University of Georgia veterinary researcher receives federal grant to study tuberculosis

Summary:

A University of Georgia veterinary researcher is one of six in the country to land part a federal grant to study tuberculosis.

Athens, Ga.—A University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine researcher is one of six U.S. researchers to receive part of a $2.9 million award from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as part of a federal initiative to find methods of diagnosing, treating, and preventing tuberculosis.

Frederick Quinn, head of the college’s department of infectious diseases, will receive $742,498 over two years to develop a diagnostic test for latent tuberculosis. “There are potentially 2 billion cases of latent tuberculosis in the world,” Quinn says. “Currently there is no way to accurately identify people who are latently infected and thus no way to be sure how to effectively treat the disease.”

Sheila Allen, dean of the college, says she has high hopes for Quinn’s research. “The work Dr. Quinn and his collaborators are doing is vital to effectively treating—and hopefully one day eradicating—this debilitating disease,” she says.