Name Activity "Tropical Infectious Diseases Research Group" "The Tropical Infectious Diseases Group brings together expertise on neglected tropical diseases (in particular leishmaniasis, trypanosomiasis, leprosy as well as dengue and other arboviruses) and on common infectious diseases (such as malaria and TB) using a transdisciplinary perspective. The community perspective is key and addressed by a mixed methods approach. Priority topics for 2020-2024 are the science of disease elimination, eco-health and emerging infections. The ambition in particular is to strengthen surveillance and risk assessment for these (and other) infectious diseases through the use of innovative tools and methods, including the setting up of health demographic surveillance systems. The focus of the TID group is to unravel transmission dynamics, risks and determinants, as well as to develop and test interventions that reduce the burden of infectious diseases.ObjectivesEffective health interventions and programs can reduce the burden and impact of TIDs through transdisciplinary research, teaching and capacity building. We aim for a systemic understanding of the transmission, determinants and burden of tropical infectious diseases, with a focus on socio-ecological dynamics and heterogeneity. We will develop innovative, sustainable and appropriate surveillance and risk assessments tools and will evaluate acceptability, cost and effectiveness of (novel) interventions to control or eliminate specific tropical infectious diseases. We will build on our strong expertise related to neglected tropical diseases and vector borne diseases, in particular arbovirosis and malaria, and include multi-stakeholder involvement in all stages of research, teaching and capacity building.Our research plan is built around three specific, albeit strongly interconnected, specific objectives:Specific objective 1: Disease Elimination Sciences (IPP theme 3). While focusing on selected tropical infectious diseases, whereby we build on the existing ITM expertise, we aim to develop generalisable insights beyond those specific diseases. We aim to lead research into effective and sustainable interventions that contribute to the elimination of tropical infectious diseases, taking into account spatial, biological, entomological, environmental and social heterogeneities. Common challenges include identifying and testing effective methods for screening, diagnostics, case-finding and contact tracing, in pre- and post-elimination phases, as well as studying hidden reservoirs and mobilisation of support. Improved understanding of the complex transmission dynamics aims to facilitate the development of novel strategies for tropical infectious disease impact mitigation and elimination. In future with additional external funding, other NTD, such as schistosomiasis and onchocerciasis, and other vector borne infections, could be included.Specific objective 2: Eco-health (IPP theme 4). In close collaboration with the health systems & policy group and the clinical and biomedical departments, we aim to develop a system-based transdisciplinary approach to analyse socio-ecological dynamics that shape tropical infectious diseases transmission and outcomes apart from pathogen, reservoir and host factors (including environmental factors, climate change, human mobility and urbanisation). To develop an evidence-base for policies aimed at resilience and adaptation, we will analyse interactions between the different components or levels of the ecosystem in which people are living, and will study vulnerability and active strategies deployed by populations in the context of modifications on vector, agent, host, (hidden) reservoirs, social and environmental dynamics.Specific objective 3: Emerging infections and outbreaks (IPP theme 1&2). Our research will concentrate on effective acceptable responses by validating novel surveillance, risk assessment, diagnostics and early warning methods, integrating social, human and pathogen dynamics. We will work closely with long-standing collaborators to strengthen early warning as well as develop research into transmission and uptake of interventions, assess optimal strategies to integrate vaccination and sanitation in mitigation response, and assess impact on resilience. Optimal impact of vaccinations and addressing emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are of particular concern. Methodological innovations will be explored to address common themes in infectious disease emergence and control, and overcome previous constraints towards sustainable and effective responses." "Centre for Health Economics Research and Modelling of Infectious Diseases (CHERMID)" "Philippe Beutels" "The ""Centre for Health Economic Research & Modelling Infectious Diseases"" (CHERMID) has extensive expertise in health economics, biostatistics and mathematical models. CHERMID is multidisciplinary, currently employing 14 researchers, often with multiple backgrounds (economics, medicine, mathematics, statistics, informatics, physics, biology and (bio/commercial) engineering). CHERMID conducts both conceptual-methodological and applied research. In health economics, such research includes developing: (1) international standards for the conduct and interpretation of health economic evaluations, particularly in relation to infectious diseases; (2) methods on dealing with uncertainty in health economic evaluation; (3) methods to identify determinants of health and health care consumption; (4) methods for health-related quality of life assessment; (5) surveys to analyse people's (a) risk perceptions of infectious diseases and vaccines ; (b) preferred