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VTC Hosts LTBI R01 Meeting

staatsc — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 19:59:50 +0000

VTC Hosts LTBI R01 Meeting staatsc Fri, 03/29/2024 - 14:59 RSS:

The Vanderbilt Tuberculosis Center recently hosted a meeting of researchers involved in our LTBI R01 project “Immunogenetic predictors of active and incipient TB in HIV-negative and -positive close TB contacts” (NIH R01AI147765). The event, which took place between March 21st and 22nd, and included presentations about ongoing research and data findings, working group sessions, and breakout meetings.

We were joined in Nashville by many of our international collaborators, including from the Instituto Brasileiro para Investigação da Tuberculose (IBIT) and FIOCRUZ Bahia, the University of Washington, and the University of Cape Town.

It a was productive week, with discussion focused around accomplishing project goals and timelines.

“Vanderbilt TB Center faculty, staff, and external collaborators meeting on March 21 to discuss ongoing TB projects and working to #EndTB”

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LTBI, Meetings and Events

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RePORT-Brazil Investigators at CROI 2024

staatsc — Tue, 05 Mar 2024 17:53:50 +0000

RePORT-Brazil Investigators at CROI 2024 staatsc Tue, 03/05/2024 - 11:53 RSS:

The 2024 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Denver was attended by investigators from RePORT-Brazil, including presentations on recent findings and articles.

Poster Presentations:

Dr. Gustavo Amorim, PhD - "Estimating Optimal Anti-TB Drug Concentrations in a Prospective, Observational Cohort in Brazil"

Dr. Felipe Ridolfi, PhD, MD - “Pharmacogenetic Associations With HIV-1 Virologic Suppression Among Patients with TB/HIV in Brazil”

Dr. Maria Arriaga, PhD - "Effect of Smoking on Longitudinal Interferon-ϒ Release Assay Results Among Tuberculosis Contacts"

Check out highlights and photos from the event at https://twitter.com/VUMC_TBCenter

Tags

Meetings and Events, Conference, TB

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RePORT-Brazil in the Spotlight - CID Article

staatsc — Fri, 02 Feb 2024 23:06:10 +0000

RePORT-Brazil in the Spotlight - CID Article staatsc Fri, 02/02/2024 - 17:06 RSS:

A recently publication in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases is catching attention. The Xpert® MTB/RIF cycle threshold value predicts M. tuberculosis transmission to close contacts in a Brazilian prospective multicenter cohort was published by the RePORT-Brazil consortium, with authorship being led by the team at the Fundação de Medicina Tropical in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil.

Below you will find an excerpt from an interview with Dr. Marcelo Cordeiro-Santos MD, PhD, Principal Investigator at the Fundação de Medicina Tropical.

Q: Dr. Cordeiro-Santos, can you tell us more about the purpose of the research?

A: The study aimed to determine whether the cycle threshold (Ct) values obtained from the Xpert® MTB/RIF test in pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) patients could be used to predict the risk of transmitting Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) to close contacts. This is important because understanding factors that influence TB transmission can aid in developing more effective infection control strategies. The study was carried out because there was no prior evidence that the Ct result could predict transmission, despite Xpert being recommended as the TB diagnostic test of choice by the WHO.

Q: What are some of the article's key findings and what is their importance in TB transmission?

A: The research found that lower Ct values in pulmonary TB patients were associated with a higher likelihood of TB infection in their close contacts, as indicated by baseline positivity and conversion of QuantiFERON (QFT)-Plus test results from negative to positive. This is significant because it suggests that Ct values could be a valuable marker for assessing the risk of TB transmission. Such information can be crucial in managing TB cases and preventing the spread of the disease, especially in high-risk settings.

Q: Based on this research, what are some of the future directions that can be explored?

A: Based on these findings, future research could explore the development of more targeted infection control measures that consider the Ct values of TB patients. This might include adjusting isolation protocols or monitoring strategies for contacts of patients with low Ct values. Additionally, further studies could investigate the biological mechanisms behind the observed association between Ct values and transmission risk, potentially leading to new therapeutic or preventive strategies against TB.

