My research is focused on two thematic areas: 1) Development and evaluation of tuberculosis (TB) diagnostics and 2) Implementation and dissemination of evidence-based preventative, diagnostic, and treatment interventions for TB. I have considerable experience with the evaluation of TB diagnostics in low-income countries, including studying the impact of new diagnostics on patient- and public health-important outcomes. I have served on several World Health Organization (WHO) Expert Group panels to develop new policies related to TB diagnostics and serve as a faculty member for the Advanced Tuberculosis Diagnostics Research workshop sponsored by the WHO Stop TB Partnership. I have initiated a number of collaborations with engineers in industry and academia to develop and evaluate new diagnostic platforms for TB including: 1) mobile phone-based microscopy; 2) mobile phone-based molecular diagnostic platforms; and 3) single-particle aerosol mass spectrometry. We are currently evaluating the mobile phone-based microscopy platform and health centers in Hanoi, Vietnam in a demonstration project funded by the TB REACH initiative.
In addition to research on TB diagnostics, I have developed an active research agenda related to implementation science. I helped establish a platform for monitoring the quality of TB care at 6 rural health centers in Uganda (Uganda Tuberculosis Surveillance Project). My current work, supported through an NIH/NIAID R21 in Implementation and Dissemination Science, is focused on improving the quality of TB suspect evaluation at these health centers.
User Profile Bio