Biography
Dr. Wilber Sabiiti BSc, MSc PhD, DipEduc is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of St Andrews, specialising in translational health research. His work connects laboratory discoveries to policy and practice, achieved through building multi-national interdisciplinary research consortia. Together with Prof Stephen Gillespie, pioneered the TB-MBLA, the first quantitative RNA-based test for tuberculosis bacterial load followed by similar technologies non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTMs) and bacteria underlying exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). His research spans diagnostics, antimicrobial resistance, vaccine trials and accessibility and research capacity building in Low and Middle Income Countries.
Key Impacts
Effect of sputum quality on performance of tuberculosis molecular bacterial load assay for tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment monitoring among adults in Uganda
Quality of sputum samples should be emphasized when using TB-MBLA for treatment monitoring. Studies with bigger sample sizes are required to confirm our findings.
Source: Conference 2024
Multi-method monitoring of response to individualised all-oral drug-resistant TB therapy reveals rapid conversion to negative in three high burden countries
Individualised DR-TB treatment achieves faster rate of conversion-to-negative. The 4h-to-result TB-MBLA test enables early, culture-free monitoring of treatment response, its integration could strengthen clinical management and accelerate programmatic decision-making in high-burden settings.
Source: Conference 2024
Background to TB-MBLA, importance in clinical trials and adoption in sub-Saharan Africa
Impact details available upon request.
Source: Conference 2024