Norris honored by UT System for Lyme disease test

Dr. Steven Norris, a microbiologist at the Medical School, was one of the winners of the inaugural UT Chancellor's Entrepreneurship and Innovation Award for his role in the development of a Lyme disease test. The awards were announced at the first UT System Research and Technology Transfer Showcase Feb. 27 in Austin, which featured the most recent inventions created by researchers and scientists from all 15 UT institutions.

Norris, the Robert Greer Professor of Biomedical Sciences, and a collaborator, Dr. Alan Barbour - formerly of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and now at the University of California, Irvine - were honored in the category recognizing research developed at multiple institutions in the UT System.

The two will share a $15,000 cash prize.

"This technology has improved the diagnosis of Lyme disease in North America and Eurasia, providing a classic example of translational research resulting in considerable improvements in the quality of life for at-risk patients," said Dr. James T. Willerson, president of the UT Health Science Center at Houston, who nominated Norris.

Borrelia burgdorferi is the bacterium that causes Lyme disease, which is a tick-transmitted illness affecting tens of thousands in the United States. Its symptoms include tiredness, chills, headaches, swollen lymph nodes, and a rash resembling a bull's eye. If left untreated, arthritis, severe headaches, and other neurological effects often occur.

Research by Norris and Barbour on a specific protein (called VlsE) and its affect on immune responses led to the development of the diagnostic test, which has been patented and licensed to 11 companies for use both domestically and internationally.

Norris has been a faculty member at the Medical School since 1982 and is currently a vice chair of research and professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and professor in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics.

"Dr. Norris has been a solid citizen at UT now for a number of years," said Dr. Robert Hunter Jr., professor and chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Distinguished Chair in Molecular Pathology.

Dr. Bruce Butler, assistant vice president for research and technology, accepted the award in Austin on behalf of Norris, who was attending a scientific meeting.

-R. Cahill