The main domains of my activities are scientific research in the field of tuberculosis control, microbiological diagnosis of infectious diseases, drug resistance.
During this period, I implemented over 40 international and local projects from the European Union research and development funding programme - FP7, H2020, NIH, CRDF Global, USAID, EDCTP. Authored or coauthored of more than 300 publications, scientific reports, trainings materials on national and international journals and forums and supervisor of junior researchers and doctoral students. Member of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, the UNION and the European Respiratory Society.
Number of citations: 4784, h-index: 27
EDUCATION
State Medical University, Chisinau, Moldova. Degree- MD; Medicine/Epidemiology (06/1980),
Academy of Sciences “I.Secenov”, Moscow, Russia. Degree – PhD, Medical Microbiology. (09/1991).
The global phylogeography of rapidly expanding multidrug resistant Ural lineage 4.2 Mycobacterium tuberculosis Melanie H. Chitwood, Isabel Rancu, Yexuan Song, Barney I. Potter, Yi Ting Chew, Nelly Ciobanu, Valeriu Crudu, Caroline Colijn, Ted Cohen, Benjamin Sobkowiak Nature Communications, 2026 Multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) epidemics are sustained by transmission of reproductively fit MDR M. tuberculosis ( Mtb ) strains. We search a large publicly available dataset of ~200,000 Mtb whole genome sequences to identify strains related to a highly successful MDR clade circulating in Moldova belonging to lineage 4.2.1/Ural. We characterize a clade of 1604 drug-resistant Mtb sequences harboring conserved resistance-conferring mutations. We identify the Russian Federation as the most likely country of origin for this clade and infer several independent migration events from Russia and Moldova to other European and Asian countries. We estimate that this clade is expanding more rapidly than comparable clades of lineage 4.2.1/Ural. The broad dispersal of this highly successful clade is an urgent global health threat. Genomic surveillance is essential to track the evolution and spread of this and other strains of concern.
Noninvasive diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis using face mask sampling: a prospective study in adults Dariusz Woelk, Lennard Meiwes, Nelly Ciobanu, Valeriu Crudu, Anna-Marya Comanac, Stela Kulcitkaia, Anca Vasiliu, Anna Maria Mandalakas, Christoph Lange, Thomas Theo Brehm, Dumitru Chesov Clinical Microbiology and Infection, 2026 OBJECTIVES: Sputum-based diagnostic methods for pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), including culture and nucleic acid amplification tests, provide high sensitivity and specificity. However, these methods rely on the patients' ability to produce sputum. In cases where sputum cannot be obtained, invasive procedures such as bronchoscopy may become necessary. Our objective was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of face mask sampling (FMS) as a noninvasive alternative. METHODS: Adults with microbiologically confirmed pulmonary TB who had received fewer than 3 days of anti-TB therapy were recruited in Chişinău, Moldova. FMS was conducted and samples were analysed on-site using Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra. Diagnostic performance was compared with conventional methods including sputum Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra and culture, which was considered a combined reference standard. RESULTS: Between April 2024 and February 2025, a total of 117 adults were enrolled. Of these, 88.0% (103/117) tested positive by sputum culture and/or Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra. Among participants testing positive by this combined reference standard, 59.2% (61/103) tested positive by FMS. Compared against sputum culture and sputum Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra, the sensitivity of FMS was 64.4% (95% CI: 54.4-74.4%) and 58.3% (95% CI: 48.1-68.0%), respectively. Among 90 participants with a positive sputum culture, FMS was positive in 6.0% (5/90) that were negative by sputum Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra. CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the potential additive yield and complementary role of FMS. Where resources allow, FMS may serve as a valuable diagnostic tool used in parallel to conventional diagnostics to enhance the rapid detection of pulmonary TB in adults.
A tiled amplicon protocol for culture-free whole-genome sequencing of M. tuberculosis from clinical specimens Chaney C. Kalinich, Freddy L. Gonzalez, Alice Osmaston, Mallery I. Breban, Isabel Distefano, Candy Leon, Jorge Coronel, Grace Tan, Valeriu Crudu, Nelly Ciobanu, Alexandru Codreanu, Walter Solano, Jimena Ráez, Patricia Sheen, Mirko Zimic, Orchid M. Allicock, Chrispin Chaguza, Anne L. Wyllie, Matthew Brandt, Daniel M. Weinberger, Benjamin Sobkowiak, Ted Cohen, Louis Grandjean, Nathan D. Grubaugh, Seth N. Redmond Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 2026 Whole-genome sequencing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis can be a valuable tool for TB surveillance and treatment, providing insights into transmission patterns and comprehensive drug susceptibility testing. However, the slow growth of M. tuberculosis means traditional culture-based sequencing methods can take weeks to return results, which has limited the widespread adoption of these techniques and limited their use in clinical decision-making. Tiled amplicon sequencing is a fast, reliable, and cost-effective method of whole-genome sequencing that can be done directly on clinical specimens and has been implemented at scale in academic and public health laboratories across the world; it was the cornerstone of SARS-CoV-2 sequencing and has been adapted for a wide range of viral pathogens. However, similar methods are not yet available for far larger bacterial genomes. Extending this approach to M. tuberculosis would significantly reduce the cost, labor, and turnaround time for whole-genome sequencing. We designed a tiled amplicon panel consisting of 5,128 primers that covers the entire M. tuberculosis genome, the largest tiled amplicon sequencing panel we are aware of to date. Applying our amplicon panels to clinical samples of sputum, we show the ability to recover whole-genome bacterial sequences without the need for culture. The resulting sequence data can be used to determine M. tuberculosis lineage and reliably identify markers of drug resistance. Using this approach in clinical settings could reduce the time needed for comprehensive drug susceptibility testing from weeks to days and enable genomic epidemiology to be performed at scale, even in resource-limited settings. IMPORTANCE We have developed and tested an amplicon panel, TB-seq, for the priority pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis , demonstrating recovery of near-full genomes directly from patient sputum, including mixed and low-concentration samples. This approach significantly reduces the turnaround time for this slow-growing bacterium while maintaining high accuracy in detecting clinically relevant mutations, including those associated with drug resistance. Given the global burden of tuberculosis and the critical need for faster diagnostic solutions, we believe our method has the potential to improve clinical decision-making and public health strategies.
