Event Category: Weekly Meeting

TRAC Seminar Series

Bill jacobs

William R. Jacobs Jr. Ph.D., a Member of the National Academy of Sciences and Professor of Microbiology and Immunology and Genetics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, has dedicated his life to the study of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and M. leprae¸ the causative agents of tuberculosis (TB) and leprosy, respectively. Using a novel mycobacteriophage vector, termed a shuttle phasmid, he was the first to introduce foreign DNA into mycobacteria in 1987. Shuttle phasmids enabled the development of: 1) the first mycobacterial plasmid transformation system, 2) the efficient transposon mutagenesis, and 3) specialized transduction-an efficient allelic system that enables the generation of a complete set of precise null deletions of M. tuberculosis. Moreover, shuttle phasmids enabled the development of reporter mycobacteria phages to rapidly assess drug susceptibilities of M. tuberculosis strains. The Jacobs’ lab used newly developed genetics to identify the previously unknown target of isoniazid-the cornerstone of TB treatment, analyzed the primary attenuation of the vaccine strain BCG, and engineered M. tuberculosis-based TB vaccine strains.

Dr. Jacobs is also one of two leading investigators engaged in the KwaZulu-Natal Research Institute for Tuberculosis and HIV, a partnership aimed at controlling the dual epidemic of HIV/TB that is particularly prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa. He is currently developing rapid diagnostic tests for XDR and MDR-TB using GFP- reporter phages. His work has shifted to focus on persistence in MTB- one aspect that can be considered the greatest impediment to the eradication of TB infection.

Join via Zoom:

Topic: TRAC Seminar Series

Time: Every week on Wednesday at 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting ​

https://jhjhm.zoom.us/j/94704979755?pwd=YpHbpfn2jpsUhPl2DVXtYsehDQSrMP.1

Meeting ID: 947 0497 9755

Passcode: 179967

In-Person Meeting – CRB-2 1M-13

TRAC Seminar Series

Bavesh

Professor Bavesh Kana is Full Professor and Head of the School of Pathology at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, where he also Directs a Research and Innovation Unit. He serves on South Africa’s National Advisory Council on Innovation, by invitation of the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, and has represented his country on the BRICS TB Research Network, championing science diplomacy across Africa and globally. His research spans drug and vaccine discovery, including identification of novel targets through mycobacterial cell division and peptidoglycan remodelling. His clinical work encompasses detection of non-culturable tubercle bacteria as markers of treatment response and transmission risk, and also includes development of tongue swabs and oral rinses for TB diagnosis. He is a prolific innovator, translating his science directly into healthcare impact. Using the principles of biomimicry, his team engineered safe, non-infectious diagnostic controls now deployed in over 80 countries for instrument verification and quality assurance. This work has underpinned the spin-out company SmartSpot Quality, in addition to earning WHO and CDC endorsement. Professor Kana is a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa and recipient of the SAMRC Gold Scientific Achievement Award. He holds the National Research Foundation Societal Impact Award, conferred only once ever in South Africa to a scientist whose work has meaningfully transformed the lives of patients and communities.

Join via Zoom:

Topic: TRAC Seminar Series

Time: Every week on Wednesday at 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting ​

https://jhjhm.zoom.us/j/94704979755?pwd=YpHbpfn2jpsUhPl2DVXtYsehDQSrMP.1

Meeting ID: 947 0497 9755

Passcode: 179967

TRAC Seminar Series

olivia kates headshot

Dr. Olivia Kates, MD, MA is Assistant Professor of Medicine and Bioethics at Johns Hopkins, Associate Director for Ethics and Qualitative Research at the Johns Hopkins Transplant Research Center, and Editor of the recurring series Ethics Rounds in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. She sees patients with infectious complications of immunosuppression from transplantation and studies a wide range of ethical issues in infectious diseases and transplantation, including public health ethics related to TB isolation.

Join via Zoom: Updated link will require Passcode
https://jhjhm.zoom.us/j/94704979755
Meeting ID: 947 0497 9755
Passcode: 179967

TRAC Seminar Series

null

Title: High-dose rifampicin for tuberculous meningitis: the HARVEST multi-country randomized clinical trial

Reinout van Crevel, is an ID physician and professor at Radboudumc, the Netherlands and Queen Mary University London who collaborated for >25 years with Indonesian universities. One of his main research interests is TB meningitis, linking clinical studies and laboratory sciences. Among other things he has pioneered work on intensified antibiotic treatment for TB meningitis in Indonesia which culminated in HARVEST phase III RCT on high-dose rifampicin, published in NEJM last year.

Join via Zoom: Updated link will require Passcode
https://jhjhm.zoom.us/j/94704979755
Meeting ID: 947 0497 9755
Passcode: 179967

TRAC Seminar Series

Dr.  Samuel Starke

TB Preventive Therapy in a High Migration Setting: Early Experience with 1HP in Suburban Cook County, Illinois

Hybrid:   Carnegie | Zoom

Samuel Starke, MD, is a second-year Infectious Diseases fellow in the Rush University–Cook County Health combined program and an alumnus of the Osler Medical Residency. His longstanding research interests include population TB control and prevention, with prior collaborations with the Zero TB in Tibetans campaign and the Perinatal HIV Research Unit in South Africa, as well as domestic work with the Chicago and Cook County Health Department TB programs. He will join the Rush University Division of Infectious Diseases as an Assistant Professor in July 2026 and serve as the ID liaison to the Cook County Chest Clinic.

 

Join via Zoom: Updated link will require Passcode
https://jhjhm.zoom.us/j/94704979755
Meeting ID: 947 0497 9755
Passcode: 179967

TRAC Seminar Series – Special Event!

SPECIAL JHU TRAC EVENT – MONDAY MARCH 2, 2026

12- 1PM EST: Erlina Burhan, MD, MSc. Ph.D

Professor of Respiratory Medicine

Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia (FMUI) –

Persahabatan National Respiratory Referral Hospital Jakarta

Infectious Disease and Immunology Research Cluster IMERI FMUI

 

Presentation: Closing the TB Elimination Gap in Indonesia: Landscape of Research, Programmatic Implementation, and Stakeholder Partnerships

Mar 2, 2026 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting https://jhjhm.zoom.us/j/96119096033

Meeting ID: 961 1909 6033

_______________________________________________________________________

Continue reading “TRAC Seminar Series – Special Event!”