Nishi Suryavanshi, PhD

Pune, India

Role:

Staff

Clinical Research Site Coordinator, Deputy Director, BJGMC Clinical Research Site; Research Associate, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Dr. Suryavanshi is Clinical Research Site Coordinator and Deputy Director for the BJGMC-JHU CRS in Pune, India. She has 18 years of experience working in the ACTG and IMPAACT networks as a protocol team member, site co-investigator and lead behavioral science studies in TB, HIV, mental helath, substance use, and women’s health.In addition, she has been instrumental in implementing large NIH funded research projects with strong leadership qualities and site management skills.

Dr. Suryavanshi has established extensive networks with regional non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and local TB and HIV programs. She has developed and co-developed various social and behavioural projects. During the past 22 years, she has overseen the clinical research studies related to HIV/AIDS and TB at of BJGMC-JHU Clinical research site in Pune, India.

Dr. Suryavanshi completed a CDC grant to enhance the capacity of outreach workers catering to HIV-infected pregnant women to uptake PMTCT services using mHealth platform. She is leading a Hybrid trail for Alcohol reduction intervention among HIV and HIV/TB patients at two sites in Pune, India, an operational project assessing the implementation of 3HP TB preventive therapy among People Living with HIV and a longitudinal qualitative study to understand treatment experiences of children with drug resistant TB.

She has been selected as a mentor of the USAID PEER Mentorship program for women in TB research. Currently, she is mentoring 5 junior scientists from Johns Hopkins and Tulane University. She is also serving as a member of the Technical Advisory Committee of Capacity development in HIV and Mental health Research in Asia (D43 grant from Fogarty NIH)· She is Heading Behavioural and Social science Working Group, RePORT India consortium. Leading a training and mentoring committee for the JHUBI Clinical trials unit program. She has presented her work at national and international conferences and has published study findings in peer-reviewed journals with 70+ publications.

Dr. Suryavanshi attended the University of Pune, Maharashtra, India, where she earned her BSc in zoology, her MSc in Medical anthropology, and her Ph.D. in Anthropology. Additionally, she is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University Summer Institute of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, where she studied the ethical issues related to human subjects research in developing countries.

Studies/Projects
Publications
News

Assessing Tuberculosis Transmission Dynamics, Drug Resistance and Recurrence Using Whole Genome Sequencing in Pune, India

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2018-06-12

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Indo-JHU researchers are using combined geospatial and genotyping methods to describe TB transmission dynamics in a hyperlocal region of Pune City in Western India.

Optimal Approach for TB Screening among HIV Infected Indian Children

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2018-06-11

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This study was terminated May 20, 2019. It was funded by the Fogarty International Center at the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Determining TB status (ie, uninfected, latent, and active TB disease) is more difficult among children, particularly HIV-infected children. Diagnosis of TB disease is...

P2005: A Phase I/II Open-Label, Single-Arm Study to Evaluate the Pharmacokinetics, Safety, and Tolerability of Delamanid in Combination with OBR for MDR-TB in HIV-Infected and Uninfected Children with MDR-TB

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2018-06-07

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New study will characterize the pharmacokinetics of delamanid using a model-based approach, and evaluate safety and tolerability of over 24 weeks of study treatment in HIV infected and uninfected children.

Assessing the Impact of the Fogarty HIV-TB Training Program at the Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Government Medical College, Pune, India

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2018-01-19

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This study was terminated in January 2021. It was funded by the Fogarty International Center at the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Johns Hopkins University was funded in 2013 to establish a new post-doctoral training program in HIV-TB epidemiology, clinical and laboratory research, for junior...

Perceptions of HCWs on Barriers and Opportunities to Airborne Infection Control Guideline Implementation

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2017-12-07

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This study was terminated in December 2020 It was funded and conducted under the U.S. National Institutes of Health, Fogarty International Center. Led by Dr. Nishi Suryavanshi, this qualitative, cross-sectional study is assessing healthcare worker (HCW) perceptions about barriers and facilitators...

The Role of GeneXpert in Bacterial Diagnosis of Spinal Tuberculosis

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2017-10-26

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This study was teriminated June 19, 2019. It was funded by the Fogarty International Center at the U.S. National Institutes of Health. India has the maximum burden of tuberculosis (TB) in the world. In 2014, there were an estimated 9.6 million incident cases of TB (range, 9.1 million–10.0 million)...

