Luke Davis, MD
Research & Publications
Biography
News
Research Summary
My research is based in Uganda and uses translational methods to improve TB diagnosis and evaluation in high-burden, resource-constrained settings. Ongoing projects span two general areas: 1) discovery and validation of TB biomarkers using novel biotechnologies, and 2) translation of evidence-based TB diagnostic strategies into practice using implementation science through the Uganda TB Implementation Research Consortium (www.u-tirc.org). Training and capacity-building are an important aspect of my research activities, through the Fogarty Pulmonary Complications of AIDS Research-Training Program at Makerere University and Walimu (www.walimu.org), a non-profit that uses implementation science to improve care of severe acute illness in Uganda and other low-income countries.
Extensive Research Description
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.
Coauthors
Research Interests
Critical Care; Tuberculosis; Global Health; Mobile Applications; COVID-19
Public Health Interests
Global Health; Health Care Quality, Efficiency; Infectious Diseases; Respiratory Disease/Infections; COVID-19
Research Image
The long road to tuberculosis diagnosis. Lake Victoria, Entebbe, Uganda.
Selected Publications
- Bringing patient-centered tuberculosis diagnosis into the light of day.Davis JL. Bringing patient-centered tuberculosis diagnosis into the light of day. BMC Medicine 2017, 15: 219. PMID: 29258526, PMCID: PMC5738029, DOI: 10.1186/s12916-017-0992-4.
- Association of Rapid Molecular Testing With Duration of Respiratory Isolation for Patients With Possible Tuberculosis in a US Hospital.Chaisson LH, Duong D, Cattamanchi A, Roemer M, Handley MA, Schillinger D, Sur M, Pham P, Lin MA, Goldman LE, Quan J, Perez S, Healy M, Higashi J, Winston L, Haller B, Luetkemeyer AF, Davis JL. Association of Rapid Molecular Testing With Duration of Respiratory Isolation for Patients With Possible Tuberculosis in a US Hospital. JAMA Internal Medicine 2018, 178: 1380-1388. PMID: 30178007, PMCID: PMC6368387, DOI: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2018.3638.
- Home-based tuberculosis contact investigation in Uganda: a household randomised trial.Davis JL, Turimumahoro P, Meyer AJ, Ayakaka I, Ochom E, Ggita J, Mark D, Babirye D, Okello DA, Mugabe F, Fair E, Vittinghoff E, Armstrong-Hough M, Dowdy D, Cattamanchi A, Haberer JE, Katamba A. Home-based tuberculosis contact investigation in Uganda: a household randomised trial. ERJ Open Research 2019, 5 PMID: 31367636, PMCID: PMC6661318, DOI: 10.1183/23120541.00112-2019.
- Identifying barriers to and facilitators of tuberculosis contact investigation in Kampala, Uganda: a behavioral approach.Ayakaka I, Ackerman S, Ggita JM, Kajubi P, Dowdy D, Haberer JE, Fair E, Hopewell P, Handley MA, Cattamanchi A, Katamba A, Davis JL. Identifying barriers to and facilitators of tuberculosis contact investigation in Kampala, Uganda: a behavioral approach. Implementation Science : IS 2017, 12: 33. PMID: 28274245, PMCID: PMC5343292, DOI: 10.1186/s13012-017-0561-4.
- Drop-out from the tuberculosis contact investigation cascade in a routine public health setting in urban Uganda: A prospective, multi-center study.Armstrong-Hough M, Turimumahoro P, Meyer AJ, Ochom E, Babirye D, Ayakaka I, Mark D, Ggita J, Cattamanchi A, Dowdy D, Mugabe F, Fair E, Haberer JE, Katamba A, Davis JL. Drop-out from the tuberculosis contact investigation cascade in a routine public health setting in urban Uganda: A prospective, multi-center study. PloS One 2017, 12: e0187145. PMID: 29108007, PMCID: PMC5673209, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0187145.
- Feasibility, Acceptability, and Adoption of Digital Fingerprinting During Contact Investigation for Tuberculosis in Kampala, Uganda: A Parallel-Convergent Mixed-Methods Analysis.White EB, Meyer AJ, Ggita JM, Babirye D, Mark D, Ayakaka I, Haberer JE, Katamba A, Armstrong-Hough M, Davis JL. Feasibility, Acceptability, and Adoption of Digital Fingerprinting During Contact Investigation for Tuberculosis in Kampala, Uganda: A Parallel-Convergent Mixed-Methods Analysis. Journal Of Medical Internet Research 2018, 20: e11541. PMID: 30442637, PMCID: PMC6265600, DOI: 10.2196/11541.
- Social determinants of tuberculosis evaluation among household contacts: a secondary analysis.Shelby T, Meyer AJ, Ochom E, Turimumahoro P, Babirye D, Katamba A, Davis JL, Armstrong-Hough M. Social determinants of tuberculosis evaluation among household contacts: a secondary analysis. Public Health Action 2018, 8: 118-123. PMID: 30271727, PMCID: PMC6147061, DOI: 10.5588/pha.18.0025.
- Text Messages Sent to Household Tuberculosis Contacts in Kampala, Uganda: Process Evaluation.Meyer AJ, Babirye D, Armstrong-Hough M, Mark D, Ayakaka I, Katamba A, Haberer JE, Davis JL. Text Messages Sent to Household Tuberculosis Contacts in Kampala, Uganda: Process Evaluation. JMIR MHealth And UHealth 2018, 6: e10239. PMID: 30459147, PMCID: PMC6280036, DOI: 10.2196/10239.
- Patterns of usage and preferences of users for tuberculosis-related text messages and voice calls in Uganda.Ggita JM, Ojok C, Meyer AJ, Farr K, Shete PB, Ochom E, Turimumahoro P, Babirye D, Mark D, Dowdy D, Ackerman S, Armstrong-Hough M, Nalugwa T, Ayakaka I, Moore D, Haberer JE, Cattamanchi A, Katamba A, Davis JL. Patterns of usage and preferences of users for tuberculosis-related text messages and voice calls in Uganda. The International Journal Of Tuberculosis And Lung Disease : The Official Journal Of The International Union Against Tuberculosis And Lung Disease 2018, 22: 530-536. PMID: 29663958, PMCID: PMC6350252, DOI: 10.5588/ijtld.17.0521.
- Transcriptional Adaptation of Drug-tolerant Mycobacterium tuberculosis During Treatment of Human Tuberculosis.Walter ND, Dolganov GM, Garcia BJ, Worodria W, Andama A, Musisi E, Ayakaka I, Van TT, Voskuil MI, de Jong BC, Davidson RM, Fingerlin TE, Kechris K, Palmer C, Nahid P, Daley CL, Geraci M, Huang L, Cattamanchi A, Strong M, Schoolnik GK, Davis JL. Transcriptional Adaptation of Drug-tolerant Mycobacterium tuberculosis During Treatment of Human Tuberculosis. The Journal Of Infectious Diseases 2015, 212: 990-8. PMID: 25762787, PMCID: PMC4548467, DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiv149.