Research Projects

The RU TBRU program is composed of 4 research projects:

Project 1 – Biomarkers to stratify risk of progression from latent TB infection to disease

Project 2 – Validation and application of a model of human TB-like latency in rabbits

Project 4 – Bacterial mechanisms and host pharmacokinetic factors that determine
persistence in paucibacillary TB

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Interactions and Synergism Between Projects

Latency and persistence of Mtb infection both depend on bacterial and host-associated factors that are not fully understood and the mechanisms leading to these two outcomes may or may not share common pathways. By studying the two states and using cross-validation in two different models (human and rabbit), we propose an integrative investigation of how latency and persistence occur and correlate, the factors that drive progression from Mtb infection to disease, the biomarkers that can help predict cure or relapse, and the factors that can prevent persistence and establish effective cure.

A Schematic Overview

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Clinical Sites

The Núcleo de Doenças Infecciosas (NDI) in Vitória, Brazilwas created in 1990 as a branch of the Social Medicine and Epidemiology Department at the Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo (UFES). It is located within UFES University’s Health Sciences campus, near the 300-bed affiliated teaching Hospital (Hospital Universitário Cassiano Antonio de Moraes – HUCAM). The NDI has a strong clinical research infrastructure that includes state-of-the-art mycobacteriology and immunology laboratories adhering to international standards of good laboratory practice.

The Clinical Infectious Diseases Research Initiative (CIDRI) at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in Cape Town, South Africa, was established by a Wellcome Trust strategic award and works in partnership with UCT’s Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Research. The clinical research facilities are in Khayelitsha township at two sites that are five minutes’ drive apart: 1) Khayelitsha site B Ubuntu HIV-TB clinic, and 2) Khayelitsha Hospital (KH). These are augmented by clinical facilities at Tygerberg hospital, approximately 25 minutes’ drive from Khayelitsha. Site staff are experienced in participant recruitment and equipped to conduct the necessary clinical tests and sample collection for studies. The clinical facilities are complemented by established laboratory and administrative infrastructure at the UCT Faculty of Health Sciences campus.

tbru map

Geographic location of the TBRU home institutions in the US (Boston Medical Center, Boston University, and New Jersey Medical School at Rutgers University) and their international collaborations and clinical sites at Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitória, Brazil, and the Clinical Infectious Diseases Research Initiative (CIDRI), Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, South Africa.