Dr. Jordi B. Torrelles

Dr. Torrelles obtained his M.Sc. in 2000 and his Ph.D. in Microbiology/Biochemistry in 2003 from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, performing his studies at Colorado State University focusing on the biosynthesis of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis cell envelope. After finishing his Ph.D., he moved to The Ohio State University for his postdoctoral fellowship training in cell biology and immunology, where over the years he became independent and obtained the appointment of tenured Associate Professor. He joined Texas Biomedical Research Institute (Texas Biomed) in 2017 as a Professor. Later, he became the Lead of the Population Health Program and currently serves as BSL3 Program Director. He is passionate about biochemistry and has a multidisciplinary vision to tackle the most pressing issues in infectious disease research, focusing on respiratory infectious diseases, especially Tuberculosis. He aims to develop low cost, easy to use, semi-Point of Care diagnostic tools for drug resistant Tuberculosis, especially in high TB burden mid- and low-income countries with limited resources. In this regard, Dr. Torrelles has a large network of collaborators in four continents, working together to test diagnostic tools for rapid detection of Tuberculosis. He also aims to understand the mechanism(s) behind how the lung environment reshapes microbe’s metabolism driving their interactions with host cells and their infection outcome.