Sequencing from sputum think tank

WGS of Mtb is increasingly used in tuberculosis research. To translate sequencing data into actionable information for the diagnosis and management of tuberculosis patient and for public health surveillance, culture-free WGS directly from clinical samples is needed. Only then could WGS fully unleash its potential and become a transformative game changer for tuberculosis research, clinical care and public health. Through the establishment of a think tank, we aim to move forward in big leaps and accelerate the development of an end-to-end solution for direct WGS of Mtb that is affordable and feasible, even in high tuberculosis burden countries.

List of think tank members (in alphabetical order):

1. David Alland, Rutgers University, US

2. Richard Anthony, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, the Netherlands

3. Andrea Cabibbe, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Milan, Italy

4. Pieter-Jan Ceyssens, ScienSano, Belgium

5. Daniela Cirillo, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Milan, Italy

6. Inaki Comas, Biomedical institute of Valencia, Spain

7. Derrick Crook, University of Oxford, UK

8. Vincent Escuyer, Wadsworth Center New York, US

9. David Engelthaler, Translational Genomics Research Institute, US

10. Maha Farhat, Harvard Medical School

11. Sebastian Gagneux, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Switzerland

12. Galo Goig, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Switzerland

13. Conor Meehan, University of Bradford, UK

14. Stefan Nieman, Research Center Borstel, Germany

15. Camus Nimmo, University College London, UK

16. Shaheed Omar, National Institute for Communicable Diseases, South Africa

17. Philip Supply, French National Center of Scientific Research, France

18. Faramaz Valafar, San Diego State University, USA

19. Koen Vandelannoote, University of Melbourne, Australia

20. Digby Warner, University of Cape Town, South Africa