Faculty

Jerry Cangelosi

Adjunct Professor, Epidemiology
Professor, Env. and Occ. Health Sciences
Adjunct Professor, Global Health
Associate Dean, School of Public Health

206-543-2005

Education

PhD Microbiology, University of California (Davis), 1984

Contact

206-543-2005

Center for Infectious Disease Research
Office Suite 100
Box 354695
University of Washington
4225 Roosevelt Way NE
Seattle, WA 98195
View Website »

Research Interests

My research ­focuses on pathogen detection in clinical and environmental samples, and epidemiology of infectious diseases. Working in both the public and private sectors, my research teams have generated 10 patents and over 80 publications in relevant areas including TB and related diseases, oral microbiology, food- and water-borne pathogens, and respiratory diseases. These activities share a strong emphasis on translation and global health impact.

Aspects of my teams’ pathogen detection research have resulted in FDA approval and diagnostic product launches. The MicroProbe Affirm VPTM test for vaginosis, among the first multiplex molecular tests to receive FDA approval, was successfully marketed by Becton, Dickinson and Co.  A remote-controlled multiplex detection system for harmful algae blooms (HAB) has been deployed in coastal waters worldwide by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. Our Molecular Viability Testing (MVT) technology was commercially licensed. In Spring 2020, at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, we helped demonstrate a novel, non-invasive SARS-CoV-2 screening method (anterior nasal swabbing). This work led directly to updated FDA guidance and global adaption of the method. Our non-invasive TB sampling methods (oral swab analysis, OSA) have been added to research studies around the world; WHO endorsement of the method for TB diagnostic use will be sought in the coming years.

In addition to this translational work, we have also investigated the epidemiology of mycobacterial diseases. Transmission and exposure are among the most poorly understood aspects of bacterial disease. Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a globally important microbial pathogen, and related environmental mycobacteria are useful models for understanding how infectious diseases emerge and spread. Molecular and epidemiological methods are being used to characterize the host, pathogen, and environmental factors involved in the acquisition of mycobacterial infections.

Currently I lead a U.S. – South African consortium to validate novel non-invasive sampling methods as means to diagnose TB and COVID-19. In other consortia we have developed point-of-care diagnostic devices for TB. We have also conducted in research in Uganda, Bangladesh, and several US states.

Recent Publications (PubMed)

Diagnostic accuracy of tongue swab testing on two automated tuberculosis diagnostic platforms, Cepheid Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra and Molbio Truenat MTB Ultima.
(2024 Mar 14)
J Clin Microbiol
Wood RC, Luabeya AK, Dragovich RB, Olson AM, Lochner KA, Weigel KM, Codsi R, Mulenga H, de Vos M, Kohli M, Penn-Nicholson A, Hatherill M, Cangelosi GA

Oral swabs with a rapid molecular diagnostic test for pulmonary tuberculosis in adults and children: a systematic review.
(2024 Jan)
Lancet Glob Health 12(1): e45-e54
Church EC, Steingart KR, Cangelosi GA, Ruhwald M, Kohli M, Shapiro AE

Molecular detection of pre-ribosomal RNAs of Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette-Guérin and Mycobacterium tuberculosis to enhance pre-clinical tuberculosis drug and vaccine development.
(2024 Jan)
Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis 108(1): 116106
Chang M, Venkatasubramanian S, Barrett H, Urdahl KB, Weigel KM, Cangelosi GA, Shah JA, Saha A, Feng L, Adams KN, Sherman DR, Smith N, Seshadri C, Kublin JG, Murphy SC

Tongue swab testing on two automated tuberculosis diagnostic platforms, Cepheid Xpert(®) MTB/RIF Ultra and Molbio Truenat(®) MTB Ultima.
(2023 Oct 11)
medRxiv
Wood RC, Luabeya AK, Dragovich RB, Olson AM, Lochner KA, Weigel KM, Codsi R, Mulenga H, de Vos M, Kohli M, Penn-Nicholson A, Hatherill M, Cangelosi GA

Preferences of healthcare workers using tongue swabs for tuberculosis diagnosis during COVID-19.
(2023)
PLOS Glob Public Health 3(9): e0001430
Codsi R, Errett NA, Luabeya AK, Van As D, Hatherill M, Shapiro AE, Lochner KA, Vingino AR, Kohn MJ, Cangelosi GA

Show complete publication list