Tuberculosis (TB) is an ancient scourge caused by the organism Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which is responsible for an estimated 10 million new cases per year and over 1 million deaths. Our work aims to understand the spread of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the natural history of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, and the virulence determinants of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex members, which cause TB in humans and animal hosts. 

Highlights of this work include:
 

  1. A phylogeny for the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, rooted in an imputed ancestral genome sequence:
    a. Mostowy, JID, 2002
    b. Mostowy, J Bacteriol, 2005 
    c. Harrison, Microb Genom, 2024
  2. The demonstration of genomic differences between virulent organisms and the BCG vaccine strains
    a. Behr, Science, 1999
    b. Lewis, JID, 2003
    c. Kozak, Infect Immun, 2011
  3. Epidemiologic studies of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from Cape Town to Kangiqsualujjuaq
    a. Behr, Lancet, 1999
    b. Verver, Lancet, 2004
    c. Lee, PNAS, 2015
  4. The timetable of tuberculosis and the recognition that infection need not be lifelong
    a. Behr, BMJ, 2018
    b. Behr, BMJ, 2019
    c. Behr, AmJRCCM, 2021

  5. A revised definition of zoonotic tuberculosis, with the demonstration of more virulent members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex
    a. Duffy, Lancet Microbe, 2020
    b. Duffy, Lancet ID, 2024
    c. Danchuk, PNAS, 2025

    Funding for our tuberculosis work has come from the following sources of support:
    Canadian Institutes of Health Research, National Institutes of Health, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Containment Level 3 laboratory
Employee working in a Containment Level 3 biosafety cabinet