Differences in pulmonary cavity features among drug-sensitive pulmonary tuberculosis and multidrug/extensively-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis: a multi-national multi-center computed tomography-based study Sheng-Nan Tang, Xi-Ling Huang, Alena Skrahina, Qiu-Ting Zheng, Aleh Tarasau, Dzmitry Klimuk, Sofia Alexandru, Valeriu Crudu, Michael Harris, Darrell E. Hurt, Irada Akhundova, Zaza Avaliani, Sergo Vashakidze, Natalia Shubladze, Guang-Ping Zheng, Xiao-Hui Bao, Andrei Alexandru Muntean, Irina Strambu, Dragos-Cosmin Zaharia, Eugenia Ghita, Miron Bogdan, Roxana Munteanu, Victor Spinu, Alexandra Cristea, Catalina Ene, Valery Kirichenko, Eduard Snezhko, Vassili Kovalev, Alexander Tuzikov, Andrei Gabrielian, Alex Rosenthal, Pu-Xuan Lu, Aliaksandr Skrahin, Yì Xiáng J. Wáng Journal of Thoracic Disease, 2026 Background: Pulmonary cavities (PC) are known to be more prevalent among multidrug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis (MDR)/extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR) patients than among drug-sensitive tuberculosis (DS) patients. This study aims to clarify how the interaction between Mycobacterium tuberculosis aggressiveness and tuberculosis history causes the PC prevalence and pattern differences between DS patients and MDR/XDR patients. Methods: Eastern European patient data were from the NIAID TB (National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases Tuberculosis) Portals Program registered before January 2019. Chinese patients were from Shenzhen, China, treated between April 2017 and February 2019. There were in total 244 DS cases (222 new patients and 22 previously treated patients), 344 MDR cases (188 new patients and 156 previously treated patients), and 155 XDR cases (36 new patients and 119 previously treated patients). The first chest computed tomography (CT) images were analysed. PC were counted only for those with a lumen diameter >5 mm. Multiple cavities in a single consolidation were counted as one cavity. Calcified lesions in the lungs, as a sign of chronicity, were also recorded. Results: In new patients, there was no difference in lung lesion calcification prevalence among DS (13.5%), MDR (14.4%), and XDR (13.9%). In previously treated patients, lung calcification prevalence was 36.4% for DS, 44.9% for MDR, and 45.4% for XDR. For new patients, the PC prevalence was higher for MDR cases than for DS cases (41% vs. around 25%). For treated patients, pulmonary nodular (PN) prevalence increased to 36.4% for DS cases, to 57% for MDX cases, and to 71.4% for XDR cases. For new patients, the mean PC number for positive cases was DS: 1.66, MDR: 2.79, XDR: 2.69. For treated cases, the mean PC number for positive cases was DS: 2.13, MDR: 2.58, XDR: 2.47. For new patients, the mean PC diameter (in mm) for positive cases was DS: 15.4, MDR: 16.9, XDR: 17.5. For treated cases, the mean PC diameter (in mm) for positive cases was DS: 19.0, MDR: 20.8, XDR: 25.6. The number of lung fields with PC lesion was higher for MDR cases than for DS cases. PC number ≥2 had a specificity of around 92.3% for new patients, and around 81.0% for previously treated patients, suggesting the diagnosis of MDR/XDR. Conclusions: MDR/XDR patients exhibit significantly higher PC prevalence and more extensive pulmonary involvement compared to DS patients, which are not totally determined by the length of disease history. Compared with literature reports, the prevalence of PC and the PC number per positive case were comparatively low in this study. Taking all results together, PC number ≥3 offers reasonable specificity for suggesting the diagnosis of MDR, though the sensitivity would be low.
Quantifying uncertainty in deep learning binary classification with discrete noise in inputs for risk-based decision making Maryam Kheirandish, Shengfan Zhang, Donald G. Catanzaro, Valeriu Crudu Iise Transactions, 2026 The use of Deep Neural Network (DNN) models in risk-based decision-making has garnered significant attention across fields such as medicine, finance, manufacturing, and quality control. To mitigate risks, it is crucial to assess the confidence or uncertainty of the prediction alongside the overall performance of the algorithm. Transitioning from deterministic and probabilistic DNNs to Bayesian deep learning models enables the quantification of prediction uncertainty by leveraging second-order predictive distributions. Shannon entropy and mutual information serve as key metrics for assessing and decomposing this uncertainty into epistemic and aleatoric components, which are crucial for developing effective uncertainty reduction strategies. However, entropy-based measures can be inconsistent, and mutual information may constrain the assessment of multiple sources of epistemic uncertainty. Additionally, assuming errors follow normal distributions, while simple, is inadequate for modeling discrete errors. We propose a framework for quantifying the prediction uncertainty in DNN binary classification models using the variation-ratio measure. This approach facilitates risk-based decision-making in presence of discrete errors in predictors. Our model accounts for two sources of epistemic uncertainty: model parameters and predictor errors with a known finite discrete distribution. The variation-ratio measure effectively identifies significant contributions of predictor errors to total uncertainty. Applied to a case study on tuberculosis treatment outcome prediction and 10 simulated datasets, our framework detects risk-sensitive cases where predictor errors may alter predictive uncertainty. Even when epistemic uncertainty is attributed solely to model parameters, our approach exhibits superior uncertainty awareness compared to the Monte Carlo dropout method.