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TB, Publications

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TBTC Launches CRUSH-TB trial

staatsc — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 16:57:58 +0000

TBTC Launches CRUSH-TB trial staatsc Mon, 01/29/2024 - 10:57 RSS:

CDC’s Tuberculosis Trials Consortium (TBTC) has recently launched the CRUSH-TB trial, which aims to identify new combinations of drugs to shorten treatment of active TB disease. Kelly Dooley, MD, PhD, MPH, Director, Division of Infectious Diseases, is a Protocol Chair for this new study.

Read more from CDC’s TB Notes newsletter:

https://www.cdc.gov/tb/publications/newsletters/notes/tbn_23/tbnotes-4.htm

“CDC’s TBTC launched an international clinical trial, Combination Regimens for Shortening Tuberculosis Treatment, or CRUSH-TB, to identify new combinations of drugs to shorten treatment of TB disease. These new regimens may improve drug tolerability and minimize drug interactions, giving healthcare providers more options to treat TB disease and completion of treatment. The trial compares the effectiveness and safety of 4-month bedaquiline, moxifloxacin, and pyrazinamide-based regimens to the standard of care 6-month regimen among patients with drug-susceptible pulmonary TB disease.

CRUSH-TB aims to enroll at least 288 participants from international TBTC sites over the next year. The study will randomly assign participants into one of three different study groups. The participants will know which TB treatment regimen they receive. The adaptive study design allows the researchers to add study groups to the trial to assess new TB treatment regimens. The trial will include a diverse group of participants including, children 12 years of age or older and people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

CDC’s cutting-edge research uses domestic experiences to strengthen global TB elimination efforts and inform new treatment guidelines and recommendations. For CRUSH-TB, TBTC builds on the success of an international phase 3 clinical trial conducted with the National Institutes of Health-sponsored AIDS Clinical Trials Group. The results from that trial informed interim guidance for a 4-month treatment regimen to treat drug-susceptible pulmonary TB disease.”

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CDC, TB Trials Consortium, Clinical Trial

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Felipe Ridolfi, MD, PhD, completes year at VUMC

staatsc — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 20:35:05 +0000

Felipe Ridolfi, MD, PhD, completes year at VUMC staatsc Wed, 11/01/2023 - 15:35 RSS:

Felipe Ridolfi, MD, MSc, recently completed his Ph.D. sandwich program at VUMC, where he was hosted by the TB Center. Here a few highlights of his time with us.

In February, Felipe presented a poster titled: Adverse drug reactions to tuberculosis treatment in Brazil: a prediction model at the 2023 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI). He also received scholarship endorsement from CROI which provided support for his attendance and invitation only breakout meetings experts. His most recent work has also been accepted for the CROI 2024 conference this upcoming February.

Earlier this month, Felipe served as panelist for the symposia on Improving treatment for persons with tuberculosis and substance use, at The Union, 2023 World Conference on Lung Health. The meeting, held in Paris this year, provided Felipe with the opportunity to discuss his work published in the journal CID: Tuberculosis Treatment Outcomes in Brazil: Different Predictors for Each Type of Unsuccessful Outcome.

Upon his return to Brazil, Felipe defended his dissertation on October 20th, and was subsequently awarded the title of Ph.D. We look forward to his future accomplishments.

Tags

Education and Training, Fellowship

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VUMC investigators attend RePORT-International Annual Meeting in Goa, India

staatsc — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 17:40:15 +0000

VUMC investigators attend RePORT-International Annual Meeting in Goa, India staatsc Wed, 09/20/2023 - 12:40 RSS:

VUMC investigators and staff, Timothy Sterling, Yuri van der Heijden, Stephany Duda, Marina Figueiredo, Fernanda Mauri, Megan Turner, Maria Arriaga, and Austin Katona; attended the annual RePORT International meeting that was held in Goa, India September 6, 7 and 8, 2023.

