AU-NANOPROBES FOR TB · Disposable Point-of-Care DNA kit for Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Tuberculosis Bacillus (TB) and poverty come together to perpetuate a vicious cycle. Poverty contributes to the spread of TB as people are forced to share close living quarters and are often in overall poor health. Simultaneously, costs associated with diagnosis and treatment create further hardship, both for patients and their families – including their children. Worldwide, TB creates hundreds of thousands of orphans, increases child malnutrition and forces many children to leave school in order to work or care for their family or because of the stigma associated with the disease. To stop the spread of TB globally, the world needs better TB diagnostics: rapid, practical and accurate in poor-resource, which is critical to ensure that people receive proper and timely treatment. This proposal aims to integrate an experienced researcher in clinical microbiology to fulfil the multidisciplinary team among STAB VIDA’s consortium of partners and coordinate the development of a cost-effective and appropriate new Point-Of-Care diagnostic assay (portable nucleic acid test using gold nanoprobes) that will contribute towards improved control of the global TB epidemic and improve the quality of patient care by addressing yet unmet clinical needs.