Wandini Lutchmun
I am a Specialist Registrar in Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, with a long-term ambition to become a clinical academic focused on improving the care of vulnerable populations, particularly those affected by Tuberculosis. My PhD project will explore how TB survivors navigate complex multimorbidity within resource-constrained health systems.
I hold a Master’s degree in International Health from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU). My Master’s project examined chronic illness and multimorbidity among people experiencing homelessness accessing humanitarian services in Germany during the COVID-19 pandemic. This work was recognised with a scholarship from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
I subsequently joined the Institute of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine at LMU as a Clinical Research Fellow. For two years, I served as Clinical Coordinator of the DECISION trial, a phase 2B, dose-ranging randomised controlled trial evaluating BTZ-043, a novel drug candidate, in combination of bedaquiline and delamanid for the treatment of drug-susceptible pulmonary TB. This trial was conducted in Tanzania and South Africa, within the umbrella of the UNITE4TB consortium.
I have successfully co-supervised and mentored MSc students in International Health on projects related to mental and chronic health of marginalised populations, and currently hold an academic affiliation and visiting lecturer position at LMU.
In this PhD, I will investigate the burden and complex interplay of multimorbidity amongst persons who have completed TB treatment in Kampala, Uganda. I am committed to pursue collaborative and multi-disciplinary research and to work closely with local researchers and communities in Uganda, to generate evidence that informs both policy and practice.
Project: The burden of multimorbidity following tuberculosis (TB) in Uganda
Primary Supervisor: Dr Derek Sloan (University of St Andrews)
Secondary Supervisors: Dr Christine Sekaggya-Wiltshire (Infectious Diseases Institute, Makerere University, Uganda, IDIMU), Prof Peter MacPherson (University of Glasgow), and Dr Mike Kesby (University of St Andrews).
