SMART4TB is proud to launch CABLab, a self-paced online curriculum for people looking to increase their knowledge to engage more deeply–or for the first time!–in TB advocacy and research. Built in collaboration with our regional Community Advisory Board partners, Afrocab, APCASO, and Eurasian Community for Access to Treatment (ECAT), CABLab covers a broad spectrum of topics, from vaccines to research fundamentals.

Through a mix of articles, videos, and interactive materials, along with opportunities for digital interaction and sharing, CABLab provides a forum where interested advocates can come together to continue expanding their TB knowledge.

CABLab will be launching in English on November 20, 2024, with French and Russian translations available in early 2025 but you can start registering now. We hope to expand to more languages in the coming years.

Register for CABLab HERE.

 

 

SMART4TB and the BETTER Project co-hosted a two-day meeting in Johannesburg last week to address the growing issue of expanded resistance to TB drugs. Bedaquiline, clofazimine, delamanid, linezolid, and pretomanid are the backbones of shorter, safer, more effective regimens for rifampin-resistant TB. However, resistance to them poses enormous challenges for affected individuals and the clinicians and programs who treat them.

Leading front-line clinicians, affected community members, and representatives from national TB programs convened to share experiences and develop best practices for this rising concern. They discussed the complicated decision-making process involved in treating and receiving treatment for a type of TB with limited options. This involved weighing the side effects and risks against the goals for the person living with TB, the physician, and the national TB program. They concluded that structured approaches to care for people living with expanded resistance to TB drugs should include:

• Timely access to genomic sequencing to identify drug-resistance mutations to enable early detection of expanded resistance to guide treatment;
• Wraparound care with holistic counseling and shared decision-making between the healthcare provider and person living with expanded drug resistance;
• Urgent development of equitable programs, developed in consultation with key affected communities, for pre-approval access to new drugs. These programs should include both clinical trials and compassionate use. The BETTER Project stands ready to provide clinical support to these programs and calls on drug developers and donors to prioritize this work; and
• Data collection using common elements and existing shared platforms to capture the extent of expanded resistance and outcomes to inform evidence-based policymaking.

SMART4TB and BETTER will produce a clinical field guide in the coming months, further detailing the above practices. If you are interested in receiving the field guide and learning more about our joint efforts, sign up for SMART4TB updates or follow us on LinkedIn. We will also distribute the field guide on our website and through TB listservs. If you are a provider treating expanded DR-TB, please contact Jen Furin at jenniferfurin@gmail.com and if you are a survivor and want to share your story, please contact Rekha Radhakrishnan at rradhak5@jh.edu.

Studies led by local, early-career researchers are linked to national public health priorities 

BALTIMORE AND SOWETO, September 9, 2024 —The Supporting, Mobilizing, and Accelerating Research for Tuberculosis Elimination (SMART4TB) Consortium is proud to announce the launch of two innovative operational research projects to improve TB prevention and early treatment in contacts of people with TB. The studies, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), followed a call for proposals from South African investigators to develop concepts for advancing the South African National TB Program’s research priorities.

“We’re thrilled to advance these important, locally developed concepts, all while nurturing the growth of early career investigators,” said Dr. Neil Martinson, executive director of the Perinatal HIV Research Unit in Soweto, South Africa and SMART4TB Consortium member.

The first study, Participatory Approaches to Strengthen Implementation of Contact Tracing and Treatment for TB or PACT-TB, will characterize barriers and enablers to delivering contact tracing and treatment services in Khayelitsha, Western Cape, and using participatory research methods, will co-develop interventions to increase contact tracing, testing and treatment. “TB Proof is passionate about partnering with communities affected by TB to advance implementation of the latest research,” remarked Ingrid Schoeman, PACT-TB lead and director of TB Proof, an advocacy organization started in 2012 by health workers who developed occupational TB. “And as a TB survivor myself, the chance to lead a research project to improve TB detection and prevention in people who are at high risk from close contact with TB is especially meaningful.”

The second study, led by Thobani Ntshiqa, a PhD candidate affiliated with the Aurum Institute, will evaluate the prognostic value of tuberculosis infection tests in predicting progression of infection to active TB disease among people who have close household contact with someone with TB. “TB preventive therapy uptake is stubbornly low in South Africa, with only 6% of household contacts of people with TB starting treatment,” noted Ntshiqa. “Predicting the progression of tuberculosis infection to active disease would help triage, prioritize and optimize the delivery of preventive therapy strategies among household contacts in high TB and HIV burden settings.”

A call for proposals released in December 2023 solicited applications for innovative operational research related to TB prevention, treatment and care to assist and support the National TB Program’s Research Priorities for TB in South Africa. The call targeted investigators who received their most recent degree within the last 10 years or are new to TB research. SMART4TB received more than 10 applications, which were carefully reviewed by a panel of 16 independent reviewers, representing SMART4TB technical experts, leaders from research and policy organizations and a South African member of Afrocab, one of SMART4TB’s regional community advisory boards.

“Both of these projects reflect some of our country’s biggest challenges in TB and their results will influence our strategies for detection and prevention going forward,” said Professor Norbert Ndjeka, chief director: TB Control & Management at the National Department of Health in South Africa.

