Prominent Scientist to Lead Southern Research's Drug Discovery Infectious Diseases Program

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Nov. 11, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Timothy Sellati, Ph.D., has joined Southern Research's Drug Discovery division as senior research fellow and chair, Infectious Disease Department. Sellati will lead infectious disease researchers who are currently working to identify novel mechanisms, targets, and strategies for prevention and treatment of both bacterial and viral infectious diseases that occur throughout the world. 

Sellati comes to SR from the Trudeau Institute in Saranac Lake, New York. Before joining the Trudeau Institute in 2013, he established his independent research program in the Center for Immunology and Microbial Disease at Albany Medical College. Sellati's current research is focused on immunity to Lyme and other tick-borne diseases, vaccine development against biological threat agents and emerging pathogens, and harnessing self-assembling antimicrobial nanofibers to target antibiotic resistant pathogens.

"We are excited to have Dr. Sellati join SR," said Mark Suto, Ph.D., vice president, Drug Discovery. "His broad expertise in infectious diseases, particularly emerging pathogens, will be critical to the success of our programs in these areas." 

Sellati most recently completed research under the New York State Senate Task Force on Lyme and Other Tick-borne Diseases, and he has written or co-authored 40 publications on Lyme disease and Tularemia research. He brings with him more than $4 million in funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health. Sellati is currently the Immunology Scientific Councilor for the International Endotoxin and Innate Immunity Society and past president of the Eastern New York Branch of the American Society for Microbiologists.

"Tim is a great addition to our ongoing strategy of drug discovery at Southern Research, as Mark Suto is executing a strategy of complementing our deep capabilities in HTS and medicinal chemistry with experts in the clinical areas our drugs will serve," said Art Tipton, Ph.D., Southern Research president and CEO. "Tim will be chairing the area of infectious disease, the largest research area for Southern Research and a growing focus worldwide, with recurring diseases such as influenza, and emerging or re-emerging threats such as dengue, West Nile, SARS, and Ebola. His role parallels additional chairs at Southern Research in oncology and central nervous system research; together these describe the deep novel drug pipeline we are developing."

About Southern Research
Southern Research is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization with more than 400 scientists and engineers working across four divisions: drug discovery, drug development, engineering, and energy and environment. We work on behalf of the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Energy, NASA, major aerospace firms, utility companies, and other private and government organizations as we solve the world's hardest problems. Southern Research, founded in 1941, is headquartered in Birmingham with additional laboratories and offices in Wilsonville and Huntsville, Frederick, Maryland, Durham, North Carolina, Cartersville, Georgia, and Houston. Visit www.SouthernResearch.org for more information.

Media Contact:
Rossi M. Carlson
[email protected] 
205-581-2266

SOURCE Southern Research

Related Links

http://www.southernresearch.org