Ian Rosenthal, PhD '07
Transforming TB Therapy

Ian Rosenthal hopes to lead a revolution — against tuberculosis. A 2007 PhD graduate with the Department of International Health's Global Disease Epidemiology and Control track, Rosenthal's thesis focused on improving the treatment of experimental tuberculosis (TB) by developing a shorter and simpler drug regimen for therapy.

Rosenthal explains, "The TB drug regimen currently takes six months. From a public health perspective, something needs to be done to decrease the duration of therapy. This reduction could encourage higher treatment completion rates, especially in developing countries." Rosenthal worked on drug development research with his advisor, Eric L. Nuermberger, MD, assistant professor with both the Department of International Health and the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Department of Medicine.

The researchers were able to shorten the duration of therapy by three months in animal models by employing new drug agents in addition to existing anti-TB drugs. The regimen is now in clinical trials with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (For Rosenthal's published findings, click here.)

An International Perspective on TB
While an undergrad studying molecular biology and botany at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Rosenthal already had a strong mindset about TB. He enrolled in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Department of International Health MHS program and then reapplied and transferred into its PhD program. Rosenthal says, "I chose the Department because of its broad perspective. My first two years of coursework with my track provided me with the scope and foundation for my work."

A summer internship in Lima, Peru after his first year had a profound effect on Rosenthal by introducing him to international health in the traditional sense. He worked on a large field trial on nutrition and TB susceptibility with Robert Gilman, MD, professor with the departments of International Health and Molecular Microbiology and Immunology. Rosenthal says, "The internship experience catalyzed the rest of my PhD research work. I saw up close what patients went through in their TB regimens, which clarified the focus of my lab work."

In order to obtain funding for his PhD degree, Rosenthal connected with a faculty member at Johns Hopkins University's Homewood campus to develop a proposal for designing polymeric vehicles to more effectively deliver anti-TB drugs. The National Institutes of Health awarded him a National Research Service Award individual predoctoral fellowship that supported him after his third year. "One of my best experiences in the program was spending those four to five months writing my training grant," smiles Rosenthal.

From Postdoc to Doctor
Rosenthal is now a postdoctoral fellow with Global Disease Epidemiology and Control and continues to work in the Center for Tuberculosis Research. "I plan to spend a year on my postdoc here and then go on to medical school," says Rosenthal. "It will be hard to leave the research I love, but I recognize that a medical education will give me the clinical perspective that is needed to take TB therapies to the next level in humans. Eventually, I see myself translating results from 'the bench to the bedside,' and acting as the interface between the lab and clinic."

Rosenthal's advice for current and prospective students in the Department is simple and to the point: "Be proactive. You need to be the one who makes it happen in the end. Being at Hopkins taught me not to think in the traditional academic box. You end up learning a lot about yourself!"

(June 2007)