A new multiplex molecular assay based on padlock probes and rolling circle amplification for MDR-TB detection in clinical specimens: a prospective diagnostic accuracy study Andrii Dudnyk, Nadiia Tytarenko, Oksana Lytvyniuk, Olena Tolstova, Joan-Pau Millet, Israel Molina, Adrián Antuori, Nelly Ciobanu, Valeriu Crudu, José Domínguez Therapeutic Advances in Infectious Disease, 2026 Background: Patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) receive treatment that is at least 20% less effective than drug-susceptible cases globally. Objectives: The study evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of mfloDx MDR-TB assay (EMPE Diagnostics AB, Solna, Sweden) for simultaneous detection of resistance to isoniazid (INH) and rifampicin (RIF) compared to culture-based drug susceptibility test (DST). Design: A prospective diagnostic accuracy study. Methods: Clinical samples from 287 patients (mean age 45.3 (95% CI 43.3–47.2) years; 50 (17.0%) were female) from TB facilities in Ukraine ( n = 82, 28.6%), Moldova ( n = 37, 12.9%) and Spain (168, 58.5%) with bacteriologically confirmed TB and persons evaluated for non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) were consecutively tested. The results of the mfloDx MDR-TB assay were compared with culture-based DST. Results: A total of 186 out of 287 sputum specimens (64.8%) yielded conclusive results that allowed a definitive interpretation of resistance to at least one drug. The mfloDx MDR-TB assay demonstrated sensitivity at 86.9 (95% CI 80.6–91.7) and specificity at 100 (95% CI 79.4–100) correctly differentiating mycobacterium tuberculosis complex from NTM in smear positive sputum samples. Considering only conclusive results in sputum samples, the mfloDx MDR-TB assay simultaneously predicted resistance to INH and RIF in TB patients showing high sensitivity 100 (95% CI 93.0–100) and specificity 98.7 (95% CI 92.8–100) compared to MDR-TB detection by culture-based DST. Conclusion: While approximately one-third of tests yielded inconclusive results, the mfloDx™ MDR-TB assay demonstrated potential as a rapid screening tool for INH and RIF resistance, offering a time advantage over conventional culture-based DST.
Use of reverse dot blot hybridization DNA-array and targeted next-generation sequencing for the detection of drug resistance in patients with tuberculosis: a prospective diagnostic accuracy study Andrii Dudnyk, Nadiia Tytarenko, Iris Romero Andrada, Oksana Lytvyniuk, Olena Tolstova, Joan-Pau Millet, Xavier Casas, Adrian Antuori, Nelly Ciobanu, Valeriu Crudu, José Domínguez European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, 2026 Phenotypic drug susceptibility testing (pDST) for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) is slow, and routine molecular assays detect only a subset of resistance-associated mutations. We aimed to assess the diagnostic accuracy of the TB Resistance DNA-Array (GenID GmbH, Germany) for detecting isoniazid (INH) and rifampicin (RIF) resistance, and to evaluate the added value of Deeplex® Myc-TB, a culture free, targeted next-generation sequencing (tNGS) from GenoScreen, France, for identifying drug resistance and resolving discrepancies with pDST. Clinical samples from 234 individuals with bacteriologically confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) were analyzed: 98 (41.9%) from Ukraine, 25 (10.7%) from Moldova, and 111 (47.4%) from Spain. TB Resistance DNA-Array and tNGS results were compared with pDST and cross-evaluated to identify resistance-conferring mutations. Among 196 sputum specimens tested with the TB Resistance DNA-Array, 98 (50.0%) produced conclusive RIF results and 102 (52.0%) conclusive INH results. Among conclusive outputs, the assay showed high sensitivity and specificity for RIF (94.3% and 98.4%) and INH (95.7% and 94.6%). Deeplex® Myc-TB generated conclusive results for 24/30 (80.0%) sputum samples and 21/23 (91.3%) culture isolates from 53 individuals. tNGS demonstrated high sensitivity for INH and RIF (both > 97.0%) but misclassified 2 of 8 INH-susceptible cases and 2 of 9 RIF-susceptible cases as resistant, suggesting a potential risk of overtreatment with second-line drugs. For linezolid, tNGS showed perfect specificity (100%); however, 1 of 3 cases was falsely categorised as resistant. For fluoroquinolones, sensitivity and specificity were 90.0% and 83.3%, respectively. The TB Resistance DNA-Array performed reliably for detecting RIF and INH resistance in sputum samples with conclusive results. Integration of tNGS can improve interpretative algorithms tailored to clinically relevant and region-specific resistance mutations.
