Ricardo G. Maggi, PhD

Research Professor, Internal Medicine College of Veterinary Medicine
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC

Simultaneous detection and absolute quantification of Babesia, Bartonella and Borrelia by droplet digital PCR

Dr. Ricardo G. Maggi received his Licentiate degree in Chemistry at Universidad Nacional de Cordoba, Argentina in 1988, his MS, working on environmental chemistry, at University of Puerto Rico in 1993, and his Ph.D., characterizing the molecular mechanisms of microbial adaptation in extreme environments in 2001. During 1995 to 2002, he served as Adjunct professor at the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico in San German, PR teaching and mentoring MS students in environmental chemistry and microbiology. After a year as a Chief Researcher at BioPolo, Italy, Dr. Maggi joined North Carolina State University in 2003. Since 2004, first as Assistant Professor at the College of Veterinary Medicine and now as full Research Professor, he focused his work on vector-borne and zoonotic pathogens diseases. From 2009 to 20014 he served also as Co-Director of the Vector Borne Diseases Diagnostic Laboratory and since 2009 as co-director of the Intracellular Pathogens Research Laboratory, CVM-NCSU (position that he still holds).

During the past 17 years, Dr. Maggi’s laboratory has focused on the development of new and enhanced serological, molecular and microbiological methods for the detection and characterization of Anaplasma, Babesia, Borrelia, Ehrlichia, Mycoplasma, and Rickettsia infections in animals and humans. These efforts have resulted in new diagnostic modalities, such as the Bartonella-Alpha Proteobacteria Culture Medium (BAPGM) platform, a Babesia-Bartonella-Borrelia multiplex Droplet Digital PCR (ddPCR) assay, and the development of in-vitro non-tumorigenic epithelial human cell line model systems to gain mechanistic insights to altered cellular pathways leading to angiogenesis, cancer induction, and inflammation.

Dr. Maggi has published 142 peer-reviewed clinical and research journal articles, 4 book chapters published in two languages in three countries, and was invited to over 50 lectures at national and international research and clinical forums.  

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Conference Lecture Summary

This presentation describes the development, optimization, and validation of a ddPCR assay for the simultaneous detection of Babesia, Bartonella, and Borrelia spp. DNA from several sample matrices, including clinical blood samples from animals and patients, vectors (ticks, fleas, sandflies), as well as samples from human and animal cell lines and tissues from animal models (infected with Bartonella and/or B. burgdorferi). The multiplex ddPCR assay (BBB ddPCR), developed based upon a recently published a Bartonella ddPCR assay using the QX200 system from Bio-Rad, is able to detect 31 Bartonella spp. (including 8 previously uncharacterized species), 8 Borrelia spp, and 24 Babesia spp. (including 8 previously uncharacterized species). The assay is also able to detect 2 Theilaria spp. (T. equi and T. cervi) and well as C. felis from naturally infected wildlife species. The BBB ddPCR assay, based on the QX One ddPCR system from Bio-Rad, showed to be able to perform the simultaneous detection and absolute quantification of multiple vector-borne pathogens (such as Babesia, Bartonella and Borrelia) from clinical samples.