COLLEGE STATION, Texas (January 11, 2008)– Jeffrey D. Cirillo, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Microbial and Molecular Pathogenesis at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, has received a $2.14 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant, from the Gates Foundation’s Global Health Program, will support Dr. Cirillo’s work on real-time optical imaging and detection of tuberculosis bacteria. This is the first Gates Foundation grant received by any component of the Texas A&M University System.

According to Dr. Cirillo, the optical imaging technology being used in his research has not been previously applied to infectious diseases.

“This technology was first used in cancer research to visualize tumors in their very early stages,” Dr. Cirillo said. “Derived from military technology, a highly sensitive camera is able to detect very small tumors which are made to produce light through the use of special compounds. Our concept is that the same technology may be able to detect tuberculosis and potentially other infectious diseases.”

As the principal investigator for the project, Dr. Cirillo will be working with College of Medicine colleague Dr. David McMurray and Dr. James Sacchettini from the TAMHSC Institute of Biosciences and Technology. Investigators from Texas A&M University and Stanford University School of Medicine and the biotechnology company Caliper Life Sciences will also be involved in the two-year project, which is an early-stage test of the technology.

“We’re hoping enzymes produced by tuberculosis bacteria will allow us to administer a substrate that can then specifically react with the bacteria to produce light, which will then be picked up by our cameras,” Dr. Cirillo said.

The optical imaging technology could permit Dr. Cirillo and his colleagues to observe real-time growth of the disease, allowing for accurate analysis of antibiotics and vaccines more quickly. Dr. Cirillo believes that some of the findings could be immediately transferable to tuberculosis research, while others could lead to more rapid progress in numerous areas of research.

“There have been a few studies attempting to develop this technology for other diseases, but it’s the first time this has been even attempted with tuberculosis,” Dr. Cirillo said. “This is highly sensitive technology that could help improve our ability to detect and diagnose infectious disease.”