(Dr. Kreniske: 2nd from the right in the back row)
This month, we are pleased to feature Dr. Jonah Kreniske, Instructor in Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, whose research focuses on the long-term health consequences of TB in people with and without HIV. He is one of the recent awardees of our Developmental Project Award.
One of every 50 people currently alive is a survivor of TB disease. More than half of TB survivors experience post-treatment chronic lung disease, and TB survivors carry a six-fold increased risk of pulmonary hypertension, a type of cardiovascular disease associated with very poor prognosis. Acute TB disease is dramatically modulated by HIV status, and HIV itself is a cause of pulmonary hypertension and accelerated chronic lung disease. These colliding epidemics are felt most heavily in sub-Saharan Africa, where one in three TB patients are people with HIV. However, the long term impacts of TB infection on chronic lung disease and persistent pulmonary hypertension among people with HIV remain poorly understood and there are no biomarkers or disease-specific therapies for post-TB lung disease or pulmonary hypertension.
With support from the NYC TRAC Developmental Project Award, Dr. Kreniske is leading his study in Mwanza, Tanzania, involving 90 TB survivors and 180 matched controls. His team aims to uncover how TB contributes to chronic lung disease and heart dysfunction, and whether a specific blood marker (MMP-9) could help identify those at highest risk. This work may ultimately pave the way for new, affordable treatments to improve the long-term health of TB survivors.
Dr. Kreniske is presently based in Mwanza, and is on track to complete study enrollment, including high-quality lung function testing, functional heart evaluation with echocardiography, and blood sample collection for biomarker identification, by April 2025.
(Photos: Team is examining a spirometry test which will be done with study participants.)