A new method for detecting mixed Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and reconstructing constituent strains provides insights into transmission Benjamin Sobkowiak, Patrick Cudahy, Melanie H. Chitwood, Taane G. Clark, Caroline Colijn, Louis Grandjean, Katharine S. Walter, Valeriu Crudu, Ted Cohen Genome Medicine, 2025 Background Mixed infection with multiple strains of the same pathogen in a single host can present clinical and analytical challenges. Whole genome sequence (WGS) data can identify signals of multiple strains in samples, though the precision of previous methods can be improved. Here, we present MixInfect2, a new tool to accurately detect mixed samples from Mycobacterium tuberculosis short-read WGS data. We then evaluate three approaches for reconstructing the underlying mixed constituent strain sequences. This allows these samples to be included in downstream analysis to gain insights into the epidemiology and transmission of mixed infections. Methods We employed a Gaussian mixture model to cluster allele frequencies at mixed sites (hSNPs) in each sample to identify signals of multiple strains. Building upon our previous tool, MixInfect, we increased the accuracy of classifying in vitro mixed samples through multiple improvements to the bioinformatic pipeline. Major and minor proportion constituent strains were reconstructed using three approaches and assessed by comparing the estimated sequence to the known constituent strain sequence. Lastly, mixed infections in a real-world Mycobacterium tuberculosis population from Moldova were detected with MixInfect2 and clusters of recent transmission that included major and minor constituent strains were built. Results All 36/36 in vitro mixed and 12/12 non-mixed samples were correctly classified with MixInfect2, and major strain proportions were estimated with high accuracy (within 3% of the true strain proportion), outperforming previous tools. Reconstructed major strain sequences closely matched the true constituent sequence by taking the allele at the highest frequency at hSNPs, while the best-performing approach to reconstruct the minor proportion strain sequence was identifying the closest non-mixed isolate in the same population, though no approach was effective when the minor strain proportion was at 5%. Finally, fewer mixed infections were identified in Moldova than previous estimates (6.6% vs 17.4%) and we found multiple instances where the constituent strains of mixed samples were present in transmission clusters. Conclusions MixInfect2 accurately detects samples with evidence of mixed infection from short-read WGS data and provides an excellent estimate of the mixture proportions. While there are limitations in reconstructing the constituent strain sequences of mixed samples, we present recommendations for the best approach to include these isolates in further analyses.
Minimal immune cell subset differences in a cohort of close contacts of tuberculosis index cases Sudhasini Panda, Catherine Cheng, Naomi Hillery, Donald G. Catanzaro, Nelly Ciobanu, Valeriu Crudu, Timothy Rodwell, Antonino Catanzaro, Julie G. Burel, Bjoern Peters, Cecilia S. Lindestam Arlehamn Tuberculosis, 2025 Understanding the perturbations in immune response across the spectrum of TB infection is still unclear. Here, we followed close contacts of pulmonary TB patients with serial QFT testing at 0, 3, 6, and 12 months, and stratified them into six subgroups: QFT-increasing (low/high), QFT-converters (QFT-to QFT+), QFT + stable, and QFT-individuals. Despite these distinct QFT trajectories, we observed minimal differences in immune cell frequencies, activation profiles, and T-helper subset distributions among QFT subgroups, suggesting limited immunological stratification based on QFT dynamics. Ex vivo immune phenotyping, including CD4, CD8, NKT cell frequencies, memory T-cell subsets, and activated T-cells (HLA-DR + CD38 + ), failed to distinguish between QFT subgroups, suggesting blood-based immune profiling may not capture subtle immunological transitions among different QFT subgroups. Active TB (ATB) patients showed marked immune alterations, with elevated antigen-specific CD4 T-cells, activated T cells, intermediate monocytes, NK cells at-diagnosis, which declined following treatment, indicating immune recovery. This suggest, while ex vivo immune profiling effectively distinguishes ATB from non-diseased states, it lacks the sensitivity to resolve QFT-based subgroups. Findings suggest either immune similarity among close contacts regardless of QFT status or limits of blood-based profiling in detecting early changes, underscoring the difficulty of distinguishing QFT subgroups with conventional ex vivo approaches. • Ex vivo immune profiling showed minimal differences among QFT tested TB contacts despite distinct longitudinal QFT patterns. • Active TB patients had elevated antigen-specific and activated CD4 + T cells, and innate changes that resolved with treatment. • Blood based profiling lacked resolution to capture immune changes in those who convert their QFT or increase QFT over time.
