I am a Professor of Immunology in the ITD faculty at LSHTM and Head of the TB research group at the MRC Unit in The Gambia. My PhD and early post-doctoral career were spent in Australia and London respectively with a focus on immunotherapy for cancer; I changed research objectives to infectious disease immunology when I moved to the MRC Unit, The Gambia (MRCG). The TBCC cohort is one of the longest running case-contact cohorts worldwide and provides a unique opportunity for multi- disciplinary research. It is run in close collaboration with the national TB program to promote health systems strengthening and public engagement. Underpinning all our studies is fundamental science to determine mechanisms, risk factors, and biomarkers/correlates of risk for TB infection and disease. Current research projects in my laboratory include elucidating the risk factors for long-term lung pathology in TB; defining the role of non-classical T cells, B cells and antibodies in the early response to Mtb infection; defining correlates of risk for progression to active TB; understanding immunity at the site of infection; immunity to TB in the context of HIV and other co-infections (including Influenza) and development of rapid diagnostic tests for TB.