Vanderbilt TB Center News

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. 

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.

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”.

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 May 31st and June 2nd, included presentations about ongoing research and initial data, working group sessions, and breakout meetings.

Al Leslie, Farina Karim and Lerato Ndlovu, from the Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI) visited VUMC between March 2nd and March 6th, 2020. The VTC partners with the Durban site (AHRI) of the RePORT-South Africa network.

Vanderbilt investigators and staff, Timothy Sterling, Marina Figueiredo, and Megan Turner, attended the 4th Annual RePORT International meeting that was held outside of Shanghai, China, September 12-14, 2018. The meeting included all six regions of RePORT: Brazil, China, South Africa, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

On Friday, April 27th the TB Center hosted the 2018 Symposium, "Cutting-Edge Translational Research in Tuberculosis". The symposium was attended by Vanderbilt faculty, staff, and students, as well as TN Department of Health and Metro Nashville Health Department members.
 
 We heard from a variety of speakers, who came from Nashville, Cincinnati, Seattle, and Brazil!
 
 Thomas Hawn, MD, PhD- "Macrophages and resistance to M.tuberculosis infection"

The Metro Nashville Public Health Department organized a wonderful event for World TB Day on Friday, March 23, 2018. The event featured talks on the history of TB in Nashville and current epidemiology, connecting health equity and TB, and how to better serve Nashville's refugee community. At the close of the event, a short film, "Tubercules!" was premiered, highlighting the Metro Nashville TB Clinic staff and their tireless efforts to end TB in Nashville.
 
 Thanks for hosting us and for a fun and informative day!

Heather Ewing, MA(c), MPH(c), presented her MPH thesis on Friday, March 2, titled "Knowledge of Tuberculosis is Associated with Greater Expression of Stigma in Brazil". This project stemmed from a Vanderbilt Trans-Institutional Program grant (TIPs), which focused on healthcare in Brazil.

On Monday, February 19, 2018, Paul Farmer, M.D., Ph.D., of Partners in Health (PIH), spent the day at Vanderbilt lecturing and meeting with faculty, staff and students. Members of the Division of Infectious Diseases were fortunate enough to meet with Dr. Farmer in a small group setting, discussing our current global projects as well as fellows and residents research. It was great to hear his perspectives on our ongoing work and inspiring to meet with such a leader in the field of global health.

Thanks to all who braved the cold temperatures to join our January TB Center Meeting on Wednesday, January 17th!

Charles L. Daley, MD, Chief of the Division of Mycobacterial and Respiratory Infections at National Jewish Health in Denver, CO, presented Medicine Grand Rounds today. His talk was sponsored by the M. Glenn Koenig, Visiting Professorship in Infectious Diseases, hosted by the Division of Infectious Disease. During his talk, "Nontuberculous Mycobacteria: What's in a name?", he described the many species of mycobacteria and how they affect disease progression.