Differences in pulmonary nodular consolidation features among drug-sensitive pulmonary tuberculosis and multidrug/extensively-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis: a multi-national multi-center study Sheng-Nan Tang, Xi-Ling Huang, Alena Skrahina, Qiu-Ting Zheng, Aleh Tarasau, Dzmitri Klimuk, Sofia Alexandru, Valeriu Crudu, Michael Harris, Darrell E. Hurt, Irada Akhundova, Zaza Avaliani, Sergo Vashakidze, Natalia Shubladze, Guang-Ping Zheng, Xiao-Hui Bao, Andrei Alexandru Muntean, Irina Strambu, Dragos-Cosmin Zaharia, Eugenia Ghita, Miron Bogdan, Roxana Munteanu, Victor Spinu, Alexandra Cristea, Catalina Ene, Valery Kirichenko, Eduard Snezhko, Vassili Kovalev, Alexander Tuzikov, Andrei Gabrielian, Alex Rosenthal, Pu-Xuan Lu, Aliaksandr Skrahin, Yì Xiáng J. Wáng Journal of Thoracic Disease, 2025
Diagnostic accuracy and predictive value of the QuantiFERON-TB gold plus assay for tuberculosis in immunocompromised individuals: a prospective TBnet study Martina Sester, Neus Altet-Gomez, Åse Bengaard Andersen, Miguel Arias-Guillén, Korkut Avsar, Anne-Marte Bakken Kran, Graham Bothamley, Anne Christine Nordholm Breschel, James Brown, Dumitru Chesov, Nelly Ciobanu, Daniela Maria Cirillo, Valeriu Crudu, Malu de Souza Galvao, Asli Görek Dilektasli, José Dominguez, Raquel Duarte, Anne Ma Dyrhol-Riise, Delia Goletti, Harald Hoffmann, Elmira Ibraim, Barbara Kalsdorf, Marcin Krawczyk, Heinke Kunst, Berit Lange, Marc Lipman, Alberto Matteelli, Piotr Milkiewicz, David Neyer, Martin Nitschke, Haluk Barbaros Oral, Juan José Palacios-Gutiérrez, Elisa Petruccioli, Joanna Raszeja-Wyszomirska, Pernille Ravn, Jan Rupp, Hanna-Elisa Spohn, Corina Toader, Raquel Villar-Hernandez, Dirk Wagner, Frank van Leth, Leonardo Martinez, Ole Skouvig Pedersen, Christoph Lange Lancet Regional Health Europe, 2025
Sex differences in risk factors for unsuccessful tuberculosis treatment outcomes in Eastern Europe from 2020 to 2022: a multi-country retrospective cohort study Ole Skouvig Pedersen, Tetiana Butova, Valerii Miasoiedov, Yurii Feshchenko, Mykhailo Kuzhko, Stefan Niemann, Alex Rosenthal, Alina Grinev, Gabriel Rosenfeld, Michael Drew Hoppes, Julia Kilmnick, Valeriu Crudu, Nelly Ciobanu, Alexandru Codreanu, Bekzat Toxanbayeva, Lyailya Chingissova, Kateryna Yurko, Valerii Kucheriavchenko, Vitalii Vekshyn, Sergo Vashakidze, Natalia Shubladze, Zaza Avaliani, Abdullaat Kadyrov, Gulmira Kalmambetova, Merbubu Sydykova, Eugenia Ghita, Victor Ionel Grecu, Alina Marinela Miulescu, Christian Morberg Wejse, Andreas Fløe, Victor Naestholt Dahl, Dmytro Butov Lancet Regional Health Europe, 2025
Identification of differentially recognized T cell epitopes in the spectrum of tuberculosis infection Sudhasini Panda, Jeffrey Morgan, Catherine Cheng, Mayuko Saito, Robert H. Gilman, Nelly Ciobanu, Valeriu Crudu, Donald G. Catanzaro, Antonino Catanzaro, Timothy Rodwell, Judy S. B. Perera, Teshan Chathuranga, Bandu Gunasena, Aruna D. DeSilva, Bjoern Peters, Alessandro Sette, Cecilia S. Lindestam Arlehamn Nature Communications, 2024
Accuracy of cobas MTB and MTB-RIF/INH for Detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Drug Resistance Margaretha de Vos, Anura David, Karthickeyan Duraisamy, Darshaalini Nadarajan, Ecaterina Noroc, Adam Penn-Nicholson, Valeriu Crudu, Sidhartha Giri, Florian P. Maurer, Sanghamitra Pati, Wendy Stevens, Lesley Scott, Jyotimayee Turuk, Samuel G. Schumacher, Morten Ruhwald, Nelly Ciobanu, Sarabijt Singh Chadha, Alexandru Codreanu, Dasarathi Das, Trish Kahamba, Itishree Kar, Aurélien Macé, Jyoti Mohanty, Pamela Nabeta, Katherina Kranzer, Stefano Ongarello, Archana Pattanaik, Elena Romancenco, Sanjay Sarin, Lyndel Singh, Sunita Singh, Nadia Turcan Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, 2024
Economic evaluation of shortened, bedaquiline-containing treatment regimens for rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (STREAM stage 2): a within-trial analysis of a randomised controlled trial Laura Rosu, Jason J Madan, Ewan M Tomeny, Malaisamy Muniyandi, Jasper Nidoi, Mamo Girma, Valentina Vilc, Priyanka Bindroo, Rajdeep Dhandhukiya, Adamu K Bayissa, Daniel Meressa, Gopalan Narendran, Rajesh Solanki, Anuj K Bhatnagar, Elena Tudor, Bruce Kirenga, Sarah K Meredith, Andrew J Nunn, Gay Bronson, I D Rusen, S Bertel Squire, Eve Worrall, Saleem Ahmad, Sofia Alexandru, Katharine Bellenger, Tolera G. Bulga, Claire Cook, Valeriu Crudu, Bennet Deborah, Wendy Dodds, Belay A. Gebreegziabher, Ruth L. Goodall, Pritti Gupta, Meera Gurumurthy, Ivor Langley, Joanitah Nalunjogi, Saleem Khan, Saravanan Krishnan, Shravan Kumar, Maia Lesosky, Mariana Macari, Mukesh Makwana, Brendan Murphy, Ramesh P. Murugesan, Vanita Patel, Irina Pirlog, Mary Rauchenberger, Karen Sanders, Ramesh Singh, Sangeetha Subramani, Mekonnen Teferi, Netsanet A. Tegegn, Arun Babu Velmurugan, Johanna Whitney Lancet Global Health, 2023
