Exploring a combined bio-marker for tuberculosis treatment response

Project Summary 

Treatment of tuberculosis is long (≥6 months) and requires a combination of drugs. Scientists have been trying to develop more effective drug combinations although this is not straightforward.

There is no test that can predict if the patient will be cured early in their treatment course. This research project will focus on generating information that can be used to develop such a test. I will study (1) the response of the patients’ own defense system, (2) the amount of drug in the patients’ blood and (3) the amount of tuberculosis in the patients’ sputum.