Global Initiatives for Global Cures: Cirillo Takes the Fight Against TB to China

Nearly one-third of the world’s population is infected with tuberculosis (TB), an infectious disease that usually attacks the lungs and caused by bacteria transmitted through the air. Each year, nine million more people become infected with TB worldwide, and every 15 seconds, one infected person dies, totaling two million people annually. Half of those deaths are children. In short, TB and respiratory diseases are the number one killers of people worldwide, especially children.

Galvanized by those statistics, the College of Medicine founded the Center for Airborne Pathogens Research and Tuberculosis Image Resources (CAP) in August of 2007. Led by principal investigator Dr. Jeffrey Cirillo, a professor in the College of Medicine’s Department of Microbial and Molecular Pathogenesis and tuberculosis researcher for more than 20 years, the CAP’s team of researchers and technicians utilize both animal and molecular models to understand airborne pathogens and to develop treatments for the global population.

“Whenever I face a challenge in the lab, I think about how many children die from tuberculosis every day,” Dr. Cirillo said. “It really makes you conscious of how you spend your time, so I’m always trying to make progress.”

In October 2009, Dr. Cirillo represented the Texas A&M Health Science Center, the College of Medicine and the Center for Airborne Pathogens at the fourth China-U.S. Relations Conference in Beijing, China hosted by Texas A&M University, the George Bush School of Government and Public Service, the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation, and the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. Dr. Cirillo served as the chair of the roundtable on Tuberculosis Epidemiology and Emerging Drug Resistance, specifically designed to foster technological exchange in science and health.

“Our goal at the roundtable was to further enhance interactions between researchers at the Texas A&M Health Science Center and those in China involved in combating tuberculosis,” Dr. Cirillo said. “Our interactions will improve the quality of diagnosis and treatments in China. Through the China-U.S. conference, we were able to create new collaborative relationships with key investigators across the globe who are working on airborne pathogens.”

To that end, the Center for Airborne Pathogens has made great strides in the research for treatments of tuberculosis, pneumonia and other infections caused by airborne pathogens. For instance, the Tuberculosis Imaging Resources, part of the CAP, develops real-time optical imaging solutions specifically for tuberculosis.

In 2008, Dr. Cirillo was awarded a $2.14 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Health Program, which supports his work on real-time optical imaging and detection of TB bacteria. His was the first Gates Foundation grant received by any component of the Texas A&M University System.

According to Cirillo, the optical imaging technology being used in his research hasn’t 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 that 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.”

Additionally, Dr. Cirillo and his team are investigating the airborne pathogens that cause pneumonia, Legionnaires’ disease, methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus, influenza, cystic fibrosis-related pseudomonas infection and mycobacterium avium complex.

After years of working late nights and weekends, keeping in mind the lives of those infected, Dr. Cirillo said, “Ultimately the Center for Airborne Pathogens cultivates communication and collaboration between researchers and organizations combat airborne pathogens and to speed the progress toward improved prevention and treatment methods worldwide.”