Professor Bertie Squire

Professor of Clinical Tropical Medicine; Dean of Partnerships.

Studied medicine and immunology at University College London and Cambridge University before professional training in internal medicine, infectious diseases and respiratory medicine at the Royal London Hospital and the Royal Free Hospital. From 1992 to 1995 he was Head of the Department of Medicine, Kamuzu Central Hospital, Lilongwe, Malawi.

Since 1995, Bertie has been primarily based at LSTM. He collaborates with many individuals and organisations in a programme of multi-disciplinary applied health research aimed at providing knowledge for action in making health services for tuberculosis more accessible to poor people in Low & Middle Income Countries (particularly those affected by the HIV pandemic). Exemplifying this work, Bertie is Research Director of the LIGHT research programme consortium funded with UK aid from the UK government. This consortium is led by LSTM and working with partners in Kenya, Uganda, Malawi and Nigeria to transform gendered pathways to health for tuberculosis.

He holds an appointment in the UK National Health Service as Honorary Consultant in Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital and was President of the International Union Against Tuberculosis & Lung Disease from 2007 to 2011.

Teaching and Examining

Lectures on TB and small group teaching on the LSTM DTM&H and several Masters Courses.  Lectures to many other groups nationally and internationally

Research

Tuberculosis: improving access to services for the poor including diagnosis and clinical care, implementation research for appropriate technology for disease control. Equity in health. Intersection between gender, health and poverty.

Recently completed, supervised research thesis titles

Deborah Nyirenda

2019 – PhD “They keep coming and coming and each time they come, they draw blood! Social interactions among research stakeholders and ethical issues in the context of community engagement in Malawi; (co-supervised with Nicola Desmond and Salla Sariola)

Jamilah Meghji

2018 – PhD – “Post-tuberculosis lung damage in Malawian adults (co-supervised with Prof Kevin Mortimer and Prof Liz Corbett)

Danielle Cohen

2016 - PhD - "Improving the management of adults in Malawi receiving re-treatment regime for tuberculosis" (co-supervised with Dr Geraint Davies)

George Bello

2015 - PhD - "A pragmatic randomised trial of engaging informal providers in the diagnostic process for TB and HIV in Malawi" (co-supervised with Dr Brian Faragher)

Research Grants

2020-2026

SB Squire

FCDO, UK

Leaving no-one behInd, transforming Gendered pathways to Health for TB (LIGHT)             

2018-2022

SB Squire with The Union

USAID, USA

STREAM trial for MDR-TB Health Economic Analysis

2017-2021

SB Squire & Henry Mwandumba

 MRC, UK

Characterisation of the breakdown in immune competence of the lung that favours the development of TB in HIV-infected adults – African Research Leadership Grant for Henry Mwandumba

2017 – 2021

SB Squire et al

 UK NIHR

Global Health Research Unit on Lung Health and TB in Africa (International Multi-disciplinary research Programme to Address Lung Health and Tuberculosis in Africa – IMPALA)

2016 - 2019

SB Squire & I Langley

 MRC - Philippines Newton Fund

Impact assessment of diagnostic tools for multi-drug resistant (MDR) and drug-sensitive tuberculosis in the Philippines

2014 - 2016

SB Squire, T Martineau, K Millington

DFID

Health and Education Resource Team (in a consortium led by Oxford Policy Management)

2014 - 2020

SB Squire with The Union

USAID

TREAT TB: Technology, Research, Education and Technical Assistance for Tuberculosis Project

2014 - 2015

SB Squire

NHS

Co-ordinating NW TB Cohort Reviews

 

Further relevant expertise, professional memberships etc.

• 2016 to 2019: Member of the Strategic and Technical Advisory Group for TB (STAG-TB), World Health Organization (WHO).
• 2016 to date: Expert Adviser of the National Institute for Health Care Excellence (NICE) Centre for Clinical Practice Committee.
• 2015: Member of the Independent Steering Committee. Tobacco cessation within TB programmes. A 'real world' solution for countries with a dual burden of disease 2015 - 2019.
• 2014 to date: Member of the Scientific Working Group for Intervention & Implementation Research UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR).
• 2012 - 2015: Member of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Guideline Development Group for Tuberculosis.
• 2011 - 2015: Chair of the Trial Steering Committee, TB Fast Track Study (funded by Joint Global Health Trials Initiative - testing the role of urinary LAM in detecting TB in HIV-infected patients).

Contributions to International Health Policy

International Health policy dialogue and advocacy: I contribute to international health policy and practice through my role as Past President of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, my previous positions in Working Group structure of the Global STOP-TB Partnership and the WHO Strategic and Technical Advisory Group for Tuberculosis (STAG-TB) and my current position as Chair of the Scientific Working Group (SWG) on Intervention and Implementation Research for the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR).