Neil Schluger

Professor; Columbia Univ. Medical Center; Columbia Mailman School of Public Health

Dr. Neil W. Schluger's main area of academic interest has been in tuberculosis, including clinical trials, molecular epidemiology, development and evaluation of diagnostics, and human host immune responses. He is the principal investigator at Columbia University for the Tuberculosis Trials Consortium, a CDC-funded collaboration in clinical trials in which patients are enrolled in trials of treatment of latent tuberculosis infection and active tuberculosis disease. In addition, Dr. Schluger has led studies examining the transmission dynamics of tuberculosis in New York City, using tools of molecular epidemiology. He has a long standing interest in the development and evaluation of new tools for the diagnosis of tuberculosis.

More recently, in addition to his studies in tuberculosis, he has led clinical trials for the use of retinoids in the treatment of emphysema and for the use of interferon gamma in the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Everything Videos

Personal Genomics and Public Health

Public health, Schluger says, deals with populations, not individuals.

How is modern medicine changing the way humans evolve?

What will we look like in 100 years?

How much medicine is too much medicine?

With the global population exploding, is there a limit to how much effort we should put into keeping everyone alive as long as possible?

Are allergies on the rise in America?

An allergy specialist, Schluger discusses why we seem to have more allergies than ever.

Tuberculosis and the Immigration Question

Tuberculosis should not be a reason to keep people from immigrating to the United States, Schluger says.

The Threat of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis

How did tuberculosis become so drug-resistant?

The Problems of Diagnosing Tuberculosis

The oldest test still in use.

Cultural Barriers to Treating Tuberculosis in America

Over half of tuberculosis patients in America were abroad, Schluger says. Many are suspicious of modern medicine. How does a doctor deal?

The Tuberculosis Vaccine

It’s the most widely used vaccine in the world, yet tuberculosis is still the 8th leading cause of death, says Schluger.

Have doctors forgotten about infectious diseases?

When tuberculosis became uncommon in the U.S., the number of specialists declined, too, Schluger says.

Why is TB research not as sexy as HIV/AIDS research?

People with tuberculosis live in the shadows and can’t organize as well as educated women and gay men, says Schluger.

The Gates Foundation and the Fight Against Tuberculosis

Bringing money where the pharmaceutical industry doesn’t want to go.

Which do you enjoy more, research or clinical work?

Interpersonal relationships are just as important as the intellectual challenges of research, says Schluger.

Why Tuberculosis Is Still Important

It’s no longer a threat in the developed world, but tuberculosis is the 8th leading cause of death in much of the world, Schluger says.

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