Tick Boot Camp Podcast
Dr. Jayakumar Rajadas was featured on the Tick Boot Camp Podcast:

• Coming soon…

Jayakumar Rajadas, PhD is a Senior Research Scientist at Stanford University’s Cardiovascular Institute and Founding Director of the Advanced Drug Delivery & Regenerative Biomaterials (ADDReB) Lab. His team screens existing medicines to find better treatments for Lyme disease and studies how drug delivery, neurodegeneration (amyloid/tau), and regeneration/anti-aging can help patients heal.

Fast Facts

• Title: Senior Research Scientist, Stanford Cardiovascular Institute

• Lab: Advanced Drug Delivery & Regenerative Biomaterials (ADDReB)

• Focus Areas: Lyme therapeutics (drug repurposing), advanced drug delivery, amyloid/tau biology, regenerative and apelin-based therapies

• Affiliations: Member, Cardiovascular Institute; Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance; Maternal & Child Health Research Institute (MCHRI)

• Notable: Led large-scale screening efforts that identified azlocillin (preclinical) and evaluated disulfiram as potential Lyme therapies

Why His Work Matters to the Lyme Community

Many people improve after standard antibiotics, but a significant subset continues to suffer. Dr. Rajadas’ lab pursues treatments that target drug-tolerant forms of Borrelia and hard-to-reach tissues, while also exploring immune and neurodegenerative mechanisms that may contribute to lingering symptoms. His approach blends bench science with translation—aiming to turn lab discoveries into practical therapies.

Research Focus

1) Lyme Disease Drug Discovery (Repurposing & Preclinical Testing)

• What they do: Screen thousands of existing, FDA-approved or known compounds to identify those that kill Borrelia burgdorferi, including drug-tolerant/persistent forms.

• Notable leads:

  • Azlocillin: Showed the ability to eradicate Borrelia in mouse models and against drug-tolerant forms in lab studies (preclinical).

  • Disulfiram: Evaluated as a repurposed candidate in vitro and in vivo models.

• Goal: Advance the most promising candidates toward patient-ready formulations and future clinical evaluation.

2) Amyloid Chemistry & Neurodegeneration (Brain Fog, Cognition & Infection)

• What they do: Use advanced biophysical tools (e.g., AFM, fluorescence, NMR) to study protein clumping (amyloid/tau) linked to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

• Why it matters in Lyme: Investigate how infection-driven inflammation may intersect with protein aggregation, potentially informing mechanisms behind brain fog and cognitive symptoms in chronic illness.

3) Advanced Drug Delivery & Biomaterials (Getting Medicine Where It Counts)

• What they do: Engineer smart delivery systems—microencapsulation, implants, targeted/sustained-release platforms—to improve tissue targeting, duration, and safety of therapies.

• Why it matters: Persistent infections can hide in joints, nervous system, and other protected sites. Better delivery could improve outcomes while limiting side effects.

4) Regenerative & Anti-Aging Approaches (Apelin-Based Therapeutics)

• What they do: Explore apelin, a naturally occurring signaling molecule, for tissue repair, cardiometabolic benefits, and healthy aging.

• Vision: Complement antimicrobial strategies with repair/regeneration—helping patients recover function after long illness.

About Dr. Rajadas

• Education: M.S., University of Madras (Chemistry); Ph.D., Indian Institute of Technology (Biophysical Chemistry)

• Academic Roles: Instructor and leadership roles across Stanford Medicine; Adjunct Full Professor (WOS), UCSF School of Pharmacy

• Leadership: Founding Director of multiple labs/centers, including ADDReB

• Honors: Multiple Stanford SPARK Awards; CVI Seed Grants; Young Scientist Award (CSIR, India); TANSA Award (Gov. of Tamil Nadu)

Selected Impact & Highlights

• High-throughput Lyme screening identifying candidates against drug-tolerant Borrelia

• Azlocillin (preclinical): eliminated Borrelia in mice and showed activity against tolerant forms in vitro

• Disulfiram: repurposing work contributing to broader scientific dialogue and patient interest

• Drug delivery platforms with potential to cross barriers and target difficult tissues

• Amyloid/tau insights that may inform the biology of infection-associated cognitive symptoms

Teaching & Mentorship

• Courses include Drug Development: Regulation, Benefit/Risk & Commercialization (MED 227)

• Mentors trainees across medicine, engineering, and translational science

Q&A Highlights

What problem is his lab trying to solve for Lyme patients?
Persistent symptoms after antibiotics—by targeting drug-tolerant bacteria, improving delivery to hidden sites, and exploring inflammation/repair.

What’s exciting right now?
Repurposed candidates like azlocillin (preclinical) and new delivery systems designed to reach where standard antibiotics struggle.

How could this help with brain fog and fatigue?
By studying amyloid/tau and inflammation, the lab seeks to connect infection biology to cognitive symptoms—and eventually inform targeted therapies.

Does his work consider co-infections (Babesia, Bartonella, etc.)?
The same screening and delivery strategies can be extended to co-infections, aiming for combinational or tailored therapies down the line.