Virginia Commonwealth University · Microbiology & ImmunologyLyme Disease Research Unit
Richard T Marconi · Richmond, Virginia
Research Focus
Dr. Richard T. Marconi's lab studies Lyme disease, which is caused by the Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria transmitted by ticks. The lab focuses on understanding specific proteins that play key roles in the infection process, including a protein called PlzA that interacts with cyclic-di-GMP, and another called OspC that affects how well the bacteria can spread. By uncovering these molecular mechanisms, the research aims to advance the development of better vaccines and diagnostic tools for Lyme disease.
Lyme diseaseBorrelia burgdorferiOspCc-di-GMPRNA chaperonestick transmissionenzootic cycleinfection mechanismsvaccine developmentpathogenicity
Research Aims
5AIM 01Identify the functional determinants of the PlzA protein involved in the Lyme disease enzootic cycle.
AIM 02Analyze the structure-function relationships of PlzA in relation to its binding activities.
AIM 03Examine the role of OspC in the infectivity and dissemination of Borrelia burgdorferi.
AIM 04Investigate how genetic variation in OspC influences disease pathology.
AIM 05Develop transgenic strains of Borrelia burgdorferi to study protein function in vivo.
Skills the Lab Values
Molecular cloningSite-directed mutagenesisProtein expression and purificationWestern blottingRNA immunoprecipitationTransgenic organism generationIn vitro binding assaysRNA sequencingGenetic analysisComparative sequence analysis
Output against the department
Publications203top 31% of dept.153rd of 486
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations5.7kbottom 43% of dept.279th of 486
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.