Dr. Chris Lowbridge is a Senior Research Fellow at Menzies School of Health Research, where he leads the tuberculosis research program. His research program includes a range of projects in South-East Asia and Northern Australia which focus on improving tuberculosis care and prevention using an implementation science approach.
Dr. Philipp du Cros is a Principal Research Fellow and Co-head of the Tuberculosis Elimination and Implementation Science Working Group. An infectious diseases physician and researcher, he has more than 15 years of clinical and public health experience in TB and infectious diseases programs. He has an appointment at Monash Health as an infectious diseases physician. His research has a strong focus on improving the management of drug resistant TB through shorter multi-drug resistant TB treatment being a member of the steering committee for the TB-PRACTECAL randomised clinical trial. Current research interests include strategies for TB elimination, improving TB diagnostics, and implementation research on TB active case finding, TB preventive treatment, and combined TB /COVID testing. He has been awarded Royal Australasian College of Physicians International Medal 2018. In addition, he is the chair of the WHO Western Pacific Regional Green Light Committee, providing TB Expert advice to National TB programs in the western pacific region at the country’s invitation. He is a member of the steering committee for the MSF Global Health and Humanitarian Medicine course which is a part-time, online course which aims to provide affordable, global access to high-quality education in tropical medicine, and is recognised by the Royal College of Physicians as sufficient to sit for the diploma in tropical medicine and hygiene.
Prof. Ben J. Marais is a paediatrician and paediatric infectious diseases specialist with an interest in global health. He is internationally renowned for his work on childhood and multi drug-resistant (MDR)-tuberculosis (TB). He serves on the executive committee of the NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence in Tuberculosis Control and is a founding member of the Australasian Tuberculosis Forum. He strongly advocates for Australia to take a leadership role in coordinating enhanced TB and MDR-TB control efforts in the Asia–Pacific region. As Co-Director of Sydney ID, he works toward creating a dynamic multi-disciplinary research community in infection, immunity and biosecurity. He described the natural history of childhood TB from the pre-chemotherapy literature and conducted a large, prospective cohort study to document TB incidence and disease diversity among children in Cape Town. As Acting Director of the Ukwanda centre for Rural Health at Stellenbosch University, South Africa, his interest in the health of underserved populations inspired a comprehensive review of health care delivery in rural and remote areas. He was one of three lead authors of the Lancet TB series (2010), which assessed key challenges in global TB control, highlighted the neglected burden of childhood TB, and emphasised the need for more holistic and integrated approaches. The final ‘Call to Action’ manuscript that he led informed the WHO's post-2015 global TB control targets and action plan.
