Dr. Bottazzi is an internationally recognized vaccinologist and global health advocate for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and emerging diseases of pandemic and biodefense importance. With more than two decades of experience applying the product development partnership (PDP) model, she has built sustainable biotechnology capacity and successfully transitioned several NTD and emerging disease vaccines from the bench up to phase 2 clinical trials. As a global thought leader, Dr. Bottazzi has received highly regarded national and international awards, has published more than 150 scientific papers, and has participated in more than 250 conferences worldwide. 

She is an Emerging Leader in Health and Medicine Scholar of the National Academy of Medicine and was a committee member of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine for the Stronger Food and Drug Regulatory Systems Abroad consensus study. She is a member of the National Academy of Science of Honduras, Fellow of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH), Fellow of the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM), Leshner Leadership Institute Public Engagement Fellow (Infectious Diseases) of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum (ALF).  Dr. Bottazzi obtained her bachelor’s degree in microbiology and clinical chemistry from the National Autonomous University of Honduras and a doctorate in molecular immunology and experimental pathology from the University of Florida. She completed post-doctoral training in cellular biology at the University of Miami and the University of Pennsylvania.

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PUBLICATIONS

Hayon J, Weatherhead J, Hotez PJ, Bottazzi ME, Zhan B. Advances in vaccine development for human trichuriasis. Parasitology. 2021 Mar 24; 1-40. PMID: 33757603.

Chen WH, Wei J, Kundu RT, Adhikari R, Liu Z, Lee J, Versteeg L, Poveda C, Keegan B, Villar MJ, de Araujo Leao AC, Rivera JA, Gillespie PM, Pollet J, Strych U, Zhan B, Hotez PJ, Bottazzi ME. Genetic modification to design a stable yeast-expressed recombinant SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain as a COVID-19 vaccine candidate. Biochim Biophys Acta Gen Subj. 2021 Mar 14; 1865(6):129893. PMID: 33731300.

Hotez P, Batista C, Ergonul O, Figueroa JP, Gilbert S, Gursel M, Hassanain M, Kang G, Kim JH, Lall B, Larson H, Naniche D, Sheahan T, Shoham S, Wilder-Smith A, Strub-Wourgaft N, Yadav P, Bottazzi ME. Correcting COVID-19 vaccine misinformation: Lancet Commission on COVID-19 Vaccines and Therapeutics Task Force Members. EClinicalMedicine. 2021 Mar; 33:100780. PMID: 33718854.

Talavera-López C, Messenger LA, Lewis MD, Yeo M, Reis-Cunha JL, Matos GM, Bartholomeu DC, Calzada JE, Saldaña A, Ramírez JD, Guhl F, Ocaña-Mayorga S, Costales JA, Gorchakov R, Jones K, Nolan MS, Teixeira SMR, Carrasco HJ, Bottazzi ME, Hotez PJ, Murray KO, Grijalva MJ, Burleigh B, Grisard EC, Miles MA, Andersson B. Repeat-Driven Generation of Antigenic Diversity in a Major Human Pathogen, Trypanosoma cruzi. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2021; 11:614665. PMID: 33747978.

Cruz-Chan JV, Villanueva-Lizama LE, Versteeg L, Damania A, Villar MJ, González-López C, Keegan B, Pollet J, Gusovsky F, Hotez PJ, Bottazzi ME, Jones KM. Vaccine-linked chemotherapy induces IL-17 production and reduces cardiac pathology during acute Trypanosoma cruzi infection. Sci Rep. 2021 Feb 05; 11(1):3222. PMID: 33547365.

Ryan NM, Hess JA, de Villena FP, Leiby BE, Shimada A, Yu L, Yarmahmoodi A, Petrovsky N, Zhan B, Bottazzi ME, Makepeace BL, Lustigman S, Abraham D. Onchocerca volvulus bivalent subunit vaccine induces protective immunity in genetically diverse collaborative cross recombinant inbred intercross mice. NPJ Vaccines. 2021 Jan 26; 6(1):17. PMID: 33500417.

Bartsch SM, O'Shea KJ, Wedlock PT, Strych U, Ferguson MC, Bottazzi ME, Randall SL, Siegmund SS, Cox SN, Hotez PJ, Lee BY. The Benefits of Vaccinating With the First Available COVID-19 Coronavirus Vaccine. Am J Prev Med. 2021 Jan 19. PMID: 33632650.

Clark EH, Fredricks K, Woc-Colburn L, Bottazzi ME, Weatherhead J. Preparing for SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines in US Immigrant Communities: Strategies for Allocation, Distribution, and Communication. Am J Public Health. 2021 Apr; 111(4):577-581. PMID: 33351664.