Tristen Lourens

Student

University of the Free State, South Africa

Email: lourenstristen@gmail.com

VALIDATE Role:

Network Affiliate

Research Keywords:

TB, Bioinformatics, NGS, WGS, Wildlife

Biography:

Infections caused by the MTBC members have global impacts on animal and human health, food security, agricultural trade, and socioeconomic status of farmers, especially in rural communities in developing countries. Currently, there is limited knowledge about the relatedness of MTBC members circulating in African countries, especially amongst different reservoirs (domestic mammals and environment). The genomic diversity and evolution of MTBC needs to be better understood to elucidate the epidemiology of TB, to improve diagnostic approaches, track development of drug resistance patterns, and inform interventions for disease management and control. This requires a One Health approach, which integrates the range of susceptible hosts, as well as clarifying the role of the environment.

My research focuses on developing high-throughput, affordable and scalable assay(s) based on cutting-edge DNA sequencing technology and informed by state-of-the-art bioinformatic analysis, designed to enable detection and species differentiation of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) in multiple sample types. These findings will ultimately enhance real-time diagnosis of animal and zoonotic tuberculosis (TB), which are important causes of mortality and morbidity in livestock and human populations in Southern Africa, as well as globally.