Assessment of Cardiovascular Health Knowledge, Preventive Practices and Cardio-protective Behavior among HIV-infected Individuals in Pune, India

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2017-10-12

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This study is conducted under the TREAT Asia Network and funded by amfAR. Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD) have become one of the leading causes of death among PLWH (People Living with HIV) across the globe. The burden that CVD will pose in the imminent future for the 2.1...

Zika Surveillance among Antenatal Clinic Outpatients in BJ Government Medical College and Sassoon General Hospitals, Pune, India

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2017-08-31

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This study was terminated July 21, 2020. Zika virus is a vector-borne disease carried by the mosquito Aedes aegypti . Pregnant women infected with Zika may pass the virus to the fetus, which may cause microcephaly and other severe brain defects. It is also linked to miscarriage, stillbirth, and...

Antimicrobial Use and Diagnosis among Hospitalized Febrile Patients in Pune, India

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2017-08-07

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Antimicrobial resistance, a leading threat to human health, is enabled by unnecessary antibiotic use. Strategies to reduce unnecessary antibiotic use in India, the world’s largest antibiotic consumer, are urgently needed. Although most patients hospitalized in India with acute febrile illness...

Vaginal Microbiota in HIV Infected Pregnant Women

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2017-07-14

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This study is conducted under CCGHE’s PRACHITI (PRegnancy And CHanges In TuberculosIs) effort, supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Led by Dr. Rupak Shivakoti, this is a nested cross-sectional...

A5332: Randomized Trial to Prevent Vascular Events in HIV – REPRIEVE

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2017-06-09

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This study is conducted under the AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) and funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health. This is a prospective, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, multicenter efficacy study in 6500 subjects, with individual subjects to be followed for up to 72 months...

A5349: Rifapentine-containing Treatment Shortening Regimens for Pulmonary Tuberculosis: A Randomized, Open-label, Controlled Phase 3 Clinical Trial

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2017-06-05

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This study is conducted under the AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) and funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health. This is an international, multicenter, randomized, controlled, open-label, 3-arm, phase 3 non-inferiority trial. Primary Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of a rifapentine-...

Understanding Quality of Life during and Loss to Follow-up from Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Treatment in Pune, India

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2017-05-15

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This study will examine a) risk factors for loss to follow-up from DR-TB treatment, b) actively trace DR-TB patients lost to follow-up from treatment and c) establish a prospective observational cohort of MDR-TB, XDR-TB and DS-TB patients as well as healthy controls nested within ongoing RNTCP...

Risk Factors for Unfavourable Treatment Outcomes among Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis Patients in Public Sector Treatment in Pune

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2017-03-29

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This study is funded and conducted under the U.S. National Institutes of Health, Fogarty International Center. This study seeks to identify risk factors associated with unfavourable treatment outcomes (death, treatment failure, default, XDR-TB) among multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB)...

MDR-TB Free: Monitoring Adverse Effects, Utilizing Resources Optimally, Knowing Resistance Patterns, and Treatment Strategy

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2017-03-24

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Hinduja Hospital

This study is also known as MDR-TB MUKT: M onitoring Adverse Effects, U tilizing Resources Optimally, K nowing Resistance Patterns, and T reatment Strategy. Purpose: To establish an observational cohort of MDR-TB cases and household contacts with accompanying biorepository at PD Hinduja National...

Impact of HIV and Diabetes Mellitus on TB Drug Resistance and Recurrence

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2017-03-02

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This study was terminated in January 2021. Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of mortality globally. With increasing burden of HIV and diabetes mellitus (DM), there is a critical need to understand the microbial response and ensuing disease dynamics of TB in the HIV-infected and diabetic host...

Multicenter Study of the Accuracy of the BD MAX MDR-TB Assay for Detection of M. tuberculosis Complex and Mutations Associated with Resistance to Rifampin or Isoniazid

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2017-03-01

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In a multi-country study, we are assessing the accuracy of the BD MAX rapid MDR-TB assay to detect rifampin and isoniazid resistance.

TREAT Asia Pediatric HIV Observational Database

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2017-02-09

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Studies conducted under the TREAT Asia Network and funded by amfAR. TREAT Asia Pediatric HIV Observational Database (TApHOD) is a collaborative observational cohort study of infants, children, and adolescents living with HIV. TApHOD study participants are...

TREAT Asia Observational Database

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2017-02-09

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Study conducted under the TREAT Asia Network and funded by amfAR. The TREAT Asia Observational Database's primary study objective is to: Examine HIV natural history, including the relationship between access to ART, demographics, and...

