Prof. Bouke de Jong leads the Mycobacteriology Unit at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp since 2010. She trained in clinical infectious diseases at the Universities of Amsterdam, Reno, and Stanford, in epidemiology at the Netherlands Institute for Health Sciences, and completed a PhD on M. tuberculosis complex strain differences in The Gambia. Her unit’s research is focused on advancing diagnostics for tuberculosis, leprosy, and Buruli Ulcer, honing in on resistance mechanisms, treatment strategies, and on molecular epidemiology. Serving as the WHO coordinating supranational tuberculosis reference laboratory, the Unit has been providing annual proficiency panels to TB labs globally for decades, and hosts the largest collection of M. tuberculosis strains worldwide, also in a public collection. They offer diagnostic support for patient care and for clinical trials on new drugs and treatment regimens. Prof. de Jong co-coordinates the Masters in Tropical Medicine at ITM, the annual ITM short-course on DR-TB for hands-on clinicians, and mentors PhD students from diverse endemic regions.
