Ageing, Multimorbidity, and Tuberculosis Infection: Rethinking TB Prevention
Supervisors:
Prof Peter MacPherson, School of Health & Wellbeing, University of Glasgow
Dr Alexandra Richards, School of Health & Wellbeing, University of Glasgow
Prof Molebogang Rangaka, Institute for Global Health / MRC Clinical Trials Unit, University College London (UCL)
Summary:
Tuberculosis (TB) and non-communicable diseases increasingly coexist in ageing populations, yet little is understood about how multimorbidity influences the epidemiology of TB infection itself. Recent work from our group suggests that the force of TB infection (annual risk of becoming infected) may peak at older ages once immune test reversion is incorporated into transmission models, challenging longstanding assumptions that TB infection is concentrated in adolescence and early adulthood.
This interdisciplinary PhD project will investigate how ageing and multimorbidity, particularly diabetes mellitus, shape susceptibility to TB infection, immune responses, progression to TB disease, and implications for TB preventive therapy and vaccination. The student will combine systematic review and meta-analysis, analysis of epidemiological datasets from high-burden settings, and advanced Bayesian statistical and mathematical modelling.
The project will be conducted through collaborations between the University of Glasgow and the University of Cape Town, including links to ongoing clinical studies of TB preventive therapy in people with diabetes. The student will receive training in infectious disease epidemiology, multimorbidity research, Bayesian modelling, evidence synthesis, and global health research, with opportunities for international collaboration and policy-relevant translational research.