Weill Cornell and GHESKIO Awarded 10-Year Grant for Tuberculosis Research

Weill Cornell and our international partner, GHESKIO, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, were recently awarded a 10-year grant from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to be a member of the Tuberculosis Trials Consortium (TBTC).

The TBTC is an international collaboration to conduct research related to TB infection including disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.

The prevalence of TB in Haiti is high with a 2018 WHO estimate of 176 TB cases/100,000 people. Between 2010 and 2020 Weill Cornell and GHESKIO conducted 14 TB clinical trials and is the region’s major TB treatment referral center. Additionally, GHESKIO’s state-of-the-art TB laboratory- a result of collaboration from Weill Cornell, the Mérieux Foundation, the US and French governments, and the Haitian Ministry of Health- allows for investigations into drug resistance and provides the ability to diagnose TB even in the most challenging cases. As a result, patients diagnosed and treated at GHESKIO are receiving cutting-edge high-quality care. GHESKIO’s advanced laboratory system and expert clinical and research staff is poised to conduct new TB trials that will improve patient treatment and care in Haiti and worldwide.

The overall goal of GHESKIO’s participation in the TBTC is to develop TB treatment regimens that are shorter, simpler, and easier to take. Dr. Daniel Fitzgerald, director of the Center for Global Health, serves as the principal investigator for the project. Dr. Jean William Pape is the site principal investigator, Dr. Patrice Severe is the lead coordinator, Dr. Vanessa Rouzier is the maternal-child study coordinator, and Dr. Oksana Ocheretina is the TB laboratory director.

The TBTC award will  enable GHESKIO to conduct trials on the diagnosis and treatment of TB among pregnant women and children, an exceedingly important contribution since they are vulnerable to TB but many drug regimens for TB have not been studied in these populations. Dr. Vanessa Rouzier, Chief of Pediatrics at GHESKIO and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine, says “we look forward to collaborating with the CDC on their TB treatment programs, including maternal and pediatric treatment. The work we will do will allow us to provide optimal care to pregnant women and children so that they can benefit from evidenced-based, life-saving treatment.”

The TBTC has historically been a leader in designing new treatment and prevention strategies for TB, which excitingly puts GHESKIO in a position to now have a national benefit for Haiti as well as a global effect. The TBTC consists of 6 international sites –- so this places GHESKIO as one of the premier sites in the world for TB research and clinical care and will put the Weill Cornell and Haiti teams at the forefront of TB research and progress in TB prevention, diagnosis, and treatment for the next decade.

Ludwig Pavilion, GHESKIO TB Hospital