George Chaconas
BA, PhD
Dr. George Chaconas is a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Immunology & Infectious Diseases at the University of Calgary. He completed his PhD in Medical Biochemistry at the University of Calgary and completed post-doctoral studies in Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory. He held the position of Canada Research Chair in Molecular Biology of Lyme Borreliosis from 2003-2017.
Work in his laboratory is focused on Borrelia burgdorferi, the spirochete causing Lyme disease. His research includes studies on a variety of processes in this organism including telomere resolution, antigenic variation, genome dynamics, regulation of global gene expression by an RNA helicase, intravital microscopy to study B. burgdorferi dissemination in a living host and a new approach to screen for Borrelia species. Most recently he has begun collaborating with his University of Calgary colleague, Dr. Ian Lewis, in developing metabolomics-based tools detecting bloodstream pathogens, in particular Borrelia Burgdorferi.
Dr. Chaconas is a Principal Applicant on the grant. He will contribute to research activities involving detection and diagnosis (Pillar 1).