On one wall in the modest office of Maria Gomes-Solecki, DVM, a professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Biochemistry at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, hangs a framed letter that is the culmination of more than 20 years of work.
Dated April 27, the letter is from the U.S. Department of Agriculture with notification that an animal vaccine for Lyme disease that she conceived, funded with federal grants for development, and field tested has been conditionally approved for commercialization. Dr. Gomes-Solecki is also a co-founder of the Memphis-based company, US Biologic Inc., which holds the license to bring the oral vaccine designed to block the spread of Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease, to market.
“This is a professional accomplishment that fills me with great joy,” Dr. Gomes-Solecki said. “This was a goal I had from my early days as a rookie scientist. There’s a nice little document over there that I’ve framed to remind me of that on the days I have to check my grant scores.”
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