Emergence of bedaquiline resistance in a high tuberculosis burden country Elena Chesov, Dumitru Chesov, Florian P. Maurer, Sönke Andres, Christian Utpatel, Ivan Barilar, Ana Donica, Maja Reimann, Stefan Niemann, Christoph Lange, Valeriu Crudu, Jan Heyckendorf, Matthias Merker European Respiratory Journal, 2022
RESEARCH ARTICLE Phylogeography and transmission of M. tuberculosis in Moldova: A prospective genomic analysis Chongguang Yang, Benjamin Sobkowiak, Vijay Naidu, Alexandru Codreanu, Nelly Ciobanu, Kenneth S. Gunasekera, Melanie H. Chitwood, Sofia Alexandru, Stela Bivol, Marcus Russi, Joshua Havumaki, Patrick Cudahy, Heather Fosburgh, Christopher J. Allender, Heather Centner, David M. Engelthaler, Nicolas A. Menzies, Joshua L. Warren, Valeriu Crudu, Caroline Colijn, Ted Cohen Plos Medicine, 2022
Assessing tuberculosis control priorities in high-burden settings: a modelling approach Juan F Vesga, Timothy B Hallett, Michael J A Reid, Kuldeep Singh Sachdeva, Raghuram Rao, Sunil Khaparde, Paresh Dave, Kiran Rade, Maureen Kamene, Eunice Omesa, Enos Masini, Newton Omale, Elizabeth Onyango, Philip Owiti, Muthoni Karanja, Richard Kiplimo, Sofia Alexandru, Valentina Vilc, Valeriu Crudu, Stela Bivol, Cristina Celan, Nimalan Arinaminpathy Lancet Global Health, 2019
Building a tuberculosis-free world: The Lancet Commission on tuberculosis Michael J A Reid, Nimalan Arinaminpathy, Amy Bloom, Barry R Bloom, Catharina Boehme, Richard Chaisson, Daniel P Chin, Gavin Churchyard, Helen Cox, Lucica Ditiu, Mark Dybul, Jeremy Farrar, Anthony S Fauci, Endalkachew Fekadu, Paula I Fujiwara, Timothy B Hallett, Christy L Hanson, Mark Harrington, Nick Herbert, Philip C Hopewell, Chieko Ikeda, Dean T Jamison, Aamir J Khan, Irene Koek, Nalini Krishnan, Aaron Motsoaledi, Madhukar Pai, Mario C Raviglione, Almaz Sharman, Peter M Small, Soumya Swaminathan, Zelalem Temesgen, Anna Vassall, Nandita Venkatesan, Kitty van Weezenbeek, Gavin Yamey, Bruce D Agins, Sofia Alexandru, Jason R Andrews, Naomi Beyeler, Stela Bivol, Grania Brigden, Adithya Cattamanchi, Danielle Cazabon, Valeriu Crudu, Amrita Daftary, Puneet Dewan, Laurie K Doepel, Robert W Eisinger, Victoria Fan, Sara Fewer, Jennifer Furin, Jeremy D Goldhaber-Fiebert, Gabriela B Gomez, Stephen M Graham, Devesh Gupta, Maureen Kamene, Sunil Khaparde, Eunice W Mailu, Enos O Masini, Lorrie McHugh, Ellen Mitchell, Suerie Moon, Michael Osberg, Tripti Pande, Lea Prince, Kirankumar Rade, Raghuram Rao, Michelle Remme, James A Seddon, Casey Selwyn, Priya Shete, Kuldeep S Sachdeva, Guy Stallworthy, Juan F Vesga, Valentina Vilc, Eric P Goosby Lancet, 2019
Clinical management of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in 16 european countries Gunar Günther, Frank van Leth, Sofia Alexandru, Neus Altet, Korkut Avsar, Didi Bang, Raisa Barbuta, Graham Bothamley, Ana Ciobanu, Valeriu Crudu, Manfred Danilovits, Martin Dedicoat, Raquel Duarte, Gina Gualano, Heinke Kunst, Wiel de Lange, Vaira Leimane, Anne-Marie McLaughlin, Cecile Magis-Escurra, Inge Muylle, Veronika Polcová, Cristina Popa, Rudolf Rumetshofer, Alena Skrahina, Varvara Solodovnikova, Victor Spinu, Simon Tiberi, Piret Viiklepp, Christoph Lange American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 2018
Cost analysis of rapid diagnostics for drug-resistant tuberculosis Erik J. Groessl, Theodore G. Ganiats, Naomi Hillery, Andre Trollip, Roberta L. Jackson, Donald G. Catanzaro, Timothy C. Rodwell, Richard S. Garfein, Camilla Rodrigues, Valeriu Crudu, Thomas C. Victor, Antonino Catanzaro BMC Infectious Diseases, 2018
Biological evaluation of new 2-phenethylbenzoyl thiourea derivatives as antituberculosis agents Farmacia, 2018
Tuberculosis treatment outcomes in Europe: Based on treatment completion, not cure Martin J. Dedicoat, Gunar Günther, Valeriu Crudu, Raquel Duarte, Gina Gualano, Cecile Magis-Escurra, Rudolf Rumetshofer, Alena Skrahina, Victor Spinu, Simon Tiberi, Piret Viiklepp, Frank van Leth, Christoph Lange American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 2017
