"Subarachnoid Neurocysticercosis: Diagnosis and Management Pearls and Pitfalls" 

Speaker:

Elise O'Connell, M.D.
Head, Clinical Parasitology Unit
Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases
National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases
National Institutes of Health

About Elise O'Connell:

Dr. O'Connell received her medical degree from Loyola University of Chicago and completed residency training at Indiana University. She then obtained advanced training through a fellowship at the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Following her clinical year of fellowship, she began working under the mentorship of Dr. Thomas Nutman in the Helminth Immunology Section of the Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, NIAID on molecular diagnostics for soil-transmitted helminths and drug repurposing for filarial infections. In 2017, she began focusing on diagnostics in neurocysticercosis as an Assistant Clinical Investigator in NIAID’s Transition Program for Clinical Research. In 2020, she became Principal Investigator on a natural history treatment protocol for neurocysticercosis at the NIH Clinical Center, where patient referrals from all over the United States are seen, including particularly challenging cases. In 2022, she became head of the Clinical Parasitology Unit.

Her research focuses on invasive cestode infections, primarily neurocysticercosis. Patients with basilar subarachnoid neurocysticercosis (racemose disease) often suffer numerous relapses, in part due to the lack of adequate tests and clinical end points for clinicians to follow. Additionally, the exuberant inflammation in the subarachnoid space during relapses accounts for the significant morbidity and mortality. Her early work focused on the development of biomarkers that facilitate diagnosis and inform the clinician when a patient has been successfully cured. The role of inflammation, host genetics, and anthelmintic therapy in altering the course of disease are active areas of investigation.

Dr. O’Connell is also Principal Investigator on a natural history protocol that seeks to better understand the factors that lead to relapse of cutaneous leishmaniasis, in collaboration with several other researchers.