Birkbeck-led research secures grant to combat drug-resistant tuberculosis and respiratory diseases

The team includes top researchers from both the UK and Malaysia, such as Professor Helen Hailes from UCL Chemistry and Professor Mohd Cairul Iqbal Mohd Amin from Universiti Kebangsaan, Malaysia. Together, the researchers will explore how certain non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can be used to treat TB. The goal is to develop these drugs into effective treatments that can be delivered directly to the lungs, helping to fight antibiotic resistance. Working in partnership with the biopharmaceutical industry, the research aligns with the UK’s official development assistance (ODA) strategy, adheres to trusted research principles, and fosters international collaboration to tackle TB and TB-like respiratory diseases. 

Professor Bhakta, Project Lead, commented: “We are delighted to receive joint funding support from UKRI and MOHE, alongside additional in-kind support from various not-for-profit organisations and societies. This vital funding will enable us to recruit two highly motivated Postdoctoral Research and Innovation Associates and a PhD student to join our dynamic, multidisciplinary research team.  Our project aligns with the WHO’s ‘End TB Strategy’ and the UKRI-MOHE mission to combat infectious diseases globally.” 

Professor Cairul, Project Co-Lead, commented: “I sincerely extend my gratitude to MOHE and UKRI for their invaluable support of our timely and significant research project. This cross-disciplinary collaboration with Professor Sanjib Bhakta and his team in the UK marks a crucial step towards addressing the long-standing challenge of tuberculosis treatment efficacy. The innovative technologies and advancements introduced through this project have the potential to revolutionise therapeutic approaches, offering new hope for the effective eradication of TB.” 

Professor Helen Hailes from UCL Chemistry commented: "Prof Sanjib Bhakta and I have been working for a number of years on chemotherapeutic interventions against drug-resistant tuberculosis, and together with our collaborators on this new grant have a superb opportunity to develop enhanced effective approaches to tackle this major disease." 

Continuing its tradition of raising awareness, Birkbeck’s Mycobacteria Research Laboratory (MRL) will commemorate World TB Day 2025 through a series of events. Gourav Rakshit, a Commonwealth Split-site PhD Scholar, presented a research poster at the IOI Oxford University Early Career Researchers Event on Friday 21st March, and will deliver a Turbo Talk at the World TB Day event on Monday, 24th March, co-hosted by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)-TB and UCL-TB Centres. Professor Bhakta will deliver a World TB Day seminar at Wetherby Senior School and give an invited ‘Port Talk’ at Goodenough College. 

The Mycobacteria Research Laboratory (MRL) at Birkbeck’s School of Natural Sciences, part of the Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology (ISMB) and UCL-TB, a WHO Collaborating Centre for TB Research and Innovation, has been at the forefront of this fight against TB.