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Significant gaps persist between the development of scientific innovations and equitable access to them. Recognizing that planning early in the development process offers key opportunities for shaping downstream access, Johns Hopkins University and Unitaid co-hosted a convening to explore academia and research institutions’ role in advancing access considerations early and systematically throughout the full continuum of research and development (R&D) to delivery.
Johns Hopkins University, with support from a Nexus Convening Award from the Office of the Provost, aimed to share and garner perspectives from across its public health, ethics, and medicine schools and institutes, and in particular the work of the SMART4TB Consortium. Unitaid’s partnership reflects its broader commitment to an end-to-end approach to accelerating equitable access to health innovations and to catalyzing and aligning other actors to strengthen the global health ecosystem, such as for example with its work to advance the Target Access Profiles (TAPs).
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Overview This two-day hybrid meeting, held on October 22-23 in Washington, D.C., at the Bloomberg Center brought together a number of key stakeholders working on drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) to discuss pre-approval access (a term that encompasses numerous other terms, including compassionate use) to new TB drugs for people living with DR-TB who have limited treatment options. The meeting was sponsored by the Office of the Provost of Johns Hopkins University and Unitaid and co-convened by members of The BETTER (Building Experience Treating TB with Expanded Resistance) Project. It was part one of a two-part meeting on closing the global health research-to-access gap (part two will be held in spring of 2026). This meeting report summarizes the key discussions and action items from the sessions. The sessions were recorded, and presentations are available on request. The group will also be drafting a paper for publication in a peer-reviewed journal (tentatively titled “Compassionate Use Support Programs for Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis: A Model for Accelerating Access Across the Drug Development Spectrum”). The meeting agenda and participant list are available in the annex to this report.
Congratulations to Dr. Styliani Karanika, who is a JHU TRAC ESI, Mentee, and Developmental Awardee on this publication in the Journal of Clinical Investigation! The open-access full article is available here and the full citation is listed below.
Karanika S, Wang T, Yilma A, Ruelas Castillo J, Gordy JT, Bailey H, Quijada D, Fessler K, Tasneen R, Rouse Salcido EM, Shamma F, Harris HT, Chen F, Bates RE, Ton H, Meza J, Li Y, Taylor AD, Zheng JJ, Zhang J, Karantanos T, Maxwell AR, Nuermberger EL, Peske JD, Markham RB, Karakousis PC. Immunotherapy targeting drug-tolerant Mycobacterium tuberculosis persisters accelerates tuberculosis cure in preclinical models. J Clin Invest. 2026 Feb 3:e196648. doi: 10.1172/JCI196648. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41632540.
JHU TRAC DEVELOPMENTAL AWARDEES 2025
Full story here
Deadline Jan 31 2026
Postdoctoral Fellowship: Developing Models to Assess the Impact & Cost-Effectiveness of Targeted Interventions for Tuberculosis Developing Models to Assess the Impact & CostEffectiveness of Targeted Interventions for Tuberculosis Overview The Johns Hopkins Center for Tuberculosis Research is expanding its focus on developing novel data-driven models to answer pressing questions about policies and interventions to reduce the burden of tuberculosis (TB), the world’s deadliest infectious disease.
Please visit the RePORT International Virtual Learning Room for extensive resources for funding, training, and other types of resources.
A San Antonio Report highlighted the October IN-TRAC Patient Conference. The article, by Josh Archote, features the powerful stories of Jorge Sosa Martiarena, Sophia Martinez, and Lorenzo Salinas, offering an important look into the lived experience of TB and the impact it has on patients and families.
You can read the full article here: “‘I’m happy to be alive’: San Antonio residents share brutal experiences after tuberculosis diagnosis”
The JHU TRAC is delighted to formally welcome Dr. Bruno de Bezerril Andrade to JHU as a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and in the Department of International Health at BSPH!
A physician scientist who is internationally renowned for his contributions to immunology, infectious diseases, translational research and global health, Dr. Andrade joins Johns Hopkins from his current positions as Senior Investigator and Chief of the Laboratory of Clinical and Translational Research at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Salvador, Brazil, one of the world’s leading biomedical research institutions, as Dean of Research and International Affairs at Clariens Educação, and as Scientific Director of MONSTER Research Institute, which is dedicated to nurturing young scientists from low- and middle-income countries and advocating for vulnerable populations including indigenous, homeless, and incarcerated communities.
Dr. Andrade brings to the division extensive expertise in global health, data science, artificial intelligence, and precision medicine. He will work closely with Department of Medicine’s data science/AI efforts to incorporate cutting-edge machine learning and AI applications in medicine and will enhance the division’s portfolio of clinical and translational research through developing and employing predictive analytics to improve patient outcomes related to tuberculosis, HIV, antimicrobial resistance, and emerging infections. He is also eager to enhance connections across Medicine, Public Health, and Engineering for multi-departmental efforts that leverage data science initiatives and AI advancement across Johns Hopkins in support of the School of Medicine’s clinical and translational research goals.
Dr. Andrade’s extensive networks in Brazil, throughout Latin America, and globally are an excellent complement to JHU’s existing bi- and multi-lateral research initiatives and offer opportunities for global collaboration and exchange programs for faculty and students alike.
He will be starting here on October 20, 2025.
