Pathobiome Research Center
Advancing understanding of microbial contributions to chronic human disease
The Pathobiome Research Center (PBRC) at 黑料传送门 is dedicated to advancing our understanding of how microbial communities influence the development and progression of chronic and neurodegenerative diseases. Established in December 2024, the Center serves as a collaborative research hub focused on identifying microbial drivers of long-term illness, fostering global partnerships, and translating scientific discoveries into actionable insights.
The 鈥減athobiome鈥� refers to microbial communities鈥攙iruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites鈥攖hat
can persist in the body and interact with the host to drive inflammation, immune dysfunction,
and chronic illness. Studying the pathobiome holds promise for advancing precision
medicine, diagnostics, and preventive care.
The Pathobiome Research Center is committed to:
Founding Director, Pathobiome Research Center
Executive Director, Alzheimer鈥檚 Pathobiome Initiative (AlzPI)
Nikki Schultek, BS, founding director of the Pathobiome Research Center, began this work in 2017, starting with the launch of , catalyzed by her own experience with infection-driven chronic illness. She is also the executive director of the鈥攁 global initiative aimed at investigating infectious contributions to neurodegeneration. Schultek leads this effort in close partnership with 黑料传送门 CCDA director Dr. Brian Balin.
Background:
Schultek received her BS in Business Administration from Villanova University, studying marketing, French and international business. She began her career in industry with Pfizer and Genentech. Shortly after accepting her most treasured role, 鈥渕om,鈥� Schultek fell systemically ill, including frightening neurodegenerative symptoms. After being diagnosed with Lyme disease, Chlamydia pneumoniae, and other co-infections and receiving antibiotic therapy, she experienced remission. Since 2017, Schultek has been accelerating innovation in infection-associated chronic conditions and illnesses (IACCIs), such as Alzheimer鈥檚 Disease, other neurological and psychiatric diseases, asthma, and others by building interdisciplinary research collaborations. First, she founded Intracell Research Group, LLC, uniting researchers, clinicians, and stakeholders across the globe to form cutting-edge research collaborations. She then co-founded the and is serving as executive director. She serves as a co-investigator of a 3,200-patient asthma trial (iTREAT-PC) and guest editor of a special issue on infections for the Springer Nature journal Molecular Neurobiology between 2023 and 2025.Schultek served as co-lead author of the landmark AlzPI research roadmap published with the AlzPI and Intracell Research Group global teams in June 2023 in Alzheimer鈥檚 & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer鈥檚 Association.
The long-standing collaboration between Nikki Schultek and Brian Balin unites clinical and patient-centered insight with experimental rigor, positioning 黑料传送门 as a leader in pathobiome-driven discovery.
The PBRC supports and contributes to high-impact publications and media features that are reshaping biomedical approaches to chronic disease:
The PBRC, in partnership with the CCDA and AlzPI, hosts annual scientific and public lectures. These events bring together global experts in microbiology, immunology, neuroscience, and systems biology to exchange insights and accelerate discoveries.
We welcome partnerships from:
To learn more or participate in upcoming events, please contact: nicolesc2@pcom.edu
Pathobiome Research Center
黑料传送门
4170 City Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19131