Prevalence and Risk Factors for Oral Cancer among HIV-Infected Adults

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2016-12-13

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The study is designed as a cross-sectional, single time point study for opportunistic oral cancer screening of HIV-infected and non- HIV adults 21 years or older in an urban hospital. All participants will undergo screening for oral cancer and oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD) by...

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Mobile phone access and comfort: implications for HIV and tuberculosis care in India and South Africa.

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2019-07-01

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International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease

SETTING: India and South Africa shoulder the greatest burden of tuberculosis (TB) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection respectively, but care retention is suboptimal. OBJECTIVE: We conducted a study in Pune, India, and Matlosana, South Africa ...

Age-specific prevalence of TB infection among household contacts of pulmonary tuberculosis: Is it time for TB preventive therapy?

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2019-06-21

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Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

BACKGROUND: Household contacts (HHCs) of TB patients are at high risk of developing evidence of latent TB infection (LTBI) and active disease from the index patient. We estimated the age-specific prevalence of LTBI and the force of infection (FI), as a measure of recent transmission, among HHCs of...

Assessment of lung function in successfully treated tuberculosis reveals high burden of ventilatory defects and COPD

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2019-05-23

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PLoS One

New in PLoS One: We found a high burden of lung function defects and COPD in tuberculosis cases who successfully completed treatment, suggesting a need for lung function screening as part of patient management.

Willingness to take multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) preventive therapy among adult and adolescent household contacts of MDR-TB index cases: an international multi-site cross-sectional study

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2019-03-28

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Clinical Infectious Diseases

Abstract BACKGROUND: Household contacts (HHCs) of individuals with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) are at high risk of infection and subsequent disease. There is limited evidence on the willingness of MDR-TB HHCs to take MDR-TB preventive therapy (TPT) to decrease their risk of TB disease...

Elevated highly sensitive C-reactive protein and d-dimer levels are associated with food insecurity among people living with HIV in Pune, India

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2019-03-04

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Public Health Nutrition

Abstract OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence and determinants of food insecurity among people living with HIV (PLWH) in Pune, India and its association with biomarkers known to confer increased risks of morbidity and mortality in this population. DESIGN:...

Female global health leadership: Data-driven approaches to close the gender gap

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2019-02-09

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The Lancet

Lancet article investigates gender-based challenges of female health trainees and professionals and identifies interventions

Drug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae colonization is associated with healthcare utilization and antimicrobial use among inpatients in Pune, India

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2018-10-04

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BMC Infectious Diseases

BACKGROUND: Healthcare exposure may increase drug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae colonization risk. Nascent antimicrobial stewardship efforts in low- and middle-income countries require setting-specific data. We aimed to evaluate risk factors for inpatient drug resistant...

The association of household fine particulate matter and kerosene with tuberculosis in women and children in Pune, India

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2018-09-07

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Occupational and Environmental Medicine

Use of kerosene cooking fuel is positively associated with TB in women and children in our analysis using reported sources of exposure.

Challenges and opportunities for outreach workers in the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) program in India

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2018-09-04

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PLoS One

PLoS One: Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV program in India is one of the largest in the world, and it relies on outreach workers. Our study looked at challenges and opportunities for outreach workers.

Trends in HbA1c levels and implications for diabetes screening in tuberculosis cases undergoing treatment in India

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2018-07-01

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International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease

SETTING: The optimal timing of screening for diabetes mellitus (DM) among tuberculosis (TB) cases is unclear due to the possibility of stress hyperglycemia. DESIGN: We evaluated adult (18 years) pulmonary TB cases at treatment initiation as well as at 3 months,...

Loss to follow‐up and mortality among HIV‐infected adolescents receiving antiretroviral therapy in Pune, India

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2018-06-25

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HIV Medicine

Over 6 years, one-third of HIV+ adolescents in this study discontinued medical treatment, indicating a critical need for retention counselling and closer clinical monitoring.

Sources of household air pollution and their association with fine particulate matter in low-income urban homes in India

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2018-05-23

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Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology

INTRODUCTION: Household air pollution (HAP) is poorly characterized in low-income urban Indian communities. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A questionnaire assessing sources of HAP and 24 h household concentrations of particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter (...

Addressing knowledge gaps and prevention for tuberculosis-infected Indian adults: a vital part of elimination

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2018-05-02

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BMC Infectious Diseases

BMC Infectious Diseases : Our survey among TB patients' household contacts with evidence of recent exposure found that knowledge is poor and families are confused about disease transmission.