The purpose of Regional Prospective Observational Research for Tuberculosis (RePORT) International is to advance regional tuberculosis (TB) science that is also relevant in a global context; strengthen TB research capacity and infrastructure in high TB burden settings; and serve as an entity to foster research collaboration within each country and internationally, with the aim of carrying out a wide range of basic and clinical research that can lead to clinically important TB biomarkers, vaccines, drugs, and diagnostics. Many of the RePORT consortia include explicit partnerships with U.S. TB scientists to facilitate capacity-building and cross-fertilization of ideas.

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RePORT-Brazil, VUMC, Meetings and Events

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TB Center welcomes 1st Cohort of RePORT-Brazil Advanced Career Training (ReACT) Fellows

staatsc — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 16:28:59 +0000

TB Center welcomes 1st Cohort of RePORT-Brazil Advanced Career Training (ReACT) Fellows staatsc Wed, 09/20/2023 - 11:28 RSS:

The Regional Prospective Observational Research in Tuberculosis - Brazil (RePORT-Brazil) network is pleased to announce its 1st Cohort of Fellows for the RePORT-Brazil Advanced Career Training (ReACT) program.

Strategic Aim 3 of the recently renewed RePORT-Brazil Phase 2 grant (NIH U01AI172064-01), focuses on the development of a fellowship program for the advancement of early-career Brazilian scientists. The program provides funding for pilot projects in TB research, mentorship, and access to data and specimens collected throughout Phase 1 of the project.

Applications for the next funding cycle open October 15th, with more information available at reportbrazil.org/fellowship-program

Tags

RePORT-Brazil, TB, Fellowship

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Aurum Leadership Visit VUMC

staatsc — Fri, 08 Sep 2023 16:19:45 +0000

Aurum Leadership Visit VUMC staatsc Fri, 09/08/2023 - 11:19 RSS:

Prof. Gavin Churchyard, CEO; Mr. Arshad Hassim, CFO; and Dr. Violet Chihota, Chief Specialist Scientist of the Aurum Institute, visited VUMC from August 21st to August 25th. Their visit strengthens the ongoing collaborative partnership between the two institutions, which is focused on research and global health. Included in the visit were a variety of strategic planning meetings, programmatic evaluations, and a presentation at ID Grand Rounds by Dr. Violet Chihota.

Aurum’s projects and programs cover a wide range of activities from programmatic implementation and technical assistance for HIV/AIDS and TB prevention, care and treatment services throughout the health system in South Africa, HIV prevention clinical research studies, TB and HIV vaccine studies, to large scale TB prevention programs. Aurum’s experience in TB case finding, and TB contact tracing is extensive, from implementation research to practical approaches embedded in public health programs.

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Meetings and Events, Visitors

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Dr. María Belen Arriaga Gutiérrez receives 2023 CAPES Thesis Award

staatsc — Fri, 08 Sep 2023 15:00:08 +0000

Dr. María Belen Arriaga Gutiérrez receives 2023 CAPES Thesis Award staatsc Fri, 09/08/2023 - 10:00 RSS:

Dr. María Belen Arriaga Gutiérrez, post-doctoral scholar at the Vanderbilt Tuberculosis Center, recently received commendations for her doctoral thesis "Clinical and Epidemiologic Determinants of Susceptibility to Infection by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and the Therapeutic Responses in Patients with Tuberculosis” from the Brazilian Department of Education and CAPES, Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education.

In the most competitive year to date, Dr. Arriaga’s work was chosen among 1,469 other works. During her doctoral studies, Maria produced 60 articles published to important scientific journals including Lancet America, Clinical Infectious Disease, International Infectious Disease, Oxford, Frontiers, PlosOne e Scientific Report. Developed from 14 articles, Dr. Arriaga’s thesis was presented on a variety of occasions, including at a scientific meeting with the National Institutes of Health. On August 15th, 2023, she received additional acknowledgement for her career trajectory from Federico Villarreal University (Lima, Peru), where she completed her undergraduate studies in Nursing.

