About Richard Marconi, Ph.D.
Professor Department of Microbiology and Immunology
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
Dr. Marconi earned his Bachelor of Science degree at William Patterson College of New Jersey and his Ph.D. at the University of Montana where he studied microbiology and biochemistry. After completing his Ph.D. work, he began his post-doctoral training at the Roche Institute of Molecular Biology, where he studied bacterial metabolism. In 1990, he accepted an Intramural Research Training Award at the Rocky Mountain Laboratories, an NIH research facility, where he began working on Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases. Dr. Marconi joined VCU Medical Center in 1994 and is now a Full Professor of Medicine with over 30 years of experience studying the causative agents of Lyme disease, Periodontal disease, leptospirosis, anaplasmosis, and ehrlichiosis.
He has lectured worldwide, published over 135 research articles, awarded 36 national and international patents, brought products to market, and been continuously funded since 1990. He has served on more than 120 national and international advisory panels and was a charter member of the Vaccines for Microbial Diseases NIH Study Section. Dr. Marconi serves on the editorial board for several prestigious journals and is a consultant for several private foundations, patient advocacy groups, and companies. He is an inventor of Vanguard®crLYME, a canine Lyme disease vaccine that was introduced to the market in 2016.
In recognition of Dr. Marconi’s contributions to science, he was inducted into the National Academy of Inventors in 2016 and, in 2022, into the American Academy of Microbiologists. In April 2022, Virginia Bio recognized him for Outstanding Contributions to Virginia Biosciences. His current research is focused on the development of diagnostic assays and vaccines for bacterial diseases that pose serious threats to humans and companion animals.