SMART4TB

?????? SMART4TB is incredibly excited to announce that Kelly Curran will be joining our team as the new Project Director! Kelly brings over 26 years in global health experience working on critical issues including women’s health to HIV, COVID-19, and mpox. We are incredibly excited to have Kelly leading our efforts in a critical year when all our research areas will be active. Stay tuned for more exciting updates this year and learn more about Kelly here: https://lnkd.in/gVmra9-G

New in the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union)'s IJTLD Open:?Communities drive person-centered language for stratified treatment approaches in SMART4TB survey ? As SMART4TB and other researchers explore stratified approaches to TB treatment, it is vital to consider the potential impact of the language used. Following feedback from community partners, SMART4TB conducted a global survey of TB-affected communities, researchers, and providers to select optimal terms for describing different treatment stratification arms. Results showed a preference for simple, person-centered, destigmatizing language that focuses on length of treatment (rather than on individual risk factors or anticipated complexity of treatment). SMART4TB has already incorporated these terms in our study protocols; we encourage other investigators of stratified treatment research to do the same.? ? Read more: https://lnkd.in/eSS-RAe2 Kudos to the authors: Madlen Nash, Andrea DeLuca, Erica Lessem, Nora West, Lindsay McKenna, Erin McConnell, MPH, Ketholelie Angami, Rosa Herrera, Albert Makone, Gustavo Velásquez, Richard Chaisson, and Patrick PJ Phillips

New piece out in Springer Medicine about #TB preventive treatment co-authored by some SMART4TB consortium members, including Nicole Salazar-Austin, Christopher Hoffmann, and Richard Chaisson. https://lnkd.in/gCr9th3t

The Building Experience Treating Tuberculosis with Expanded Resistance Project—The BETTER Project—recently released a new field guide for clinical management of tuberculosis with expanded resistance. SMART4TB was proud to contribute to this work by coordinating a meeting in South Africa in October where researchers, caregivers, and advocates came together to develop consensus about treating people living with this challenging disease. Given the growth of antimicrobial resistance globally, this evidence-based field guide is timely and useful for clinicians to consult as they provide care to people with TB who have expanded resistance to?bedaquiline, linezolid, the nitroimidazoles, and/or clofazimine. Read and share the field guide: https://lnkd.in/eUpaz6Mx

Join TB Vax Arm on Thursday, December 12 for the last meeting of the year featuring SMART4TB consortium member Joeri Buis talking about the new TB Vaccine Repository. Register here: https://lnkd.in/gbUFtxvw

On #WorldAIDSDay, SMART4TB honors all the advocates, community leaders, researchers, and policy makers who have made great strides in improving care for everyone affected by AIDS. #TB is the leading cause of death among people living with HIV, so the challenges and progress in prevention, care, and treatment are deeply connected. Through research and advocacy, SMART4TB will continue to fight for people being able to lead healthy, productive lives in their communities.?

This year’s #WorldChildrensDay theme, “inclusion for every child,” is close to our mission at SMART4TB. We and our partners around the world—including Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Treatment Action Group (TAG), KNCV TB Plus, and UCSF Center for Tuberculosis | UC TRAC—are ensuring that children are included in, and can benefit from, our research into TB diagnosis, prevention, and treatment innovations. TB is preventable and curable, and we are working towards a world where all children can live free of TB.

SMART4TB had an invigorating #UnionConf24 with presentations about new research, communities' priorities, and where we go from here in #TB. We look forward to building on the momentum of this incredible week!

One more exciting piece of news to close out the week. SMART4TB inaugurated its TB Vaccine Preparedness Repository at #UnionConf24 with Joeri Buis. As affected communities, policymakers, and researchers gear up for the potential of a new #TB vaccine, ensuring that countries and health systems are ready for it is a huge part of the equation. The repository is a collection of completed, ongoing, and planned TB vaccine readiness projects to create space for coordination and identify gaps. Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/ghi24XBR

SMART4TB is incredibly proud to launch CABLab, a self-paced online curriculum for people interested in engaging with #TB advocacy and research, at #UnionConf2024 this week. Initially available in English, the Russian and French-translated versions will be available in early 2025. ? Ready to become a strong TB advocate? Register now: https://lnkd.in/gkKtTWfw