Dr. Arriaga conducted her doctoral studies under the guidance of Dr. Bruno Andrade, Co-Principal Investigator of RePORT-Brazil.

RePORT-Brazil in the Spotlight - Discoveries in Medicine

staatsc — Fri, 28 Jul 2023 15:47:52 +0000

RePORT-Brazil in the Spotlight - Discoveries in Medicine staatsc Fri, 07/28/2023 - 10:47 RSS:

Published on July 12, 2023 in Discoveries in Medicine, Research into TB Expands Internationally, is based off of an interview with Timothy R. Sterling, M.D., professor of medicine and director of the Vanderbilt Tuberculosis Center, who serves as co-principal investigator for the Regional Prospective Observational Research in Tuberculosis (RePORT)-Brazil network. The article focuses on the top areas of concern, the role of the network in TB research, and a vision of the future for the field.

Here's an excerpt from the article:

Brazil became a focus for study when the World Health Organization identified the country’s caseload as high-burden.... “RePORT’s goal is to follow participants in a harmonized way in different countries so that we can evaluate what research findings are or are not generalizable,” Sterling said. “For example, if a biomarker identified in Brazil predicted patients who are likely to progress to TB, we would want to verify whether that applies as well in South Africa or China or India.”

You can read the full article here

Tags

RePORT-Brazil, TB, VUMC

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TB Center joins 3rd Iteration of RePORT-International Coordinating Center

staatsc — Mon, 19 Jun 2023 17:55:39 +0000

TB Center joins 3rd Iteration of RePORT-International Coordinating Center staatsc Mon, 06/19/2023 - 12:55 RSS:

The Vanderbilt TB Center is returning to the leadership team of the RePORT International Coordinating Center, for its 3rd iteration.

The National Institutes of Health has awarded a five-year, $19.5 million grant to Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, for support of Regional Prospective Observational Research in Tuberculosis International, or RePORT International. The grant follows the recently announced five-year, $5 million grant to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in support of RePORT Brazil, one of the international consortium’s six regional TB research programs.

The TB Center and RICC Scientific Review Committee is spearheaded by infectious diseases specialist Timothy Sterling, MD, holder of the David E. Rogers Professorship in the Department of Medicine and founding director of the Vanderbilt Tuberculosis Center. Other VUMC researchers involved in RePORT International, among them infectious diseases specialist Yuri van der Heijden, MD, MPH, assistant professor of Medicine, Gustavo Amorim, PhD, research assistant professor of Biostatistics, and Stephanie Duda, PhD, associate professor of Biomedical Informatics. Also contributing are Vanderbilt Tuberculosis Center data managers Megan Turner, MA and Austin Katona, MS, and program managers Cody Staats, MS, Marina Cruvinel Figueiredo, DVM, MS, Fernanda Maruri, MPH, and Hilary Vansell Riley, MMHC.

You can read more about this award in the VUMC Reporter

Tags

TB, RePORT-Brazil

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VTC Hosts TB/HIV R01 Meeting

staatsc — Mon, 08 May 2023 20:59:48 +0000

VTC Hosts TB/HIV R01 Meeting staatsc Mon, 05/08/2023 - 15:59 RSS:

Vanderbilt Tuberculosis Center recently hosted a meeting of researchers involved in our TB/HIV grant "Predictors of treatment toxicity, failure, and relapse in HIV-related tuberculosis" (NIH R01AI120790-04). The event, which took place on April 26th and 27th, included presentations on the results and findings of each working group, breakout sessions, and discussions on future steps to be taken and larger goals of the research.

We were pleased to welcome researchers from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sassetti Lab at the University of Massachusetts, and Fortune Lab at Harvard University. We are grateful for their insight and expertise, as collaborators and contributors to this grant and its scientific aims.

