Faculty

Through a combination of clinical and epidemiological data collection and mathematical modeling, my research seeks to better understand TB epidemics and identify opportunities for reducing the burden of TB disease. I am particularly interested in the dynamic course of undiagnosed TB and the potential of early TB detection to interrupt transmission.

Current field studies include a cluster-randomized implementation-effectiveness trial evaluating two strategies for mobile chest x-ray screening in rural Uganda (CHASE-TB); a prospective cohort study of individuals who tested “trace” positive by Xpert Ultra during community-based TB screening, with goals of characterizing prevalent and incident TB in this population, guiding their clinical management, and better understanding the course of early or mild TB disease (TURN-TB); a similar cohort of individuals who had trace Xpert Ultra results during routine TB diagnostic evaluation; and collaborative roles in several other studies of case-finding, transmission, and diagnostics, including the transmission-focused activities of the SMART4TB project. From a modeling standpoint, current projects focus on the early course of TB disease and the population-level impact of various novel diagnostic, treatment, and screening strategies.