The Virulence-Transmission Trade-Off: Exploring the Biological Determinants and Epidemiological Consequences of Subclinical Tuberculosis

Human tuberculosis (TB) remains a global health emergency, causing 10 million new cases and 1.5 million deaths every year. TB manifests as a spectrum, ranging from self-cured or asymptomatic infection to active pulmonary and extra-pulmonary disease. Until recently, the common view was that only…

01.02.2023 - 31.01.2027
Research project
Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) / Programme Sinergia
ARQ_2021 - Kinase Inhibitors for Adjunct Antibiotic Treatment of Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) encompasses pulmonary and extra-pulmonary infections by the deadly obligate human pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). Upon exposure to infectious aerosols, host immune responses build up multi-cellular structures called granulomas that aim to encapsulate the bacteria at the…

01.09.2020 - 31.08.2021
Research project
Novartis Foundation for medical-biological research
SNF_TzExVivoGran - Human in vitro granulomas to dissect tuberculosis protective immune traits and assess drug candidates for tailored adjunct host-directed therapy

Taking advantage of a unique collection of human clinical specimens and our established in vitro granuloma model, we aim to gain important knowledge on some of the intrinsic differential immune traits that defines a protective response against MTB. We will demonstrate that in vitro granulomas…

01.01.2020 - 31.12.2024
Research project
Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) / Project Funding