Mycobacterium Tuberculosis

Student: Jessica Coffin, 2019-2020

Sponsor: Jeff Schorey , Notre Dame, IN

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB) is a disease that many people often forget about, but it still runs rampant in the world. In 2017 alone, 10.0 million people contracted active TB, and 1.7 million of those individuals died. About 95% of these individuals live in developing countries like India, the Philippines, China, etc. These countries do not support high drug costs, so many patients cannot get access to treatment. There is only a 55% success rate to treat TB. Dr. Jeff Schorey and Dr. Yong Cheng developed a new medication to treat Mycobacterial Tuberculosis. This medication pairs immunotherapy and existing anti-TB antibiotics. The immunotherapy will activate the innate immune system, which will lead to shorter treatment plans for individuals with TB. Notre Dame and the researchers are determined to help end the TB epidemic by 2030, and this new drug will help make this a reality.