The TB portals: An open-access, web-based platform for global drug-resistant- tuberculosis data sharing and analysis Alex Rosenthal, Andrei Gabrielian, Eric Engle, Darrell E. Hurt, Sofia Alexandru, Valeriu Crudu, Eugene Sergueev, Valery Kirichenko, Vladzimir Lapitskii, Eduard Snezhko, Vassili Kovalev, Andrei Astrovko, Alena Skrahina, Jessica Taaffe, Michael Harris, Alyssa Long, Kurt Wollenberg, Irada Akhundova, Sharafat Ismayilova, Aliaksandr Skrahin, Elcan Mammadbayov, Hagigat Gadirova, Rafik Abuzarov, Mehriban Seyfaddinova, Zaza Avaliani, Irina Strambu, Dragos Zaharia, Alexandru Muntean, Eugenia Ghita, Miron Bogdan, Roxana Mindru, Victor Spinu, Alexandra Sora, Catalina Ene, Sergo Vashakidze, Natalia Shubladze, Ucha Nanava, Alexander Tuzikov, Michael Tartakovsky Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 2017
Treatment outcomes of MDR-TB and HIV co-infection in Europe Cecile Magis-Escurra, Gunar Günther, Christoph Lange, Sofia Alexandru, Neus Altet, Korkut Avsar, Didi Bang, Raisa Barbuta, Graham Bothamley, Ana Ciobanu, Valeriu Crudu, Manfred Davilovits, Martin Dedicoat, Raquel Duarte, Gina Gualano, Heike Kunst, Wiel de Lange, Vaira Leimane, Anne-Marie McLaughlin, Inge Muylle, Veronika Polcová, Christina Popa, Rudolf Rumetshofer, Alena Skrahina, Varvara Solodovnikova, Victor Spinu, Simon Tiberi, Piret Viiklepp, Frank van Leth European Respiratory Journal, 2017
FATE: the new partnership to Fight Against TB in Central and Eastern Europe Tomasz Jagielski, Alena Aleksa, Elizabeta Bachiyska, Ágnes Bakos, Valeriu Crudu, Jaroslaw Dziadek, Jirí Homolka, Daniela Homorodean, Inta Jansone, Vera Katalinic-Jankovic, Rafal Krenke, Uroš Kuzmic, Igor Mokrousov, Vlad Nikolayevskyy, Alena Nikolenka, Gjyle Mulliqi Osmani, Dimitrios Papaventsis, Ilva Pole, Igor Porvazník, Branislava Savic, Natalia Shubladze, Ivan Solovic, Nóra Szabó, Silva Tafaj, Aida Ustamujic, Jakko van Ingen, Edita Vasiliauskiene, Peter K. Yablonsky, Ilona Zemanova, Viacheslav Zhuravlev, Manca Žolnir-Dovc Lancet Infectious Diseases, 2017
Genomic analysis of globally diverse Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains provides insights into the emergence and spread of multidrug resistance TBResist Global Genome Consortium, Abigail L Manson, Keira A Cohen, Thomas Abeel, Christopher A Desjardins, Derek T Armstrong, Clifton E Barry, Jeannette Brand, Sinéad B Chapman, Sang-Nae Cho, Andrei Gabrielian, James Gomez, Andreea M Jodals, Moses Joloba, Pontus Jureen, Jong Seok Lee, Lesibana Malinga, Mamoudou Maiga, Dale Nordenberg, Ecaterina Noroc, Elena Romancenco, Alex Salazar, Willy Ssengooba, A A Velayati, Kathryn Winglee, Aksana Zalutskaya, Laura E Via, Gail H Cassell, Susan E Dorman, Jerrold Ellner, Parissa Farnia, James E Galagan, Alex Rosenthal, Valeriu Crudu, Daniela Homorodean, Po-Ren Hsueh, Sujatha Narayanan, Alexander S Pym, Alena Skrahina, Soumya Swaminathan, Martie Van der Walt, David Alland, William R Bishai, Ted Cohen, Sven Hoffner, Bruce W Birren, Ashlee M Earl Nature Genetics, 2017
Mycobacterium tuberculosis lineage 4 comprises globally distributed and geographically restricted sublineages David Stucki, Daniela Brites, Leïla Jeljeli, Mireia Coscolla, Qingyun Liu, Andrej Trauner, Lukas Fenner, Liliana Rutaihwa, Sonia Borrell, Tao Luo, Qian Gao, Midori Kato-Maeda, Marie Ballif, Matthias Egger, Rita Macedo, Helmi Mardassi, Milagros Moreno, Griselda Tudo Vilanova, Janet Fyfe, Maria Globan, Jackson Thomas, Frances Jamieson, Jennifer L Guthrie, Adwoa Asante-Poku, Dorothy Yeboah-Manu, Eddie Wampande, Willy Ssengooba, Moses Joloba, W Henry Boom, Indira Basu, James Bower, Margarida Saraiva, Sidra E G Vasconcellos, Philip Suffys, Anastasia Koch, Robert Wilkinson, Linda Gail-Bekker, Bijaya Malla, Serej D Ley, Hans-Peter Beck, Bouke C de Jong, Kadri Toit, Elisabeth Sanchez-Padilla, Maryline Bonnet, Ana Gil-Brusola, Matthias Frank, Veronique N Penlap Beng, Kathleen Eisenach, Issam Alani, Perpetual Wangui Ndung'u, Gunturu Revathi, Florian Gehre, Suriya Akter, Francine Ntoumi, Lynsey Stewart-Isherwood, Nyanda E Ntinginya, Andrea Rachow, Michael Hoelscher, Daniela Maria Cirillo, Girts Skenders, Sven Hoffner, Daiva Bakonyte, Petras Stakenas, Roland Diel, Valeriu Crudu, Olga Moldovan, Sahal Al-Hajoj, Larissa Otero, Francesca Barletta, E Jane Carter, Lameck Diero, Philip Supply, Iñaki Comas, Stefan Niemann, Sebastien Gagneux Nature Genetics, 2016
Armed conflict and population displacement as drivers of the evolution and dispersal of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Vegard Eldholm, John H.-O. Pettersson, Ola B. Brynildsrud, Andrew Kitchen, Erik Michael Rasmussen, Troels Lillebaek, Janne O. Rønning, Valeriu Crudu, Anne Torunn Mengshoel, Nadia Debech, Kristian Alfsnes, Jon Bohlin, Caitlin S. Pepperell, Francois Balloux Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2016
