BSMS > Research > Global health and Infection > Research areas > Combating Tuberculosis

Combating tuberculosis

Mycobacterial diseases (TB and NTM) are a major focus of multidisciplinary investigation at the Brighton and Sussex Centre for Global Health Research.

Introduction

Despite being declared a global emergency more than 20 years ago, one and a half million people still die from tuberculosis (TB) each year.

TB is the leading cause of death worldwide by a contagious disease and more than 2 billion people are infected with the causative agent, Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The standard drug therapy for TB uses combinations of four drugs over 6 months. Antimicrobial drug resistance (AMR) is a growing problem, with TB accounting for one third of drug-resistant bacterial infections. The recommended treatment for multidrug-resistant TB lasts 18–24 months or more, and is wholly dependent on increasingly toxic combinations of drugs. New drug regimens are needed to maintain and improve TB treatment success, shortening the duration of therapy and targeting drug-resistant bacteria.

The Wellcome Trust Brighton and Sussex Centre for Global Health Research works together with UK, European and international partners in collaborative research projects and multidisciplinary industry-university consortia to discover new strategies to reduce the burden of TB disease. We place knowledge exchange and multilateral research training between high/middle and low-income countries at the centre of our research agenda.

Prof Simon Waddell's (BSc, PhD, FHEA) main research areas include tuberculosis drug discovery, mycobacterial pathogenesis and TB biomarkers.

BACKGROUND IMAGE FOR PANEL

Areas of research

Our approach combines molecular microbiology and human genetics to identify novel ways of preventing TB transmission and disease.

Our research uses genome-wide technologies to understand drug action in TB patients, to define TB bacteria that survive early drug therapy, and to identify the mode of action of novel anti-bacterial compounds. We also explore the interactions between host and pathogen during human disease to understand genetic factors that influence susceptibility to TB and to define biomarkers that will help to shorten TB drug therapy.