Tags

TB, HIV, Meetings and Events

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Eduardo Amaral, visits Vanderbilt TB Center and presents at VI4 Symposium

staatsc — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 22:00:54 +0000

Eduardo Amaral, visits Vanderbilt TB Center and presents at VI4 Symposium staatsc Mon, 04/17/2023 - 17:00 RSS:

Eduardo Amaral is a Research Fellow at NIAID in Alan Sher’s laboratory, and visited us April 12-14 to present at the VI4 Annual Symposium and meet with TB Center faculty members. He is from Brazil, and has worked with Bruno Andrade, who is an adjunct Vanderbilt faculty member and co-PI of RePORT-Brazil. Eduardo is a biomedical researcher with a focus on the fields of TB immunology, cell death modalities, and cellular metabolism. He has experience in animal model and in vitro approaches for studying the molecular mechanisms underlying innate and adaptive immune responses to M. tuberculosis and other mycobacteria.

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Meetings and Events, Visitors

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Successful Semi Annual Meeting of RePORT-Brazil

staatsc — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 21:02:05 +0000

Successful Semi Annual Meeting of RePORT-Brazil staatsc Mon, 10/31/2022 - 16:02 RSS:

The Regional Prospective Observational Research for Tuberculosis (RePORT) - Brazil Semi Annual Meeting was held October 17th through October 21st in Salvador, Bahia. Investigators and staff from throughout the network participated in a variety of workshops, presentations, and collaborative planning sessions, both in-person and from remote locations.

On Thursday the 20th, the team visited the José Silveira Foundation (Fundação José Silveira) and were given a tour of the biorepository, which serves as a hub for the whole network. It is these types of collaborative relationships that allow RePORT-Brazil to thrive, as it approaches its 10 Year anniversary.

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RePORT-Brazil, Meetings and Events, NIH

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VUMC lands Grant to build top-line Biosafety Facility

staatsc — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 18:47:44 +0000

VUMC lands Grant to build top-line Biosafety Facility staatsc Mon, 10/03/2022 - 13:47 RSS:

https://news.vumc.org/2022/09/29/vumc-lands-grant-to-build-top-line-biosafety-facility/

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has been awarded a nearly $8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to construct a state-of-the-art BioSafety Level 3 (BSL3) facility for research involving the COVID-19 virus, anthrax and other dangerous microorganisms. When the renovation of about 3,500 square feet of existing space is completed, the facility will include three BSL3 suites with separate entrances and seven procedure rooms capable of securely containing multiple organisms at the second-highest biosafety level.

“Development of MICRO is an important and exciting next step to support infectious disease research as an institutional strategic priority,” said Jennifer Pietenpol, PhD, VUMC’s Chief Scientific and Strategy Officer and holder of the Brock Family Directorship in Career Development.

“The new facility will significantly advance and expand our capacity for discovery in microbial pathogenesis, emerging agents and immunology,” Pietenpol said. “I thank Dr. Skaar for assembling such a qualified team to drive this project and bring new research capabilities to Vanderbilt.”

Crucial to the awarding of the highly competitive C06 grant (# C06OD034125) through the NIH Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (ORIP) was the support of the VUMC Office of Planning, Design, Construction, the Office of Clinical and Research Safety, the Office of Research and key VUMC faculty members.

Ready more about this grant and the BSL3 Lab on VUMC Reporter.

Tags

NIH, TB

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VUMC investigators attend RePORT-International Annual Meeting

staatsc — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 15:51:38 +0000

VUMC investigators attend RePORT-International Annual Meeting staatsc Thu, 09/15/2022 - 10:51 RSS:

VUMC investigators and staff, Timothy Sterling, Yuri van der Heijden, Stephany Duda, Marina Figueiredo, Fernanda Mauri, Megan Turner, and Austin Katona; attended the annual RePORT International meeting that was held in Cape Town, South Africa, September 7 and 8, 2022. The meeting included all seven regions of RePORT: Brazil, China, South Africa, South Korea, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines. It was a successful meeting full of presentations and collaborative discussions.

