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Luke Davis, MD

Associate Professor of Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases) and of Medicine (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine); Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health
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Additional Titles

Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health

Director, Implementation Science Track

Contact Info

Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases

P.O. Box 208034

New Haven, CT 06520-8034

United States

About

Titles

Associate Professor of Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases) and of Medicine (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine); Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health

Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health; Director, Implementation Science Track

Biography

I am a pulmonary and critical care physician and clinical epidemiologist using implementation science to find, treat, and prevent tuberculosis (TB) and HIV, two of the leading cause of death due to infection worldwide.

I teach and mentor students and direct a graduate program on implementation science at the Yale School of Public Health. I am also involved in several international research training programs focused on implementation science.

I am also a Yale Medicine physician, and attend in the Medical Intensive Care Unit and the Winchester TB Clinic at Yale-New Haven Hospital, caring for patients and their families and teaching medical students, residents, and fellows.

Appointments

Other Departments & Organizations

Education & Training

Fellowship
Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine, University of California San Francisco (2008)
MAS
University of California San Francisco, Clinical Research (2008)
Residency
Osler Medical Service, Johns Hopkins Hospital (2003)
MD
Vanderbilt University (2000)
AB
Princeton University, History (1995)

Research

Overview

Current Projects:

Uganda

HIV-TB Household Contact Investigation in Kampala, Uganda – In collaboration with the Uganda TB Implementation Research Consortium (U-TIRC), we are carrying out two, separately NIH-funded randomized controlled trials, a community-based stepped wedge RCT, one evaluating a novel human-centered design informed strategy for household TB contact investigation, and the other a behaviorally-informed strategy design to reduce household HIV-TB stigma - and promote uptake of HIV testing funded by the National Institutes of Health NIH, revealed major barriers to uptake of household contact investigation.

Expression in HIV and Tuberculosis (eHAT) – In collaboration with collaborators at the University of Colorado and Stanford University, and the University of California San Francisco, we using novel host- and pathogen-targeted gene-expression profiling platforms to develop better biomarkers, therapeutic targets, and developmental models of the response to TB treatment in Haiti, Kenya, Peru, South Africa, Uganda, and Vietnam.

Xpert Omni Performance Evaluation for Linkage to Tuberculosis Care (XPEL TB) – In collaboration with colleagues from the University of California San Francisco, the Uganda TB Implementation Research Consortium recently completed a cluster-randomized trial showing that on-site TB testing using Xpert MTB Ultra devices increases the number of timely TB diagnoses and treatment initiations compared to widely used specimen-referral models.

Theory-informed Education and Counseling for HIV-TB (TEACH) - With support from the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, we have recently completed a pre-post implementation study demonstrating that a structured, behaviorally informed TB education and counseling strategy using peer educators is superior to routine TB education and counseling among TB patients living with and without HIV in Kampala, Uganda.

Quality of Routine TB Diagnosis and Treatment in Kampala, Uganda - In collaboration with the Uganda TB Implementation Research Consortium (U-TIRC) and the Uganda National TB and Leprosy Programme (NTLP), we are developing a novel methodology for evaluating the quality of routine TB services using aggregated surveillance reporting data.

Implementation Science to Address Non-communicable Diseases in Uganda - In collaboration with the Uganda Initiative for Noncommunicable Diseases and the Uganda Heart Institute, we are evaluating digital health and other behaviorally informed approaches to improve the quality of care and self-management of hypertension and heart failure in Uganda.

Colombia

Cali TB Contact Investigation Project - In collaboration with CIDEIM, the Cali Secretary of Health, Universidad Icesi, and Alianza TB, and with funding from Colciencias, we have identified barriers to household TB contract investigation in the City of Cali and are developing a novel design-thinking informed intervention for improving community-based active case-finding in Cali.

Mongolia

Mongolia Zero TB Initiative (ZTBI) - In collaboration with the Mongolia Health Initiative (MHI), the Yale Center for Methods in Implementation and Prevention Sciences (CMIPS) is evaluating the quality of routine TB care in four districts in Mongolia using the Zero TB Framework, an integrated approach to modeling the TB cascade.

South Africa

Addressing Stigma as a barrier to household HIV-TB Case Finding - In collaboration with the Aurum Institute and with funding from the Yale Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA), we are evaluating barriers to household HIV and TB case finding in Gauteng Province, South Africa.

Connecticut, USA

COVID-19 Contact Tracing - In collaboration with the New Haven Health Department and with support from the Yale School of Public Health Dean's COVID-19 Emergency Research Fund, we are carrying out a comprehensive mixed-methods analysis of COVID-19 contact tracing to improve the quality of the emergency public health response.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)

COVID-19; Critical Care; Global Health; Mobile Applications; Tuberculosis

Research at a Glance

Yale Co-Authors

Frequent collaborators of Luke Davis's published research.

Publications

2024

2023

Academic Achievements & Community Involvement

Clinical Care

Overview

Luke Davis, MD, is a pulmonary and critical care specialist with an interest in the diagnosis, management, and prevention of tuberculosis (TB) and other pulmonary infections.

Dr. Davis decided to become a physician partly because he liked the idea of meeting new people from different backgrounds. “I am always interested in hearing my patients and their families tell their stories. It helps me understand how to help them live the best lives they can as they face illness,” he says. “It is satisfying when we relieve symptoms, improve quality of life, and give patients a greater understanding and peace of mind about their illness.”

While active TB is rare in the United States and doctors know how to cure it, they often don’t see patients early enough to help, Dr. Davis says. Yale Medicine is one of the few places in Connecticut that has a dedicated TB clinic, where patients can meet with experts to get quick, accurate answers and state-of-the-art care. In the clinic, Dr. Davis and other doctors care for patients from many backgrounds, including those with complex medical conditions and those who prefer a language other than English.

In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Davis is active in a new field called implementation research that borrows the best ideas from engineering, social sciences, and the design world to improve quality of care. “Most of my research focuses on tuberculosis and global health, but I often find that what we learn there also improves the care we give back home,” he says.

Clinical Specialties

Pulmonology & Sleep Medicine; Pulmonary Critical Care ; Internal Medicine

Board Certifications

  • Critical Care Medicine (Internal Medicine)

    Certification Organization
    AB of Internal Medicine
    Latest Certification Date
    2017
    Original Certification Date
    2007
  • Pulmonary Disease

    Certification Organization
    AB of Internal Medicine
    Latest Certification Date
    2016
    Original Certification Date
    2006

Get In Touch

Contacts

Appointment Number
Mailing Address

Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases

P.O. Box 208034

New Haven, CT 06520-8034

United States