Gut Microbiome

Project Lead(s)
Project Background 

TB depletes the gut microbiome of beneficial bacteria and in the cases of comorbidity depletion is more severe which could negatively impact treatment outcome.

Objectives/Research Areas 

The objectives of this study are:

  1. To profile the gut microbiome in TB patients
  2. To investigate the effect of diabetes and HIV as well as TB therapy on the gut microbiome
Key Findings 

We found that, the gut microbiome in TB patients living with diabetes and/or HIV is depleted of beneficial bacteria such as Bifidobacterium, Faecalibacteriun and Clostridium with enrichment in inflammation related bacteria. Future works are focusing on understanding the specific roles some of the enriched bacteria in TB patients play as well as the impact of the gut microbiome on the lung microbiome due to their crosstalk.

Team 
Dr. Isaac Okyere - Bacteriology
Senior Research Fellow
IMG_2201
Senior Research Fellow
External Collaborator(s) 
Chest Department, Korle-BU teaching hospital
Funder(s) 
European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP)
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Senior Fellowship