In an earlier blog post from August 2024, the Vanderbilt TB Center announced that it had received $2.3 million in project funding from CRDF Global, to conduct research on the prevalence and incidence of subclinical tuberculosis(TB) in close contacts and evaluate novel biomarkers and diagnostic tests for subclinical TB. That study, named SUBclinical TB and Lab Evaluation(SUBTLE), led by Dr. Timothy Sterling has enrolled its first participants in Brazil and Uganda.
This project will utilize and build upon the existing strengths and infrastructure of several Regional Prospective Observational Research for Tuberculosis (RePORT) networks (Brazil, Uganda, India, and South Africa) as well as Rutgers, Vanderbilt, and Frontier Science. The RePORT networks in Brazil and Uganda are enrolling new participants into the study, while the RePORT networks in India and South Africa will be contributing existing clinical data and specimens. This global collaboration will allow for validation and therefore assessment of the generalizability of novel diagnostic tests for subclinical TB.
Programmatic management for the SUBTLE Study is provided VTC program managers, Alicia Wright, MS, C.C.R.P., Marina Figueiredo, DVM, MS, and Noelle Best, who have contributed exceptional effort, guidance, and knowledge to its development and initiation.