criteria for health care prioritisation; (c) health care consumption; (d) health-related quality of life. Additionally, CHERMID develops methods to address infectious disease modelling challenges related to: (1) modelling between-host infectious disease transmission; (2) modelling within-host immunological reponse mechanisms; (3) integrating between-host transmission and within-host immunological dynamics in single models; (4) demonstrating model fit and validity; (5) computational optimization of individual-based models; (6) collecting and quantifying serological data and social mixing patterns relevant to transmission; (7) Integrating behavioural change based on risk perceptions in individual-based models. Numerous methodological and policy studies have been undertaken by CHERMID in various countries, including model, burden of disease and economic evaluation studies applied to influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), pneumococcus, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella- zoster, cytomegalovirus, pertussis, poliomyelitis, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV, meningococcal C, human papillomavirus, rotavirus, dengue, malaria and typhoid fever. The applications will focus in the coming years on measles-mumps-rubella, pneumococci, influenza and RSV." "Emerging Infectious Diseases" "Clinical Emerging Infectious Diseases" "Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute (VAXINFECTIO)" "Integrated vaccine and microbiological research with a focus on increasing the understanding of the immune response in prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines (including tumour vaccines) and on the containment of antibiotic resistance. - Development of point of care diagnostic systems - Therapeutic and/or preventive (personalized) health care - Applied research with human vaccines - Research for surrogate biomerkers - Biobanking - Development of injection devices - Epidemiological studies and modelling of infectious diseases - Insights in the human microbiota and impact of antibiotic and probiotic therapies - Antibiotic use and resistance - Economic evaluation of vaccination campaigns Several innovative research topics are ongoing or in the pipeline: potential development of theranostic devices (e.g. rapid Point of Care Diagnostics, optical biosensors, lab-on-chip, microarrays) for pathogen detection and associated resistance in collaboration with several European research partners; potential development of new rapid diagnostic tests and injection devices; potential development of patient-specific cellular vaccines for targeted antiviral and anticancer therapy." "Vaccine & infectious disease institute" "Mycobacterial Diseases and Neglected Tropical Diseases" "Non-communicable Diseases Research Group" "The Non-Communicable Diseases Group was created in late 2018 following a long-recognised need to strengthen ITM’s expertise in understanding and addressing the spreading NCD (such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancers) epidemics in low-resource settings, areas traditionally burdened with infectious diseases. The overall motivation of the group is to understand the socioeconomical, behavioral and metabolic risks driving the onset of cardiometabolic diseases and cancer, and therefore our focus is on prevention. The group uses epidemiological methods and advanced modelling to address these research questions, and aims to enable evidence-based, population-specific public health strategies that are efficient and sustainable.Follow us on Twitter @NCDs_ITMObjectivesNCDs remain the main cause of premature death and disability globally. However, while NCD-related death rates are declining in most HIC, the mortality due to NCDs in LMIC is increasing at an alarming rate, especially among the youngest and poorest strata. Rapid globalisation, population aging, unplanned urbanisation, and widespread unhealthy lifestyles are the root causes of NCDs in LMIC, that in addition to traditional infectious disease challenges, constitute a double burden of disease that requires complementary approaches. Though there is evidence on the most effective strategies to tackle NCDs in HICs, more research is needed to characterise the differential drivers of NCDs in LMIC. This includes the contextualisation of NCD prevention and care in already burdened systems, inequities in daily life conditions and underlying socioeconomic, political, environmental and cultural factors. In alignment with WHO’s prioritized actions for NCDs, we will investigate the best approaches to achieve the reduction of modifiable risk factors (malnutrition in all forms, physical inactivity, alcohol, tobacco, and obesity), as well as the control and management of conditions such as diabetes and hypertension to curb the burden (morbidity, mortality, trends, and costs) of NCDs in the context of LMIC. The NCDs group will integrate a multi-disciplinary team of researchers aiming to identify effective and equitable public health strategies that can reduce the burden of NCD specifically in LMIC as well as among vulnerable populations in HIC. Our research overarches all levels of prevention and, initially using available observational data and surveillance analysis and modelling, will focus on four specific objectives:Specific objective 1: Burden of NCDs: characterize and quantify burden of individual NCDs in specific population strata and assess individual, socio-economic, environmental, and geographical determinants and assess risks, and synergies with infectious diseases.Specific objective 2: Early prevention: identify, evaluate and implement population-based interventions