Close

Dr Katharina Kranzer

Clin Prof Infection Disease Epidemiology

United Kingdom

I am a Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at LSHTM l and hold an appointment at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. I am based in Harare, Zimbabwe where I am deputy director of The Health Research Unit Zimbabwe (THRU-Zim), a unit at the Biomedical Research and Training Institute (BRTI) in Harare, Zimbabwe.

My Phd (2008-2011), which was funded by the Wellcome Trust, focused on the role of active TB case finding and antiretroviral therapy for TB control in high HIV prevalence settings. From 2015-2018 I directed the National and WHO Supranational TB Reference Laboratory in Germany, Research Centre Borstel.

Together with Dr Norbert Heinrich I lead an EDCTP-funded TB household contact study (ERASE-TB) with the aim to evaluate new diagnostic tests and algorithms to diagnose TB before transmission occurs, earlier than current diagnostic approaches and to identify those most at risk for developing TB to allow targeted preventive treatment. I am chief scientist for an EDCTP-funded cluster randomised trial (TB-CAPT) led by the Foundation of Innovative Diagnostics (FIND) investigating the effect of near patient TB diagnostics (Omni Xpert/Ultra) on time to TB treatment initiation.

I am involved in a number of studies investigating antimicrobial resistance in Africa. In collaboration with Dr Tom Darton at the University of Sheffield and Dr Justin Dixon we are investigating the effect of the 2019 conjugated typhoid vaccine campaign on antimicrobial prescribing in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Over the past four years I have contributed as a member of the guideline development group to the WHO guidelines on systematic TB screening, nucleic acid amplification tests for detection of TB and drug resistant TB, novel skin tests for Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and target product profiles for TB testing and screening.

Affiliations

Department of Clinical Research
Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases

Centres

Centre for Evaluation
TB Centre

Teaching

I used to be a module organiser and lecturer on the HIV module in London and have contributed as tutor to the distance learning MSc in epidemiology for more than a decade. Furthermore I am a member of the faculty of the NIH Fogarty Training for Research Excellence and Mentorship in Tuberculosis Program (TRENT) in Zimbabwe. I regularly supervise MSc projects and (co)supervise several PhD/DrPH students. Most of them are based and work in Zimbabwe. I am the co-director of the CREATE PhD programme in Zimbabwe and together with Professor Helen Ayles I co-direct the CREATE PhD programme for the matched African fellows.

I am particularly committed to capacity building. In my previous role as the director of the WHO Supranational Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory we partnered with national and regional laboratories in Moldova, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Sierra Leone, Pakistan and Ghana. Together with members of my team I regularly conducted supervisory visits in country and delivered teaching on new (molecular) diagnostics, quality managements and laboratory information systems. In Zimbabwe I have established a diagnostic blood and urine culture service at our collaborating institution (Biomedical Research & Training Institute). I conduct bench-trainings, perform regular bench rounds, and provide feedback on SOPs drafted by junior staff members. Laboratory quality management is a continuous process, hence regular teaching, training and refresher courses for staff are of utmost importance.

Research

My research interest is focused on improving diagnosis and treatment of drug susceptible and resistant TB. My particular interest are rapid diagnostics, tuberculosis control, multi-drug resistant tuberculosis, HIV-associated tuberculosis and laboratory capacity. I am also interested in implementation research aimed at improving the cascade of care for infectious and non-infectious diseases.

Research Area
Adolescent health
Bacteria
Clinical trials
Diagnostics
Global Health
Sexual and reproductive health
Bacteriology
Epidemiology
Capacity development
Disease and Health Conditions
HIV/AIDS
Tuberculosis
Infectious diseases
Sexually transmitted infections
Country
Mozambique
Tanzania
Zimbabwe
Region
European Union
South Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa (all income levels)

Selected Publications

Identifying youth at high risk for sexually transmitted infections in community-based settings using a risk prediction tool: a validation study.
KRANZER, K; SIMMS, V; Dauya, E; OLARU, ID; DZIVA CHIKWARI, C; MARTIN, K; Redzo, N; Bandason, T; TEMBO, M; Francis, SC; WEISS, HA; HAYES, RJ; Mavodza, C; Apollo, T; Ncube, G; Machiha, A; FERRAND, RA;
2021
BMC Infectious Diseases
Comprehensive occupational health services for healthcare workers in Zimbabwe during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
Kavenga, F; Rickman, HM; Chingono, R; TARUVINGA, T; Marembo, T; Manasa, J; Marambire, E; McHugh, G; Gregson, CL; Bandason, T; Redzo, N; Maunganidze, A; Magure, T; Ndhlovu, C; Mujuru, H; Rusakaniko, S; Manangazira, P; FERRAND, RA; KRANZER, K;
2021
PloS one
Community SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence before and after the second wave of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Fryatt, A; SIMMS, V; Bandason, T; Redzo, N; OLARU, ID; Ndhlovu, CE; Mujuru, H; Rusakaniko, S; Hoelscher, M; Rubio-Acero, R; Paunovic, I; Wieser, A; Chonzi, P; Masunda, K; FERRAND, RA; KRANZER, K;
2021
EClinicalMedicine
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
P09 <b>Estimation of the causal effect of church attendance on risk of</b><i> Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i><b> infection in young children in rural Malawi using targeted maximum likelihood estimation</b>
KHAN, P; BAISLEY, K; Martinez, L; Mzembe, T; Chiumya, R; KRANZER, K; Fine, P; Fielding, K; Crampin, A; Glynn, J;
2021
SSM Annual Scientific Meeting
Prevalence of ESBL-producing Escherichia coli in adults with and without HIV presenting with urinary tract infections to primary care clinics in Zimbabwe.
OLARU, ID; FERRAND, RA; Chisenga, M; YEUNG, S; Macrae, B; Chonzi, P; STABLER, RA; HOPKINS, H; MABEY, D; Masunda, KP E; KRANZER, K;
2021
JAC-antimicrobial resistance
Evaluation of a Novel Culture System for Rapid Pathogen Identification and Detection of Cephalosporin Resistance in Neonatal Gram-negative Sepsis at a Tertiary Referral Unit in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Chimhini, G; OLARU, ID; Fitzgerald, F; Chisenga, M; Ferreyra, C; Malou, N; Piton, J; Chimhuya, S; YEUNG, S; De, S; Mujuru, HA; KRANZER, K;
2021
The Pediatric infectious disease journal
The association between antimicrobial resistance and HIV infection: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
OLARU, ID; Tacconelli, E; YEUNG, S; FERRAND, RA; STABLER, RA; HOPKINS, H; AIKEN, AM; KRANZER, K;
2021
Clinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
See more information