We are delighted to announce our 2024 TRAC Developmental Awardees!
Theodoros Karantanos, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Oncology, SOM
Project Title: Investigating the role of CCRL2 as an adjunctive host-directed therapeutic target in TB
Parastu Kasaie, PhD
Associate Scientist, Epidemiology, BSPH
Project Title: Characterizing the impact and strategies to optimize the effectiveness of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis preventive therapy among household contacts: a case study from Vietnam
Elizabeth Tucker, MD
Assistant Professor, Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, SOM
Project Title: Brain-derived Extracellular Vesicles’ Participation in Tuberculous Meningitis Pathogenesis
Evan Shirey, MD
Postdoctoral Fellow, Pediatrics, SOM
Project Title: Evaluation of Risk Factors for Tuberculosis Infection Among Household Child and Adolescent Contacts in South Africa
Clinical Infectious Diseases and The Journal of Infectious Diseases have partnered to jointly publish a new article series on TB isolation. This collection was developed in response to new guidelines from the National Tuberculosis Coalition of America on the isolation of TB patients in community settings. Articles include clinical guidelines for the use of isolation in TB management, reviews of the history of isolation as a public health intervention and of the determinants of TB infectiousness, and a commentary on an ethics-informed public health guideline framework.
Read the collection here.
We are delighted to announce our 2023 TRAC Developmental Awardees!
Anne Hamacher-Brady, PhD
Associate Scientist, Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, BSPH
Project Title: Deciphering Mitochondrial Responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection of Macrophages
Tess Ryckman, PhD
Instructor, Infectious Diseases, SOM
Project Title: Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Transmission Networks in Urban Uganda: Evidence from Spatial and Genomic Data
Manish Gupta, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Infectious Diseases, SOM
Project Title: Deciphering the hormonal and genetic mechanisms mediating sex differences in tuberculosis: using a sst1-susceptible ‘Four Core Genotype’ mouse model
Sadiya Parveen, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Infectious Diseases, SOM
Project Title: Characterization of immunometabolic drivers of tuberculosis infection
A trial of a new drug regimen to treat tuberculous meningitis (TBM) has started enrolling adults and adolescents in several countries where tuberculosis (TB) is prevalent. The Improved Management with Antimicrobial Agents Isoniazid Rifampicin Linezolid for TBM (IMAGINE-TBM) trial will compare a six-month regimen of four drugs with the nine-month, standard-of-care regimen for TBM. The study aims to generate evidence that could improve treatment for people with TBM. IMAGINE-TBM is sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, and implemented through the NIAID-funded Advancing Clinical Therapeutics Globally for HIV/AIDS and Other Infections (ACTG).
IMAGINE-TBM is being led by JHU Center for TB Research faculty member, Dr. Vidya Mave along with our research partners in India.
Learn more about this groundbreaking trial here.
Michelle Rudek, PharmD, PhD
The Johns Hopkins TRAC mourns the sudden death of our colleague and friend, Michelle Rudek, PharmD, PhD. Dr. Rudek served as Co-Director of our Pharmacology and Pharmacometrics Core and was a mentor to and collaborator of many. Dr. Rudek was Professor of Oncology and Medicine and Director of the Analytical Pharmacology Resource in the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center in addition to her leadership role in the TRAC. Her loss will be deeply felt by the students, trainees, and investigators for whom she was a source of wisdom, guidance, and cheerful collaboration. We extend our profound condolences to her husband Paul Renaut and daughter Kiran.
Information on Dr. Rudek’s memorial service can be found below.
https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/columbia-md/michelle-renaut-11532280
Findings from a Johns Hopkins Children’s Center study in animal models show that a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved antibiotic regimen for multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis (TB) may not work for TB meningitis. Studies in a small number of people also provide evidence that a new combination of drugs is needed to develop effective treatments for TB meningitis due to MDR strains.
We are delighted to announce our inaugural round of TRAC Developmental Awardees!
Subhra Chakraborty, PhD, MPH
Associate Scientist, International Health, BSPH
Project Title: Development of a novel diagnostic assay for pediatric tuberculosis
Styliani Karanika, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, SOM
Project Title: A therapeutic mRNA vaccine targeting Mycobacterium tuberculosis persisters
Eileen Scully, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Medicine, SOM
Project Title: Exploring host determinants of Mycobacterium tuberculosis control
Sourya Shrestha, PhD
Assistant Scientist, Epidemiology, BSPH
Project Title: Assessing the role of preventive therapy in advancing goals of TB Free Nepal
Jeffrey Tornheim, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics, SOM
Project Title: Determination of the mid-treatment molecular clock for multidrug resistant tuberculosis
October 27, 2022
Every year our Research in Action Awards brings together those who’ve supported TAG’s work over our three decades, to honor a group of researchers, activists, and leaders who are fighting with us to end HIV, HCV, and TB. Two of those honorees this year are longtime TAG allies Dr. Amita Gupta and Dr. Kelly Elise Dooley, both infectious disease specialists who have made significant contributions to TB and HIV research globally. Read Article
