Coad Thomas Dow

Biography

I have had a 40+ year career as an ophthalmologist. For the past 20 years I have used my background in microbiology to study the contribution of Mycobacterium avium ss. paratuberculosis to inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. This has been fruitful. For the past few years I have also had an interest in Alzheimer's disease. When it was found that the preventative vaccine for mycobacterium tuberculosis (BCG) was possibly beneficial for Alzheimer's disease, there was a merging of my interests. We registered a study using a novel plasma biomarker for amyloid - corresponding to cerebral amyloid and gave BCG vaccine. We learned that the vaccine imparted a favorable change on the biomarker: Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT04449926. (article link: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/10/2/424). Currently, I am with a small group that developed an in vitro diagnostic platform for latent tuberculosis - we anticipate that this will be a disruptive technology for this important global health need. Also, I am with a small group exploring the role of paratuberculosis in Parkinson's disease. Lastly, I am the chief medical officer for Protibea Therapeutics, a company advancing a synthetic analog of DHEA with possible broad application for inflammatory and infectious diseases.