with maximal cost-effective potential to reduce NCDs in specific, vulnerable populations.Specific objective 3: Secondary prevention and control: identify, evaluate, and implement population-based strategies to reduce progression of diagnosed NCDs; including adherence to treatment, and behavioral interventions to prevent or delay progression.Specific objective 4: Healthy aging: identify drivers of healthy aging and develop programs that strengthen prevention, increase early detection, and ensure sustainable care of chronic NCDs.Education activitiesThe NCDs group participates in teaching across the ITM’s academic offering. Also, the team runs the ITM’s short course (3-weeks) on NCDs, as part the MPH and as a stand-alone course. The course is divided in 3 modules dedicated to burden, risk factors and prevention, and control and is oriented to quantitative aspects." "Neglected Tropical Diseases" "The Unit of HIV & Neglected Tropical Diseases was created in April 2015, building on the post-doctoral work of the current head (Johan van Griensven, internist/clinical epidemiologist).  The unit studies the interaction between neglected tropical diseases and other conditions such as HIV coinfection. The current main research area is visceral leishmaniasis (VL)-HIV coinfection in East-Africa. Research is conducted within a research collaboration including Gondar University (Ethiopia), the Drugs for Neglected Diseaseses initiative (DNDi) and Médecins sans Frontières (MSF). Within this network, clinical trials have been conducted, evaluating approaches for improving treatment outcomes (combination therapy) and preventing relapse (secondary prophylaxis) in VL patients. An innovative approach towards a VL screen & treat strategy in HIV infected patients at risk of developing VL is currently under study.Key ambitions for the next years include expanding clinical research projects towards cutaneous leishmaniasis, and consolidating clinical immunological work linked to the clinical research projects.The unit was also extensively involved in the 2013-2015 Ebola outbreak in West-Africa, with the unit head acting as coordinating investigator of  a clinical trial evaluation the use of convalescent plasma as a treatment for Ebola in Guinea (REF).Research lines:Diagnosis and prediction of VL-HIV coinfectionTreatment of VL-HIV coinfection and cutaneous leishmaniasisClinical epidemiology of VL-HIV coinfectionClinical immunological monitoring of VL-HIV coinfectionImmunopathogenesis of VL-HIV coninfectionClinical research during infectious disease outbreaks in resource-constrained settingsAs to capacity building, the unit is leading a research and training capacity building project with the University of Gondar, funded by the Belgian government. Education and training activities cover the short course on research methods and evidence based medicine (SCREM), of which the unit head is the course director, contributions to the online antiretroviral treatment course (eSCART) and the training activities conducted within the capacity building project in Gondar. " "Tropical Medicine" "The Unit of Tropical Diseases has for long been part of the Department of Clinical Sciences, under the leading of Prof. Emeritus Jef Van Den Ende. It is led now since November 2012 by Prof. Emmanuel Bottieau (MD internal medicine/infectious diseases). It has strong collaborative links with the other units of the department, in particular the Unit of Travel Medicine, of Tropical Laboratory Medicine and of the recently created Unit of HIV/Neglected Tropical Diseases, and with the Medical Services. Beyond the department, several current research projects are shared with different biomedical (Medical Helminthology, Veterinarian Helminthology, Malariology, Diagnostic Bacteriology,…) and public health (Disease Control,…) units.In terms of research, the Units of Tropical Diseases and Unit of Travel Medicine have traditionally merged their activity for evident reasons of cross-fertilization between developed and low-resource contexts. Regarding post-travel pathology, both units actively contribute to surveillance and clinical research within well-established international networks of travel clinics (GeoSentinel,  TropNet,…). The Unit of Tropical Diseases works with several Southern institutions (DR Congo, Burkina Faso, Mali, …) within research consortia. The main research topics are:The integrated management (diagnosis-treatment) of febrile illness in the tropics and in travelers, with a focus on malaria, arboviral infection and rickettsiosisThe clinical management of neglected tropical diseases, with a focus on cysticercosis, schistosomiasis, strongyloidiasis and filarial infectionThe clinical decision-making in complex syndromes (neurological disorders, febrile illness, chronic diarrhea,...) in low-resource settingsIn collaboration with the Unit of Travel Medicine: high altitude illness, rabies vaccination,…The unit is responsible of the “classic” postgraduate course of Tropical Medicine (Module 2 of the course “Tropical Medicine and International Health), renamed in 2016 as “Tropical Medicine and Clinical Decisions Making” since there is an important component of Clinical Decision-Making beyond the descriptive pathology.In terms of service delivery, the unit contributes to international clinical courses (such as the Gorgas course of Clinical Tropical Medicine in Peru), national and international working groups/advisory committees (on malaria vaccine and treatment, dengue vaccine, treatment and investigational drugs for neglected tropical diseases such as leishmaniasis, sleeping sickness,…) and reference networks (Chagas, strongyloidiasis,…).   "