Dr Rein Houben

Professor of Infectious Disease Epid

United Kingdom

Email
Rein

I trained in epidemiology, and came to the School in 2006 for my PhD, working primarily on the molecular epidemiology of Tuberculosis. After spending 3 years working on field studies in North Malawi, I moved back to London in 2012 to work in TB modelling, and joined the LSHTM TB modelling group which I now co-lead. Between 2014 and 2019 led the development and implementation of the TIME model to support countries in their TB policy decision-making. In recent years my focus has been the spectrum of Mtb infection and TB disease, using historical and contemporary data better understand the individual, population and policy consequences of the re-conceptualisation of TB. I also have an interest in the many structural determinants of TB, including nutrition and poverty.

Affiliations

Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Dynamics

Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health

Centres

Centre for Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases

TB Centre

Teaching

I have taught on a wide variety of courses in the In House and Distance Learning MSc Epidemiology. Currently I am a module co-organiser for EP202: Statistical Methods in Epidemiology, and departmental Research Degree Coordinator for IDE. I also run the Virtual Ethics Committee in EPM103: Practical Epidemiology.

I currently (co-)supervise 3 PhD students, working on TB natural history, the financial impact of TB on individuals and their households and TB diagnostic algorithms.

Research

My research mainly looks to combine empirical data with mathematical modelling tools to better address key scientific and policy questions. I have a strong interest in training and supporting individuals to develop their skills.

My current work focusses on understanding how our recently renewed appreciation of the spectrum of TB disease provides challenges and opportunities to reduce the impact of this disease on individuals and their communities. I have a wide interest in TB, including in recent years the challenge of post-TB and structural determinants, such as nutrition and poverty.

Following my work on subclinical TB, I have an interest in better understanding how individuals who are infectious but do not report symptoms affect the dynamics of infectious diseases, and efforts to contain transmission.

Selected Publications

The natural history of TB disease-a synthesis of data to quantify progression and regression across the spectrum

RICHARDS, AS; Sossen, B; EMERY, JC; HORTON, KC; Heinsohn, T; Frascella, B; Balzarini, F; Oradini-Alacreu, A; Hacker, B; Odone, A; MCCREESH, N; GRANT, AD; KRANZER, K; Cobelens, F; Esmail, H; HOUBEN, RM G J;

2021

Does Ghana's National Health Insurance Scheme provide financial protection to tuberculosis patients and their households?

PEDRAZZOLI, D; CARTER, DJ; BORGHI, J; Laokri, S; BOCCIA, D; HOUBEN, RM;

2021

Social Science and Medicine

Self-clearance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection: implications for lifetime risk and population at-risk of tuberculosis disease.

EMERY, JC; RICHARDS, AS; Dale, KD; MCQUAID, CF; WHITE, RG; Denholm, JT; HOUBEN, RM G J;

2020

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Subclinical Tuberculosis Disease-A Review and Analysis of Prevalence Surveys to Inform Definitions, Burden, Associations, and Screening Methodology.

Frascella, B; RICHARDS, AS; Sossen, B; EMERY, JC; Odone, A; Law, I; Onozaki, I; Esmail, H; HOUBEN, RM G J;

2020

Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America

The contribution of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections to transmission on the Diamond Princess cruise ship.

EMERY, JC; RUSSELL, TW; LIU, Y; HELLEWELL, J; PEARSON, CA; CMMID COVID-19 Working Group,; KNIGHT, GM; EGGO, RM; Kucharski, AJ; FUNK, S; FLASCHE, S; HOUBEN, RM;

2020

eLife

Post-tuberculosis mortality and morbidity: valuing the hidden epidemic.

QUAIFE, M; HOUBEN, RM G J; Allwood, B; Cohen, T; Coussens, AK; Harries, AD; Van Kampen, S; Marx, FM; SWEENEY, S; Wallis, RS; Menzies, NA;

2020

The Lancet Respiratory Medicine

Global burden of latent multidrug-resistant tuberculosis: trends and estimates based on mathematical modelling.

KNIGHT, GM; MCQUAID, CF; Dodd, PJ; HOUBEN, RM G J;

2019

Lancet Infectious Diseases

Spotting the old foe-revisiting the case definition for TB.

HOUBEN, RM G J; Esmail, H; EMERY, JC; Joslyn, LR; MCQUAID, CF; Menzies, NA; Sanz, J; Shrestha, S; WHITE, RG; Yang, C; Cobelens, F;