Tuberculosis: Translating Scientific Findings for Clinical and Public Health Impact

joint with HIV and Co-Infections: Pathogenesis, Inflammation and Persistence

Organizer(s): Graeme Meintjes, Eric J. Rubin and Sabine Ehrt

Part of the Keystone Symposia Global Health Series, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Summary of Meeting:

It is estimated that one-third of the world’s population is infected with tuberculosis, and each year 10 million people develop disease, with 1.5 million tuberculosis-related deaths. Global control efforts using currently available diagnostic, treatment and preventive tools are predicted to achieve only gradual reductions in global tuberculosis incidence. Critical factors impeding tuberculosis control are the ability of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to evade host-killing mechanisms and enter into a phenotypic state of persistence with risk of later reactivation, HIV co-infection which drives progression to disease, the emergence and transmission of drug-resistant strains, our limited understanding of the immune responses necessary to kill or effectively contain Mycobacterium tuberculosis and how to elicit these with a novel vaccine. To accelerate progress in TB control, deeper fundamental insights into the pathogen and pathogen-host interactions are required, and these then need to be translated into more effective tools at a public health level. Under the theme of translation, this conference brings together laboratory, clinical and epidemiological tuberculosis researchers to engage the key scientific questions in tuberculosis science including persistence, metabolic adaptation, immune evasion, prediction and early diagnosis of progression to disease, drug resistance, discovery of novel drug targets, and determinants of morbidity and mortality. This will allow for cross-talk between disciplines and triangulation of research findings from epidemiological and clinical studies and laboratory and animal models. The meeting explores what fundamental insights are needed to advance TB control and how fundamental insights can be translated for clinical and public health impact. For the first time, the meeting is held jointly with the Keystone Symposia’s “HIV and Co-Infections: Pathogenesis, Inflammation and Persistence” conference, which will facilitate discussion around HIV and tuberculosis co-infection and explore synergies in the respective fields.

Global Health Travel Award Deadline: November 14 2017

Scholarship Deadline: December 13 2017

Discounted Abstract Deadline: December 13 2017

Abstract Deadline: January 11 2018

Discounted Registration Deadline: February 15 2018

Keystone Symposia thanks our Sponsor(s) for generously supporting this meeting:

We gratefully acknowledge the generous grant for this conference provided by:

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Grant No. 1R13AI138573-01
Funding for this conference was made possible (in part) by 1R13AI138573-01 from the National Institutes of Health. The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

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