An unpredictable journey into Tuberculosis modelling - rediscovering the spectrum of tuberculosis
In this inaugural lecture, Professor Rein Houben will cover the ups, downs and many random accidents and opportunities that took a teenager from The Netherlands who didn’t like maths on a journey to Tuberculosis modelling at LSHTM.
Rein will describe his work on Tuberculosis, a disease that continues to kill more than 1,000,000 people every year. When he was taught about tuberculosis almost 25 years ago, the natural history was said to be very simple: people were either infected (lifelong, but you’re fine) or had disease (risk of death similar to Ebola), with nothing in between. The solution was also simple: wait for those sick people to come to a clinic, and then give them treatment.
As it turns out, those simplifications have many problems, with often negative consequences. The lecture will cover how data from the past and present has shown why the old paradigm is broken, and how we used this data to help rediscover the spectrum of TB disease. With those insights, we can now make better decisions on how to stop TB from continuing to wreak havoc in families and communities.
Finally, Rein will look forward, trying to define what success might look like in the next 10 years, both in terms of improving tuberculosis policies, and supporting the next generation of TB researchers.
Speaker
Professor Rein Houben
Event notices
- The lecture will be followed by an in-person drinks reception from 18.30 - 19.30 in G90
- Please note that you can join this event in person or you can join the session remotely
- Please note that the recording link will be listed on this page when available
Admission
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