Tuberculosis Research Group
Tuberculosis (TB), one of the oldest known human diseases, is still one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality globally. Over 90% of TB cases occur in low- and middle-income countries that have fragile healthcare infrastructures and constrained resources.
About the research group
Tuberculosis Research Group is headed by Professor Tehmina Mustafa.
The only currently available vaccine for TB was developed about a century ago. TB treatment is long-term and multi-drug resistance is an emerging threat. There is a great need to develop better preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic tools to curb the epidemic.
Our main research topics are:
- Childhood tuberculosis and malnutrition
- Development of better diagnostic tests
- Feasibility of implementation of new diagnostic test/s in routine health system settings
- Pathogenesis of human Post-Primary TB (by using the human archival tissue material of the pre-antibiotic era) to generate knowledge base for better vaccines and host-directed therapies
- Development of better biomarkers for measurement of therapeutic response
- Disease transmission and infection risk
- Association between Tuberculosis and Obstructive Lung Diseases and Allergies
Projects
Projects
Current projects
- Advancing tuberculosis diagnosis in children and adults by developing point-of-care optical devices (RCN funded)
- An integrated multidisciplinary approach to improve diagnosis and management of tuberculosis in children (Funded by HelseVest/UiB).
- Better health through partnership in higher education and bilateral student mobility: Collaboration between Pakistan and Norway (NORPART)
- Pathogenesis of human Post-Primary Tuberculosis: Novel insights from Norwegian archival tissue material of the pre-antibiotic era
- Risk of infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a low tuberculosis prevalence setting
- Association between tuberculosis and obstructive lung diseases and allergies
- Biomarkers in tuberculosis: implications for improved diagnosis, monitoring treatment response, and host-directed therapies
- Proteomic and bioinformatic studies of the host therapeutic response to tuberculosis treatment
- Improving diagnosis of extrapulmonary tuberculosis by implementation of a sensitive and specific assay in routine tuberculosis diagnostics (Funding- Research Council of Norway, GLOVBVAC program)
- DATURA (EDCTP project in 5 African and 2 Asian countries)
- Optimizing the implementation and scale-up of the WHO's TB treatment decision algorithms for children with pulmonary tuberculosis in sub-saharan Africa (TB-OPTIC, EDCTP project in 3 African countries)
Previous projects
- Localization and characterization of dormant bacilli and host response in chronic tuberculosis and immune evasion strategies of mycobacteria
- Development of new diagnostic test for extrapulmonary tuberculosis
People
Group manager
Tehmina Mustafa UiB lead:
Sven Gudmund Hinderaker UiB lead:
Group members
Einar Heldal Senior Medical Officer, Vaccine Preventable Diseases (external link), Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Kurt Hanevik Associate Professor
Lars Helgeland Associate Professor
Bjarne Robberstad Professor
Ole Frithjof Norheim Professor
Kjell Arne Johansson Professor, Deputy Director BCEPS
Cecilie Svanes Professor
Harald G Wiker Professor
Karen Marie Moland Emerita
Heidi Syre Consultant Microbiologist
Lisbet Sviland Professor
Anne Ma Dyrhil-Riise Adjunct Professor
Dag Harald Skutlaberg Department of Microbiology, Haukeland University Hospital
Bernt Bøgvald Aarli Associate Professor
Tomas Eagan Professor
International research collaborators
Robert L Hunter Professor/Pathologist, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Mc Govern Medical School, University of Texas, Huston, Texas, USA
Josie Bryant Lung Microbiome. Wellcome Sanger Institute. UK
Manju Raj Purohit Professor/Pathologist. TB diagnostics, Drug resistance & Biomarkers. Department of Pathology, R. D. Gardi Medical College, Ujjain, (M P), India.
Atiqa Ambreen Microbiologist, Gulab Devi Hospital, Professor Gulab Devi Educational Complex, Pakistan
Shiba Ishtiaq Pathologist, Gulab Devi Hospital, Pakistan
Asif Loya Pathologist. SKM hospital& Research Center, Pakistan
Nauman Safdar Public Health Specialist. The Indus Hospital, Pakistan/National TB Control Programme., Pakistan
Ahmad Wali Public Health Specialist, Provincial TB Control Programme, Pakistan
Shaper Mirza Professor/Immunologist. Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Pakistan
Razia Fatima Chief Researcher, CMU (The common unit to manage TB, AIDS and Malaria), Pakistan
Zarfishan Tahir Institute of Public Health-Lahore, Pakistan
Lubna Samad IRD- Interactive Research and Development, Pakistan
Imran Cheema Associate Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)
Andrei Mariandyshev Arkhangelsk, Russia
Sayoki G Mfinanga Professor. National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), Muhimbili, Tanzania
William Muller Pathologist. Mbeya Zonal Referral Hospital, Mbeya, Tanzania
Mbazi Senkoro Tanzania
Msafiri Marijani Pathologist. TB diagnostics and extrapulmonary TB. Mnazi Mmoja Hospital. Zanzibar, Tanzania
Amani Thomas Mori Researcher