Click here for more information regarding the TB Research and Mentorship Program (TB RAMP)
Carolina Agudelo
I am a graduate student at UC Berkeley in the School of Public Health's Division of Infectious Disease and Immunity, under the co-mentorship of Dr. Ashley Wolf and Dr. Sarah Stanley. My doctoral research involves understanding the role of the gut microbiome in host susceptibility to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). I am doing so by using gnotobiotic and germ-free mouse models and in human samples through a collaboration with Devan Jaganath and END Childhood TB.
Canice Christian
I am a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics working under the mentorship of Dr. Priya Shete and the PRISE Center at UCSF. My research broadly focuses on the intersection of implementation science, infectious disease prevention, and equity-focused interventions. More recently, I have focused my research on integrated service delivery, food insecurity, and TB treatment and prevention in Zimbabwe.
Niurys de Castro Suarez
I am a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, working under the mentorship of Dr. Rada Savic. Our laboratory has developed and validated a translational pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic (PKPD) platform that can predict phase IIa outcomes based on preclinical mouse monotherapy efficacy. We are working on extending this platform to predict the efficacy of TB drug combination regimens, aiming to establish a comprehensive PKPD translational platform that provides detailed information on combination drug efficacy. My research focuses on evaluating the impact of these regimens on the potency and efficacy of anti-tuberculosis drugs through translational PKPD and pharmacometric approaches.
Caldwell Feid
I am a post-doctoral scholar in the UCSF Division of Experimental Medicine, mentored by Dr. Babak Javid. My research focus is on alternative forms of translation in mycobacteria, specifically the initiation of translation on leaderless mRNAs, which are prevalent in mycobacteria. By understanding the requirements for leaderless translation as well as the contexts where leaderless translation is critical for the TB life cycle, we may be able to develop a unique aspect of TB protein synthesis as a therapeutic target.
Christopher Leboa
I am an MS and a PhD candidate at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health. My research focuses on environmental exposures to infectious diseases and building design elements that affect the transmission of airborne diseases. I am particularly interested in collaborating with colleagues to identify high-risk spaces for TB transmission in occupational settings and using implementation science tools to evaluate interventions aimed at reducing transmission risk.
Martineau Louine
I am a Neuroimmunology at UCSF, I am currently working under the mentorship of Dr. Michael Wilson. My research is focused on next generation sequencing to improve Tuberculosis diagnosis as well as outcomes. I am also interested in global neurology.
Caitlin Moe
I am a global health epidemiologist with a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Washington (UW) and a Master’s in Global Health Sciences from UCSF. I hold appointments in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at UC Irvine and UC San Francisco as a Specialist in Adithya Cattamanchi’s group. My research centers on vulnerable populations, healthcare access, and improving screening strategies and diagnostic tests.
Christopher Rae
I am a postdoctoral researcher specializing in structural biology at UC Berkeley in the Molecular and Cell Biology Department, working under the guidance of Dr. Jeff Cox. My research focuses on the mycobacterial cell envelope - a critical yet poorly understood interface between host and pathogen. I use bacterial genetics, mass spectrometry and CryoEM to understand the mechanisms of multiprotein membrane transporters that drive lipid dependent virulence and antibiotic resistance in mycobacteria.
Sumanth Reddy
I am a neurologist who recently completed residency at UCSF. I received my undergraduate degree in finance from the University of Texas at Austin, and MD from UT Southwestern Medical Center. As part of the Fogarty International Center's GloCal Fellowship, I will embark on research utilizing CSF metagenomics in Peru to improve the diagnosis of TB meningitis, and to further our understanding of the host's immune response.
Nyarie Sithole
I am an Infectious Diseases Physician-Scientist and a Wellcome Trust Career Development Fellow with joint appointments at UCSF and the University of Cambridge. My research focuses on using high-dimensional (3D) and multiplex imaging to understand antibody-mediated protection against tuberculosis. By leveraging single-cell and spatial sequencing technologies, I aim to improve TB vaccine design. I attended medical school in Zimbabwe and the UK, where I completed my MSc in Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. I earned my PhD from the University of Cambridge, studying how HIV-1 exploits human cellular DEAD box helicases, DDX5 and DDX17, to enhance viral transcription and splicing. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I established the first Long COVID clinic in May 2020 at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, which has become a hub for multidisciplinary care and research.
Jeffrey Whitman
I am an Assistant Professor of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Co-Director of Microbiology at UCSF, and Director of Microbiology at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital (former, interim). My research program focuses on discovering biomarkers of host-pathogen interaction, as well as developing and evaluating diagnostics for neglected infectious diseases. Our research on tuberculosis aims to evaluate novel metabolites and degradation products of antituberculosis drugs for improving therapeutic drug monitoring.