Staff Scientist Eusondiia Arnett, Ph.D., and Professor Larry Schlesinger, M.D.

New discoveries in laboratories at Texas Biomed could lead to a new set of drugs that will ultimately cure tuberculosis (TB). That's the opinion of Texas Biomed President/CEO and Professor Larry Schlesinger, M.D., who is also a TB researcher. He is Principal Investigator of a new grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

This four-year, $2.8 million project was awarded for scientists to study the role of lung macrophages -- which are immune cells -- in metabolic and inflammation responses to an infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb).

Combining antibiotics with some kind of an immune booster could lead to better outcomes. Dr. Schlesinger believes "this newest research has the most clear-cut translation potential in terms of leading to a new strategy for host-directed therapy for TB.