Intestinal barrier dysfunction and microbial translocation in HIV-infected pregnant women is associated with preterm birth

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2018-03-24

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Clinical Infectious Diseases

Our results show select immune markers can identify women at higher risk for PTB in HIV-1-infected populations and suggest modulating gut barrier integrity and microbial translocation may affect PTB.

Gender-based violence screening methods preferred by women visiting a public hospital in Pune, India

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2018-01-22

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BMC Womens Health

BMC Womens Health : In our study, 23% of women reported experiencing gender based violence, and 90% reported they had never been asked about it in the healthcare setting.

Prevalence of dysglycemia and clinical presentation of pulmonary tuberculosis in Western India

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2017-12-01

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International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence and risk factors of pre-diabetes mellitus (DM) and DM, and its associations with the clinical presentation of tuberculosis (TB). Design: Screening for DM was conducted among adults (age  18 years) with confirmed TB between December 2013 and...

Household food insecurity is associated with low interferon-gamma levels in pregnant Indian women

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2017-07-01

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International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease

Objective: To determine the association between household food insecurity and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) levels in pregnancy. Design: Pregnant women in India were administered the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) questionnaire and underwent an IFN-γ release assay...

Maternal syphilis: An independent risk factor for mother to infant human immunodeficiency virus transmission

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2017-06-15

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Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Abstract Syphilis is associated with increased human immunodeficiency virus acquisition and sexual transmission; we examined impact on human immunodeficiency virus mother-to-child transmission among mother-infant pairs enrolled in the India Six-Week Extended-Dose Nevirapine study...

High prevalence of cryptococcal antigenaemia amongst asymptomatic advanced HIV patients in Pune, India

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2017-03-21

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Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology

Methods : A prospective study was conducted in a large public sector ART centre and the inpatient wards of Sassoon Hospital, Pune, India. All consenting patients> 18 years of age with CD4 count <100 cells/mm3 were screened for CrAg by latex agglutination assay. Those with positive CrAg...

Efficacy of six-week extended-dose nevirapine varies by infant birth weight with greatest relative efficacy in low birth weight infants

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2016-09-30

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PLOS One

Low birth weight (LBW), defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as birth weight less than 2500 g, is a significant public health issue in resource-limited settings, particularly in Sub Saharan Africa and South Asia where the estimated annual incidence is 14% and 28–31%, respectively,...

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Feasibility Study Complete on Preventive Therapy for Household Contacts of MDR-TB Patients in Pune, India

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2016-03-31

March 31, 2016—Pune, India—The Baltimore-Washington-India Clinical Trials Unit is pleased to announce that the BJGMC Clinical Research Site (BJGMC-CRS) in Pune, India, just finished the feasibility study titled A5300/IMPAACT2003: Study of MDR-TB Cases and their Household Contacts: Operational...

Up Close: Nishi Suryavanshi

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2016-03-01

Combining Behavioral and Clinical Research to Improve Health Outcomes for Women in India “If there is one thing I have learned during my extensive field experience in rural areas, it’s that no disease is a purely clinical in nature,” notes behavioral scientist Nishi Suryavanshi, PhD. Based in CCGHE...

Advancing Global TB Research through RePORT

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2016-02-29

Regional Prospective Observational Research for Tuberculosis (RePORT) International is a large, international tuberculosis research effort being undertaken by 4 regional consortia: RePORT Brazil, RePORT South Africa, RePORT Indonesia, and RePORT India. While each region collects and maintains its...

Tuberculosis test may underreport in pregnant women with HIV

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2016-01-28

Source:

Infectious Disease Advisor

Pregnancy may confound tuberculosis (TB) tests results in women with HIV, according to research published in the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine .

Tuberculosis scare in HIV positive pregnant women: most widely-used tuberculosis test fails to diagnose illness

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2016-01-28

Source:

International Business Times

The most commonly-used tuberculosis (TB) test, TST, has failed to detect TB in HIV positive pregnant women. A research published online in the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine has revealed that the TB test failed to accurately diagnose the...

BJGMC Clinical Research Site Observes World AIDS Day

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2015-12-14

Pune, India—To mark the struggle of those living with HIV and in commemoration of those who have lost their lives, the Clinical Research Site at Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Government Medical College (BJGMC CRS) participated in the National AIDS Trust’s World AIDS Day . Each year on December 1, events are...

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