About the Program
The Global Tuberculosis Program began in 2012 by recruiting world-renowned pediatric TB expert Dr. Anna Mandalakas to Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, Texas. The Global TB Program works in complementary clinical, educational, and research spheres to sustainably improve the health and well-being of children and families affected by TB and TB/HIV globally. We collaborate with partners to prevent, diagnose, and treat TB infection, disease and comorbidities in children and their families toward the goal of TB elimination aligned with the World Health Organization (WHO).
Our Program's long-term goal is to establish a network of Tuberculosis Centers of Excellence built upon Texas Children’s existing clinical infrastructure in Sub-Saharan Africa. Our Global TB Program team works in four interrelated areas: disease prevention, diagnostics, treatment and immunology. These program domains are built upon a data collection core and complemented by rigorous epidemiological and operational research.
The Global TB Program leverages partnerships with other members of the Baylor College of Medicine family and collaborators at other institutions to develop effective, sustainable, standardized methods of diagnosing tuberculosis in children and identifying biomarkers correlating with the progression from tuberculosis infection to disease, as well as standardizing screening processes to better characterize epidemiological risk factors for tuberculosis. The Global TB Program has also collaborated with the WHO to complete expert reviews of TB screening and diagnostic tools, and inform international policy and guidelines on childhood TB. Our team’s work has been cited in clinical guidelines and health policy in over 20 countries.
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Global TB Program Spotlights
- CDC Podcast Interview: TB among Children and Teens at HIV Treatment Centers in Africa
- Fighting to close the GAP on global pediatric TB care
- Supporting community health in Papua New Guinea
Pediatric Tuberculosis Education
Young Physicians and Junior Investigators
To ensure sustainable and long-term impact in the fight against childhood tuberculosis, the Global TB Program is intimately involved in developing young physicians and junior investigators in Houston and globally.
The TB Program has assisted Global Health residents, pediatric clinical fellows, and post-doctoral fellows in developing TB-related research projects throughout Baylor’s expansive international network, with notable projects in Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Papua New Guinea, Tanzania and Uganda. In addition, our Global TB team takes great pride in the research mentorship provided to clinical fellows and global health core physicians working in our partner sites.