# The Transmission Biology of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis

> **NIH NIH K08** · WEILL MEDICAL COLL OF CORNELL UNIV · 2024 · $194,860

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
 Christopher Brown MD, PhD is an Instructor of Medicine in the division of infectious diseases at Weill-
Cornell Medical College in New York City. His research interests focus on defining the biology of transmission
in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This five-year training grant outlines technical, research and professionalism
goals needed to launch an independent academic career. Dr. Brown has extensive research training as an
organic chemist and chemical biologist from his doctoral work in the laboratory of Laura L. Kiessling. This
proposal expands into the fields of microbiology, metabolomics and regulated gene expression. Utilizing a
combination of these disciplines is a powerful method for the molecular interrogation of biological systems.
 Mtb transmission biology is a field of substantial opportunity for discovery. Development of a transmission
blocking therapy would have a profound impact on global health and mortality. The research goal of this proposal
is to identify bacterially-encoded determinants that favor successful transmission by imparting survival in air. The
PI will expose laboratory and clinical strains of Mtb to air-drying stress and document the effects on metabolism
and cellular integrity. Hypotheses regarding the essentiality of metabolic pathways for survival will be tested
using CRISPRi (clustered regularly interspersed short palindromic repeat interference) gene silencing.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10843971
- **Project number:** 5K08AI148584-04
- **Recipient organization:** WEILL MEDICAL COLL OF CORNELL UNIV
- **Principal Investigator:** Christopher David Brown
- **Activity code:** K08 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $194,860
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-06-22 → 2026-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10843971

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10843971, The Transmission Biology of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis (5K08AI148584-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10843971. Licensed CC0.

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