The Tri-Institutional Tuberculosis Research Unit (Tri-I TBRU) successfully hosted its annual meeting on June 5, 2024, at Rockefeller Research Labs. The Tri-I TBRU is a collaboration between Weill Cornell, Rockefeller University, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center which focuses on improving understanding of the persistence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) in humans during drug treatment and latency. The collaboration is supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
This gathering brought together investigators in tuberculosis research from the three institutions, and also members of the External Advisory Board (Dr. JoAnne Flynn – University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Eric Rubin – Harvard University, and Dr. Neil Schluger – New York Medical College) and NIH program officer (Dr. Susana Mendez), for a full day of engaging discussions and presentations on the latest advancements in TB research into persistence and latency.
At the event, Dr. Daniel Fitzgerald, the lead of Clinical Core, provided an overview of the Clinical Core’s cohorts and biobank developed through the decades-long collaboration with GHESKIO, a clinical site in Haiti. GHESKIO staff provide high quality patient care and enroll in a number of NIH funded studies including the TBRU.
Following this, the main talks were provided by project leaders as below.
Project 1: “Human Genetics of Tuberculosis” by Dr. Stephanie Boisson-DuPuis, Dr. Laurent Abel, and Dr. Jean-Laurent Casanova
Project 2: “Microbiome in TB treatment response and disease resolution” by Dr. Micheal Glickman, Dr. Vanni Bucci
Project 3: “Determinants of Paucibacillary Mtb Infection in Mice” by Dr. Sabine Ehrt, Dr. Dirk Schnappinger
The afternoon was spent for young investigators’ presentations on research projects happening in the Tri-I TBRU. One of the four presenters was Dr. Kayvan Zainabadi from NYC TRAC who presented his research on anti-TB drug development. Dr. Katey Walsh from NYC-TRAC gave her talk on her longitudinal observational study on treatment failure and recurrence among patients with cavitary TB in Haiti. With her preliminary data, Dr. Walsh and the audience discussed the complexity of defining treatment failure in patients with active TB and the impact on clinical management and research.
This year’s annual meeting not only reinforced the Tri-I TBRU’s commitment to pioneering TB research but also fostered a sense of community and collaboration among researchers in various fields.
