget_black_studio_tinymce panel-first-child panel-last-child\" data-index=\"8\" ><div class=\"textwidget\"><h2>Tiffany Thurow Bunde, M.S., PH.D. STUDENT<\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"206\" data-end=\"449\">Tiffany is a Ph.D. candidate in Biotechnology at the Federal University of Pelotas (UFPel), Brazil. She is visiting the Spirochete Research Labs for nine months as a CAPES (Coordena\u00e7\u00e3o de Aperfei\u00e7oamento de Pessoal de N\u00edvel Superior) fellow.\u00a0Tiffany earned her M.S. in Biotechnology from UFPel, where she developed a strong foundation in molecular microbiology and infectious disease research. Her work focuses on understanding the pathogenesis of <em data-start=\"657\" data-end=\"669\">Leptospira<\/em> species and advancing vaccine development strategies against leptospirosis. <span>During her time at the Spirochete Research Labs, Tiffany is also investigating gene regulatory mechanisms in <\/span><em data-start=\"856\" data-end=\"878\">Borrelia burgdorferi<\/em><span>, expanding her expertise in spirochete biology and host-pathogen interactions.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Leptospirosis Research Leptospirosis Team Melissa Caimano, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Medicine Melissa Caimano received a B.S. degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1989. She attended graduate school at the University of Alabama at Birmingham doing her thesis work on the genetic elements involved in Streptococcus pneumoniae capsule biosynthesis. In 1996, Caimano began a postdoctoral [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":0,"parent":505,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-blank.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-11 14:52:18","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/spirochete-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/510"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/spirochete-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/spirochete-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/spirochete-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/spirochete-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=510"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/spirochete-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/510\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":646,"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/spirochete-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/510\/revisions\/646"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/spirochete-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/spirochete-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}