The connection between autoimmune dysfunction and psychiatric illnesses has been investigated for many years. Recently, studies have shown that in some cases, there may be a biological basis for certain neuropsychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia and chronic depression. Other studies have found that infection-triggered autoimmune disorders may be the root cause of numerous neuropsychiatric symptoms.
The Cunningham PanelTM, developed and offered exclusively through Moleculera Labs, is the first test of its kind in the world. The Panel is one, out of several to be introduced, which assists physicians in determining the likelihood that a patient’s neuropsychiatric symptoms are due to an infection-triggered autoimmune response, rather than a primary psychiatric disorder.
Neuropsychiatric
Disorders Overview
The connection between autoimmune dysfunction and psychiatric illnesses has been investigated for many years. Recently, studies have shown that in some cases, there may be a biological basis for certain neuropsychiatric disorders.
In a subset of individuals, the immune system produces autoantibodies, intended to fight an infection but instead attack healthy tissue in the brain, resulting in the neurologic and/or psychiatric behaviors.
Molecular mimicry plays an important role in immune responses to infection and in autoimmune diseases. It occurs when our immune system mistakenly attacks normal body tissues.
The number of children and adolescents impacted by chronic and complex neuropsychiatric conditions has skyrocketed. Movement, behavioral, developmental and neuropsychiatric disorders affect millions worldwide.
Our goal is to develop additional testing panels that would identify if patients suffering from other neuropsychiatric conditions may be responsive to autoimmune therapy rather than treatment with neuropsychiatric drugs.
All too often, children with PANS and PANDAS are misdiagnosed as having a psychiatric illness. Unfortunately, for PANS and PANDAS patients this does not address the root cause of the symptoms, which is an infection-triggered autoimmune condition.
Moleculera Labs has designed brochures for both physicians and parents to assist in making a Neuropsychiatric Disorder diagnosis or a PANS/PANDAS diagnosis as well as a brochure answering frequently asked questions about insurance coverage for The Cunningham Panel™. To download these brochures, please click on the brochure you are interested in below.
Dr. B. Robert Mozayeni was trained in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology at Yale and at NIH. He has had pre- and post-doctoral Fellowships in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale, and also at NIH where he was a Howard Hughes Research Scholar at LMB/DCBD/NCI and later, Senior Staff Fellow at LMMB/NHLBI/NIH. Editorial board of Infectious Diseases – Surveillance, Prevention and Treatment. Past President of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS).
He is an expert in Translational Medicine, the science and art of advancing medical science safely and efficiently. He is a Fellow of the non-profit Think Lead Innovate Foundation and is a co-founder of the Foundation for the Study of Inflammatory Diseases. He is a Founder of the Foundation for the Study of Inflammatory Diseases to crowd-source medical solutions for complex conditions using existing knowledge, diagnostic methods, and therapies to meet patient needs immediately. He is the Chief Medical Officer of Galaxy Diagnostics, LLC. He is a Board member of the Human-Kind Alliance. Dr. Mozayeni has held admitting privileges (since 1994) on the clinical staff of Suburban Hospital, a member of Johns Hopkins Medicine and an affiliate of the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center.
Safedin Sajo Beqaj, PhD, HCLD, CC (ABB)
Moleculera Labs, Clinical Laboratory Advisor
Medical Database, Inc., President and CEO
Dr. Sajo Beqaj is board certified in molecular pathology and genetics and licensed as a Bioanalyst and High Complexity Laboratory Director. He has been practicing as a laboratory director since 2005.
Dr. Beqaj served as a technical director and was part of the initial management team for several well-known laboratories in the clinical lab industry including PathGroup, Nashville, TN; DCL Medical Laboratories, Indianapolis, IN, and Pathology, Inc, Torrance, CA. He is currently serving as off-side CLIA laboratory director for BioCorp Clinical Laboratory, Whittier, CA and Health360 Labs, Garden Grove, CA.
Dr. Beqaj received his Ph.D. in Pathology from Wayne State University Medical School, Detroit, Michigan. He performed his post-doctoral fellowship at Abbott Laboratories from 2001-2003 and with Children’s Hospital and Northwestern University from 2003-2005.
Dr. Beqaj has taught in several academic institutions and has published numerous medical textbook chapters and journal articles. He has served as a principal investigator in clinical trials for several well-known pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies such as Roche HPV Athena, Merck HPV vaccine, BD vaginitis panel, Roche (Vantana) CINtec® Histology clinical trials, and has presented various scientific clinical abstracts and presentations.
He is a member of several medical and scientific associations including the Association of Molecular Pathology, American Association of Clinical Chemistry and the Pan Am Society for Clinical Virology. He has served on a number of clinical laboratory regulatory and scientific committees, and has assisted several laboratories and physicians as a Clinical Laboratory Consultant.
Rodney Cotton, MBA
Moleculera Labs Board Member
Rodney Cotton, MBA is an entrepreneurial thought leader in the pharmaceutical/biotech industry who is known for his holistic perspective, bias for action in the face of challenges, and commitment to agile processes.
Rod is an independent director for Orchard Software, a private equity-backed health technology company owned by Francisco Partners; an advisory board member to Flo2 Ventures, a venture capital-backed healthcare and health equity accelerator; and a member of the board of directors and three board committees (Audit, Compliance & Finance; Governance & Equity; and Quality of Care) for Community Health Network.
He built a successful career at Roche spanning more than two decades and culminating in the role of SVP, Head of Strategy & Transformation, and Chief of Staff to the CEO for Roche Diagnostics, the North American headquarters of the world’s largest ($17B) diagnostics company.
While at Roche, Rod led key enterprise initiatives, such as milestone corporate communications, health equity coalitions, the US/Roche Group audit, and global/US acquisition integrations. With 40+ years of experience, he drove the financial turnaround and cultural transformation of four global healthcare companies, led teams of up to 280 total reports, managed P&L of more than $1 billion, and served as a key member of the senior leadership team executing the most significant restructuring of the company in two decades.
In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rod and his team at Roche accelerated six ground breaking products in 11 months, including the first launch of the market’s most accurate and in demand molecular diagnostic test. He also solved extraordinary challenges of product scarcity, supply chain, product allocation, and logistics to achieve accelerated global sourcing and self manufacturing in line with testing guidelines.
A frequent public speaker on health equity and other topics, Rod was named one of the Most Influential Black Executives in Corporate America by Savoy Magazine and one of the Top Blacks in Healthcare by BlackDoctor.org. He also received The Sagamore of the Wabash Award, one of the highest Indiana State honors, bestowed by Indiana Governor Eric J. Holcomb.
Rod holds an M.B.A. from California State University, Dominguez Hills, an M.S. in Strategic Management from the University of Southern California, and a B.A. in Biological Sciences & Technology from the University of California at Santa Barbara.
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