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The SMART4TB Consortium brings together experts in TB tools development, implementation science, capacity strengthening, civil society engagement and policy translation. Led by Johns Hopkins University, consortium members include University of California, San Francisco, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation, and Treatment Action Group.

SMART4TB is made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this press release are the sole responsibility of SMART4TB and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID, the United States Government or consortium collaborators or members.

Prioritizing scalable, point-of-care testing, five companies seek to produce the next major diagnostic advancement in TB

BALTIMORE, JULY 8, 2024 — Supporting, Mobilizing, and Accelerating Research for Tuberculosis Elimination (SMART4TB) is pleased to announce a collaboration with Sherlock Biosciences in developing their oral, swab-based point-of-care molecular test for TB. Sherlock joins the four companies, Boditech Med, Co-Diagnostics, Nuclein and Molbio Diagnostics, announced in January 2024 in receiving a first phase of SMART4TB funding and technical assistance to advance their novel tests with the hope of closing key TB diagnosis gaps. Among some of the traits that make Sherlock’s technology promising for TB diagnostics is ease of use, including the intended ability to self-collect the sample, and no need for extensive lab or storage infrastructure to complete the test. These features are especially important in reaching people in diverse, resource-limited healthcare settings where TB is often diagnosed.

Sherlock, and the previously announced developers, were selected by a panel of 11 TB and diagnostics experts from academic institutions and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Characteristics and data from this first phase will be evaluated by a similar group of experts, including affected community members, and those that meet key criteria will move into the next phase of funding to prepare for clinical assessment.

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The SMART4TB Consortium brings together experts in TB tools development, implementation science, capacity strengthening, civil society engagement and policy translation. Led by Johns Hopkins University, consortium members include University of California, San Francisco, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation, and Treatment Action Group. SMART4TB is made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this press release are the sole responsibility of SMART4TB and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID, the United States Government or consortium collaborators or members.

Locally driven research is at the centerpiece of months-long USAID-funded program to continue building local capacity for tuberculosis research 

BALTIMORE, April 25, 2024 — Supporting, Mobilizing, and Accelerating Research for Tuberculosis Elimination (SMART4TB) is excited to welcome the second cohort of Early Stage Investigator (ESI) scholars. This year’s cohort reflects the depth and diversity of early career researchers, with a total of 50 scholars representing six countries in Africa and Asia. Simultaneously, SMART4TB is admitting 12 scholars from the first cohort to Phase II of the ESI program, a rigorous fellowship that hones in on researchers’ specific projects.

“This year’s cohort of Early Stage Investigators were impressive, reflecting the diverse background and interests of global researchers,” said Robert Bollinger, the Raj and Kamla Gupta Professor of Infectious Diseases at Johns Hopkins University. “It’s incredibly gratifying to meet new scholars and progress some of the scholars we trained last year into the next phase and see their research interests mature and solidify.”

Now in its second year, the first phase of the Early Stage Investigator program, is a 10-week intensive curriculum delivered by some of the world’s leading TB researchers. Topics include developing a research question and concept paper for a research proposal, engaging communities, designing a research study as well as reviewing and discussing their country’s current National Tuberculosis Program priorities. The countries represented in this new cohort include Nigeria, the Philippines, South Africa, Uganda,Vietnam and Zambia.

This Early-Stage Investigators’ Program creates unique opportunities for further enhancing the quality of locally led research by bringing investigators into direct contact with top-notch knowledge sources in TB research and education,” said Degu Jerene, a senior epidemiologist and team lead at KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation. “The program builds on what countries have started, paving the way to a sustainable model of capacity strengthening.”

After successful completion of Phase I of the program, scholars can apply to Phase II where they progress to the SMART4TB fellowship program that includes specific courses to help convert their research concept into a fully developed high quality TB research proposal. They receive mentorship from both a local and an internationally experienced SMART4TB faculty research co-mentor. Fellows also have access to strategic technical support consultations, including data management, biostatistics, research ethics, study design, implementation science and community engagement from SMART4TB experts. This year’s SMART4TB Phase II fellowship participants represent Mozambique, the Philippines, South Africa, and Zambia.

Márcia Chiluvane, a SMART4TB fellow from Mozambique described her experience as an ESI scholar. “The highlight was developing a research proposal that can address the challenges highlighted by my country’s National Tuberculosis Program. On this journey, I was surrounded and supported by a remarkable network of colleagues and mentors, both national and international, with vast expertise in tuberculosis.”

“The Early Stage Investigator program really speaks to the need for comprehensive mentorship for researchers early in their careers,” said Philip Hopewell, professor of medicine emeritus at University of California, San Francisco. “The research and ideas they produce will undoubtedly inform the field and strengthen local capacity in sustainable ways that will benefit future generations.”

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The SMART4TB Consortium brings together experts in TB tools development, implementation science, capacity strengthening, civil society engagement and policy translation. Led by Johns Hopkins University, consortium members include University of California, San Francisco, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation, and Treatment Action Group.