Tags

Meetings and Events, RePORT-Brazil, TB

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Leonardo Barreto's work in the Sterling Lab investigating MIC in Mtb isolates

staatsc — Wed, 31 Aug 2022 16:11:13 +0000

Leonardo Barreto's work in the Sterling Lab investigating MIC in Mtb isolates staatsc Wed, 08/31/2022 - 11:11 RSS:

Leonardo Barreto, Public Health Technologist at Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas – FIOCRUZ, has spent the last 6 months in the Sterling Lab evaluating subtle changes in drug resistance (Minimum Inhibitory Concentration - MIC) in M. tuberculosis isolates from study participants from the NIH-funded project “Predictors of treatment toxicity, failure, and relapse in HIV-related tuberculosis” (R01AI120790).

His work in the BSL3 lab with 175 M. tuberculosis isolates, has opened doors to a variety of collaborative opportunities. In early August, Leo visited the Sarah Fortune Lab at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where together with the Christopher Sassetti Lab at UMass’s Chan Medical School, work is underway to interpret changes in MIC in the context of the underlying whole genome sequencing, based on his work.

We look forward to Leo’s continued efforts in public health research and wish him the best as he returns home to Brazil.

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Welcome Kelly Dooley, MD, PhD, MPH as the new Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases!

staatsc — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 17:38:22 +0000

Welcome Kelly Dooley, MD, PhD, MPH as the new Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases! staatsc Thu, 06/30/2022 - 12:38 RSS:

The Vanderbilt TB Center is excited to welcome Kelly Dooley to VUMC!

Kelly Dooley, MD, PhD, MPH, has been appointed Addison B. Scoville Jr. Professor of Medicine and director of the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Department of Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, effective Sept. 12.

Dooley comes to Vanderbilt from The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, where she is professor of Medicine, and Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences. Her contributions to science are in the areas of tuberculosis therapeutics, clinical pharmacology of anti-infectives, HIV-tuberculosis co-treatment, and evaluation of HIV and TB drugs in special populations, like children and pregnant women. She has been a lead investigator for trials of treatments for drug-sensitive and drug-resistant TB, pediatric TB meningitis, HIV-associated TB, and TB prevention.

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Nancy Séraphin, MPH, PhD visits Vanderbilt TB Center

staatsc — Tue, 28 Jun 2022 19:05:43 +0000

Nancy Séraphin, MPH, PhD visits Vanderbilt TB Center staatsc Tue, 06/28/2022 - 14:05 RSS:

Nancy Séraphin, MPH, PhD, Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Medicine (IDGM), and the Emerging Pathogens Institute (EPI) at the University of Florida visited VUMC between June 13th-15th. Her visit was highlighted by meetings with the TB Center team, collaborative discussions with researchers at VUMC, and the presentation of a guest lecture entitled: "The public health importance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis intra-host genetic variability”.

The visit was supported through the K01 “Linking within- and between-host dynamics in tracking recent Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission”

More info here: https://reporter.nih.gov/search/zqZLADi7fkOBvMqiWI6iKg/project-details/…

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Visitors, Meetings and Events

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Vanderbilt TB Center wins Joe B. Ware Partner Service Award

staatsc — Mon, 20 Jun 2022 14:30:30 +0000

Vanderbilt TB Center wins Joe B. Ware Partner Service Award staatsc Mon, 06/20/2022 - 09:30 RSS:

During the 2022 Annual Conference of the National Tuberculosis Controllers Association, The Vanderbilt TB Center was awarded the Joe B. Ware Partner Service Award.

The award “recognizes an organization that has made a significant effort and/or contribution to the mission of TB control and prevention through partnership activities with public health TB programs.”

Jason Cummins, Director of the TB Elimination Program for the Tennessee Department of Health nominated the Center. “The Center’s research and influence reaches institutions both domestically and internationally.” He continues. “The Center and Dr. Sterling have been active in the TB Trials Consortium. On a local and state level, Dr. Sterling and others in the Center provide consultation and direct patient care to clients at the Metro Nashville Public Health Department TB Clinic.”

The TB Center is grateful for this recognition and for the incredible network of dedicated individuals who make this work possible.

Tags

STOP TB, Metro Nashville Public Health

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