I am a public health physician and have spent much of my career in medicine working on outbreaks of infectious diseases. In 2004, I decided to focus exclusively on tuberculosis (TB) and did a fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco. The fellowship involved patient care, teaching, and research, as well as training in systematic reviews. I have a keen interest in evidence synthesis and TB diagnostics. I have co-authored over 20 systematic reviews (four Cochrane Reviews and two updated Cochrane Reviews), most of which have been reviews of diagnostic test accuracy. Three of the Cochrane reviews were used to inform World Health Organization (WHO) policy guidelines. In particular, I led the Cochrane Review evaluating the accuracy of Xpert® MTB/RIF for pulmonary TB, which was published in 2013 and updated in January 2014. This review helped underpin the investment in this technology, and has been highly cited. I have contributed to several recent WHO policies on TB.
I have a personal interest in mentoring junior investigators, especially researchers from low-income and middle-income countries. In addition, I am strongly committed to helping women develop careers in science. I live in Portland, Oregon, USA.
Education and board certification
- Board Certification Public Health and General Preventive Medicine 1986
- Fellow American College of Preventive Medicine 1986-present
- University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Seattle, WA 1983-1986
- Preventive Medicine Residency, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 1982-86
- New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 1975