Treatment outcomes in multidrug resistant tuberculosis Gunar Günther, Christoph Lange, Sofia Alexandru, Neus Altet, Korkut Avsar, Didi Bang, Raisa Barbuta, Graham Bothamley, Ana Ciobanu, Valeriu Crudu, Manfred Danilovits, Martin Dedicoat, Raquel Duarte, Gina Gualano, Heinke Kunst, Wiel de Lange, Vaira Leimane, Cecile Magis-Escurra, Anne-Marie McLaughlin, Inge Muylle, Veronika Polcová, Christina Popa, Rudolf Rumetshofer, Alena Skrahina, Varvara Solodovnikova, Victor Spinu, Simon Tiberi, Piret Viiklepp, Frank van Leth New England Journal of Medicine, 2016
In reply Matthias Merker, Valeriu Crudu, Ecaterina Noroc, Elena Romancenco, Dumitru Chesov, Gunar Günther, Stefan Niemann, Christoph Lange International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, 2016
Performance comparison of three rapid tests for the diagnosis of drug-resistant tuberculosis Antonino Catanzaro, Timothy C. Rodwell, Donald G. Catanzaro, Richard S. Garfein, Roberta L. Jackson, Marva Seifert, Sophia B. Georghiou, Andre Trollip, Erik Groessl, Naomi Hillery, Valeriu Crudu, Thomas C. Victor, Camilla Rodrigues, Grace Shou-Yean Lin, Faramarz Valafar, Edward Desmond, Kathleen Eisenach Plos One, 2015
Novel katG mutations causing isoniazid resistance in clinical M. Tuberculosis isolates Jessica N Torres, Lynthia V Paul, Timothy C Rodwell, Thomas C Victor, Anu M Amallraja, Afif Elghraoui, Amy P Goodmanson, Sarah M Ramirez-Busby, Ashu Chawla, Victoria Zadorozhny, Elizabeth M Streicher, Frederick A Sirgel, Donald Catanzaro, Camilla Rodrigues, Maria Tarcela Gler, Valeru Crudu, Antonino Catanzaro, Faramarz Valafar Emerging Microbes and Infections, 2015
Evolutionary history and global spread of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing lineage Matthias Merker, Camille Blin, Stefano Mona, Nicolas Duforet-Frebourg, Sophie Lecher, Eve Willery, Michael G B Blum, Sabine Rüsch-Gerdes, Igor Mokrousov, Eman Aleksic, Caroline Allix-Béguec, Annick Antierens, Ewa Augustynowicz-Kopeć, Marie Ballif, Francesca Barletta, Hans Peter Beck, Clifton E Barry, Maryline Bonnet, Emanuele Borroni, Isolina Campos-Herrero, Daniela Cirillo, Helen Cox, Suzanne Crowe, Valeriu Crudu, Roland Diel, Francis Drobniewski, Maryse Fauville-Dufaux, Sébastien Gagneux, Solomon Ghebremichael, Madeleine Hanekom, Sven Hoffner, Wei-wei Jiao, Stobdan Kalon, Thomas A Kohl, Irina Kontsevaya, Troels Lillebæk, Shinji Maeda, Vladyslav Nikolayevskyy, Michael Rasmussen, Nalin Rastogi, Sofia Samper, Elisabeth Sanchez-Padilla, Branislava Savic, Isdore Chola Shamputa, Adong Shen, Li-Hwei Sng, Petras Stakenas, Kadri Toit, Francis Varaine, Dragana Vukovic, Céline Wahl, Robin Warren, Philip Supply, Stefan Niemann, Thierry Wirth Nature Genetics, 2015
Erratum: Evolutionary history and global spread of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing lineage (Nat. Genet. (2015) DOI: 10.1038/ng.3195) Nature Genetics, 2015
Management of patients with multidrugresistant/ extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis in Europe: A TBNET consensus statement Christoph Lange, Ibrahim Abubakar, Jan-Willem C. Alffenaar, Graham Bothamley, Jose A. Caminero, Anna Cristina C. Carvalho, Kwok-Chiu Chang, Luigi Codecasa, Ana Correia, Valeriu Crudu, Peter Davies, Martin Dedicoat, Francis Drobniewski, Raquel Duarte, Cordula Ehlers, Connie Erkens, Delia Goletti, Gunar Günther, Elmira Ibraim, Beate Kampmann, Liga Kuksa, Wiel de Lange, Frank van Leth, Jan van Lunzen, Alberto Matteelli, Dick Menzies, Ignacio Monedero, Elvira Richter, Sabine Rüsch-Gerdes, Andreas Sandgren, Anna Scardigli, Alena Skrahina, Enrico Tortoli, Grigory Volchenkov, Dirk Wagner, Marieke J. van der Werf, Bhanu Williams, Wing-Wai Yew, Jean-Pierre Zellweger, Daniela Maria Cirillo European Respiratory Journal, 2014
Predicting extensively drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis phenotypes with genetic mutations Timothy C. Rodwell, Faramarz Valafar, James Douglas, Lishi Qian, Richard S. Garfein, Ashu Chawla, Jessica Torres, Victoria Zadorozhny, Min Soo Kim, Matt Hoshide, Donald Catanzaro, Lynn Jackson, Grace Lin, Edward Desmond, Camilla Rodrigues, Kathy Eisenach, Thomas C. Victor, Nazir Ismail, Valeru Crudu, Maria Tarcela Gler, Antonino Catanzaro Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 2014
Second-line drug susceptibility breakpoints for Mycobacterium tuberculosis using the MODS assay A. P. Trollip, D. Moore, J. Coronel, L. Caviedes, S. Klages, T. Victor, E. Romancenco, V. Crudu, K. Ajbani, V. P. Vineet, C. Rodrigues, R. L. Jackson, K. Eisenach, R. S. Garfein, T. C. Rodwell, E. Desmond, E. J. Groessl, T. G. Ganiats, A. Catanzaro International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, 2014
Resistance to anti-tuberculosis drugs and practices in drug susceptibility testing in Moldova, 1995-1999 International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, 2003
