The Amsterdam Tuberculosis Center is happy to share that they hosted the first joint symposium of APH-Global Health and the AI&I Infectious Diseases Programme, with a symposium on 19 June 2024. With the launch of the new AI&I with the set-up of a separate Infectious Diseases Programme, there is an explicit wish of both institutes to work together more closely. This symposium, hosted by the Amsterdam TB Center, was the perfect opportunity as many of the researchers in the Center are involved in both research institutes.

The symposium included two presentations on nearly-completed PhD theses (The role of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) in tuberculosis, by Lihui Guo, and The detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in respirable bio-aerosol of tuberculosis infected individuals, by Ben Patterson) and a presentation on a new research project in South Africa (Recurrent Tuberculosis: understanding epidemiology and disease mechanisms, by Sabine Hermans).

Established in 2018 as a bottom-up initiative of TB researchers in and around the Amsterdam UMC, the Amsterdam TB Center aims to build the scientific basis for elimination of tuberculosis through multidisciplinary research and research-based education along the entire research and development chain. It currently has 55 members, and hosts several events per year. People interested in participating can reach out to atbc@amc.uva.nl

The next symposium will be hosted on 24 October from 14-16hrs in the Costerzaal of the Amsterdam UMC location AMC, in honour of the PhD defense of Dominik Zenner entitled “The determinants for effectiveness of programmatic migrant TB screening” that morning. Communication about this event is to follow.