Established in 2008 to honor Dr. George W. Comstock’s lifetime of work in public health and tuberculosis control, this annual lecture given by distinguished leaders addresses important public health issues in global tuberculosis control.

Neel R. Gandhi, MD

Professor of Epidemiology, Global Health and Infectious Diseases
Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health and Emory School of Medicine
Co-Director, Emory/Georgia TB Research Advancement Center (TRAC)

Neel R. Gandhi, M.D is an Infectious Disease Epidemiologist and Physician, and Professor of Epidemiology at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health. Dr. Gandhi’s research has focused on tuberculosis (TB) infection and disease in low- and middle-income countries since 1998. Since 2002, Dr Gandhi has maintained a study site in South Africa where he has conducted clinical research studies characterizing the transmission and epidemiology of TB and drug-resistant TB in a setting with a high prevalence of HIV co-infection. He has also engaged in translational studies examining immunologic and genetic factors that influence individual susceptibility to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, with study sites in Kenya, Ethiopia, Brazil, and India. Dr. Gandhi’s research group has conducted seminal studies demonstrating that transmission of drug-resistant TB strains is a dominant factor driving the rapid expansion of the epidemic. They have also shown that individuals co-infected with drug-resistant TB and HIV can be safely and successfully treated when TB medications and antiretroviral therapy are given concurrently. His group is now investigating transmission of TB through casual contact, resistance to bedaquiline and other new TB medicines, and genetic and immunologic factors associated with TB infection and disease.

The 15th Annual George W. Comstock Lecture will be part of the 2024 JHU World TB Day events.
Please RSVP here if you plan to attend in-person.

12pm ET, Feinstone Hall, BSPH: Lunch and live stream of the UCSF Center for Tuberculosis World TB Day Symposium Keynote Address by Ken Castro, MD, PhD | RSVP for lunch here. Register here to attend via Zoom

1:15pm ET, Sheldon Hall, BSPH: Inter-TRAC World TB Day ESI Collaboration Register here to attend via Zoom

2:30pm ET, Sheldon Hall, BSPH: 15th Annual George W. Comstock Lecture – Neel Gandhi, MD – Register to join by Zoom here.

3:30pm ET. Feinstone Hall, BSPH: World TB Day & Comstock Lecture Reception