Natasha S. Hochberg, MD, MPH

Biography

Natasha Hochberg, MD, MPH is Volunteer Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine (Section of Infectious Diseases) at the Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine. She sees travelers and patients with tropical diseases in the Center for a infectious Diseases, with a particular focus on Chagas disease and other parasitic infections. Dr. Hochberg previously worked full-time at BU/BMC, but now her primary position is Director, Global Health Translational Medicine at Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research.

Prior to her arrival at Boston University, Dr. Hochberg was an Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) officer at the Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC) in the Division of Parasitic Diseases and worked internationally on projects related to malaria, visceral leishmaniasis, guinea worm disease, and lymphatic filariasis.

Dr. Hochberg's research focuses on tropical diseases. Particularly, she has studied the impact of malnutrition and parasitic disease on tuberculosis (TB), tropical diseases in immigrant populations, and preventing diseases in international travelers. She was the principal investigator of the TB LION study (Learning the Impact Of Nutrition) in Pondicherry India. This study of household contacts of TB cases evaluates the impact of malnutrition and parasite infections on the immune response to TB and how this changes after providing a high-protein food package, multivitamin, and deworming. She was also site principal investigator of the the US-Indo RePORT study in Pondicherry, India, a cohort of 1100 TB patients and 1500 of their household contacts. The study aimed to identify biomarkers that predict TB treatment failure and risk of developing TB (among exposed persons) and to identify how comorbidities (e.g., diabetes, helminth infections) modulate these profiles and risks. She was co-investigator of an R01 studying TB in pregnancy in IndiA and the recipient of a K-12 BIRCWH award to study the effect of aging on the immune response to latent TB infection in Boston-area nursing home residents.

Previously, she was the co-director of the travel clinic at Boston Medical Center (BMC) and Dire tor of Tropical Medicine. She served as the co-site director for GeoSentinel, an international surveillance system of diseases in travelers and migrants, and participated in studies related to tropical medicine and travelers health. At a national level, she is part of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene where she serves as President for the Clinical Group, and previously served as a member of the Scientific Program Committee, a clinical group councilor, and as the Chair for the Subcommittee on Pneumonia, Respiratory Infections and TB.

Dr. Hochberg taught courses at BU School of Public Health on Infectious Disease Epidemiology (EP755) and Outbreak Investigations (EP800).