Lauren Bakaletz PhD The Ohio State University/Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital

Lauren O. Bakaletz, Ph.D. is Professor of Pediatrics and of Otolaryngology and until recently, Director of the Center for Microbial Pathogenesis within the Abigail Wexner Research Institute of Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Dr. Bakaletz is Vice President of Basic Sciences, the Tillie E. Coleman Endowed Chair in Pediatric Research, and an Ohio State University College of Medicine Distinguished Professor. In 2020, Dr. Bakaletz was elected Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and in 2021, she became the Allen Distinguished Scholar in Pediatric Research and was elected to Fellowship of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The Bakaletz lab has been funded by the NIH and industry for over 25 years to pursue the team’s long-standing interest in the molecular mechanisms that underlie chronic and recurrent bacterial infections wherein biofilms contribute significantly to pathogenesis. Via collaboration with Dr. Steven Goodman, they have investigated the role of extracellular DNA and the bacterial DNABII proteins in the structural integrity of biofilms, then used this advanced understanding to design and test both novel therapeutics and vaccine candidates for rapid biofilm disease resolution and ideally, prevention. Drs. Bakaletz & Goodman founded two start-up companies, both of have progressed to first-in-humans clinical trials.