9Brandon Jutras, PhD, Bay Area Lyme Emerging Leader Award recipientAssistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Fralin Life Sciences Institute at Virginia Tech

Monoclonal antibody to detect the release of an unusual glycopeptide as a biomarker of infection for acute Lyme disease

Dr. Jutras’ past research has focused on the importance of peptidoglycan in Lyme disease pathogenesis. Through this ELA project, he will leverage his work on the biochemistry of peptidoglycan to develop a novel diagnostic for acute Lyme disease.

Dr. Brandon Jutras is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Fralin Life Sciences Institute at Virginia Tech. He is also part of the Center for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Arthropod-borne Pathogens, the Molecular and Cellular Biology program, in addition to the Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health program at Virginia Tech.

Dr. Jutras has focused his entire research career on studying the biology and pathogenesis of Borrelia burgdorferi. With over 25 peer reviewed publications in many of science’s top journals, Dr. Jutras uses a diverse array of atomic, molecular, and cellular tools to diagnose, understand, and treat Lyme disease. His approach challenges paradigms in bacterial physiology and his research group leverages their findings to improve the overall welfare of humans and animals.

He earned his Ph.D. in Microbiology from the College of Medicine at University of Kentucky. His innovative diagnostic project was selected for a 2021 Emerging Leader Award, a $100,000 grant.