The ISNV is honored to have Dr. Carol Glaser present the
2012 Neurological Infections Lecture at the 11th
International Symposium on NeuroVirology. Dr. Glaser
received her undergraduate degree, followed by a Doctor of
Veterinary Medicine and a Master’s degree in Preventive
Veterinary Medicine from the University of California Davis.
She went on to obtain an M.D. from Tulane University School
of Medicine, and completed a residency in pediatrics and a
fellowship in pediatric infectious disease at the University of
California San Francisco (UCSF). During residency at UCSF,
she trained in epidemiology through the Center for AIDS
Prevention Studies. Dr. Glaser was appointed as the Chief of
Sexually Transmitted Disease Control Branch at the California
Department of Public Health. She later accepted an
appointment as the Medical Officer, and then, Chief of the Viral
and Rickettsial Disease Laboratory Branch in the California
Department of Public Health. She is currently Chief of the
Encephalitis and Special Investigations Section for the
California Department of Public Health, where she works with
county health departments and physicians throughout
California to identify illnesses of unknown etiology.
Dr. Glaser offers a unique prospective on neurovirology,
having both a veterinary and medical background and she
brings this expertise to the California Encephalitis Project
(CEP), where she has served as director since its inception in 1998. The CEP was initiated to investigate and
characterize etiologic agents and the epidemiologic
features of encephalitis. The CEP examines
infectious viral groups including herpesviruses,
enteroviruses, and arboviruses. Non-viral etiologies
such as amoeba, rickettsia and mycoplasma also fall
within the CEP’s scope of investigation. Testing for
infectious agents was coordinated by the Centers for
Disease Control and incorporated many other
laboratories throughout the world to identify and
characterize pathogens. Under the direction of Dr.
Glaser, over 6000 cases have been referred to the
CEP, and although the etiology of many cases remain
unexplained, several important findings regarding
encephalitis have emerged. Limitations of molecular
testing for encephalitis, and the relative importance of
enteroviruses, varicella and Balamuthia mandrillis
have been identified, as well. Dr. Glaser and the CEP
have worked closely with pathogen discovery experts
to identify potential novel infectious agents with the
relative importance of non-infectious etiologies being
realized, as well. For example, a recent publication
identified autoimmune NMDAR encephalitis as the
leading cause of encephalitis in individuals younger
than 30 years of age within the CEP cohort (Clinical
Infectious Diseases, 54:899-904, 2012), adding it to
the viral etiologies including enterovirus, herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), varicella-zoster virus
(VZV), and West Nile virus (WNV). Dr. Glaser works
closely with Dr. Josep Dalmau to identify other novel
auto-antibodies, particularly those that mimic an
infectious etiology. Finally, the CEP has characterized
this heterogeneity disorder into ‘clinical profiles’, which
helps to identify potential risk factors as well as clues
to etiologies. In addition, about two years ago, Dr.
Glaser with several other interested parties, initiated
the International Encephalitis Consortium with
collaborators throughout the country as well as several
international collaborators. The purpose of the
consortium is to advance knowledge of causes,
diagnostic strategies, treatment and outcome of
encephalitis, and implement actionable clinical and
public health interventions based upon this knowledge.
Dr. Glaser is an Associate Clinical Professor of
Pediatrics Infectious Diseases at the UCSF, where she
received the UCSF House Staff Teaching Award for
excellent training of physicians. Dr. Glaser is the
recipient of multiple Superior Accomplishment Awards
from the California Department of Public health and
numerous awards for excellence in the study of
Infectious Diseases. The ISNV congratulates Dr.
Glaser on her contributions in identifying and
combating pathogenic agents that impact significantly
on numerous aspects of public health.
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