A/Prof Dr Marc Tebrügge DTM&H (Hons), FRCPCH, FHEA, MSc, MD, PhD

Main research areas & clinical expertise:
Tuberculosis in children and adolescents
Nontuberculous mycobacterial infections

Biography
Dr Marc Tebruegge joined the Department of Paediatric and Adolescent Health of Klinik Ottakring and the National Reference Centre for Childhood Tuberculosis in 2022, after working in the United Kingdom for 22 years. His main research interest are immune-based diagnostics for tuberculosis (TB), which was the main focus of his PhD studies. In addition, he has a strong interest in nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infections, having co-led the two largest studies on NTM disease in children published to date. He has received more than 3 million Euros in research funding from governmental research agencies and charities, and has led or co-led more than two dozen research projects as a Principal Investigator.

Dr Tebruegge studied medicine in Germany, the UK, Australia and South Africa (University of Frankfurt Medical School, University College London, University of New South Wales and Cape Town University). From 1997 he has been working clinically in Paediatrics and Paediatric Infectious Diseases, mainly at teaching hospitals in London, including King’s College Hospital, St. Mary’s Hospital and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. Prior to relocating to Vienna he held appointments as a Consultant in Paediatric Infectious Diseases & Immunology at the Evelina London Children’s Hospital, Guy’s & St. Thomas NHS Foundation Trust, and as an honorary Associate Professor in Paediatric Infectious Diseases at the Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London. He continues to hold an appointment as Clinical Senior Lecturer at the Department of Paediatrics of the University of Melbourne.

He was awarded a Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine), an MSc in Molecular Biology of Infectious Diseases (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine), an MD (University of Frankfurt), and a PhD (with Prof. Nigel Curtis at the University of Melbourne). He is also a Fellow of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (FRCPCH) and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). He has also completed the Leadership Foundations (Edward Jenner) Programme with the NHS Leadership Academy, and holds a Professional Certificate in Translational Medicine.

He is currently the elected Chair of the Paediatric Tuberculosis Network European Trials Group (ptbnet), and a long-standing member of the WHO New TB Diagnostics Working Group. He is serving on the Editorial Board of several journals, including PLoS ONE and Frontiers in Pediatrics, and is an Editor for the Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. He has authored more than 150 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters, mainly on TB and NTM infections, and has been awarded several scholarships and awards, including a Fellowship from the European Society of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, a Melbourne International Research Scholarship, an NHS Innovation Challenge Prize, and the RCPCH SPARKS Young Investigator of the Year Award.

Selected Publications:

Rodríguez-Molino P, Tebruegge M, Noguera-Julian A, et al. Tuberculosis Disease in Immunocompromised Children and Adolescents: A Pediatric Tuberculosis Network European Trials Group Multicenter Case-Control Study. Clin Infect Dis 2024; 79(1): 215-222.

Buonsenso D, Noguera-Julian A, Moroni R, Hernández-Bartolomé A, Fritschi N, Lancella L, Cursi L, Soler-Garcia A, Krüger R, Feiterna-Sperling C, Sali M, Lo Vecchio A, Scarano S, Hernanz Lobo A, Espiau M, Soriano-Arandes A, Cetin BS, Brinkmann F, Ozere I, Baquero-Artigao F, Tsolia M, Milheiro Silva T, Bustillo-Alonso M, Martín Nalda A, Mancini M, Starshinova A, Ritz N, Velizarova S, Ferreras-Antolín L, Götzinger F, Bilogortseva O, Chechenyeva V, Tebruegge M, Santiago-García B; ptbnet QFT-Plus study group. Performance of QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus assays in paediatric tuberculosis: a multicentre PTBNET study. Thorax 2023; 78(3): 288-296.

Soler-Garcia A, Gamell A, Pérez-Porcuna T, Soriano-Arandes A, Santiago B, Tórtola T, Ruiz-Serrano MJ, Korta Murua JJ, Bustillo-Alonso M, Garrote-Llanos MI, Rodríguez-Molino P, Piqueras AI, Tagarro A, Monsonís M, Tebruegge M (joint last author), Noguera-Julian A; QFT-Plus Study Group of the Spanish Pediatric TB Research Network. Performance of QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus assays in children and adolescents at risk of tuberculosis: a cross-sectional multicentre study. Thorax 2022; 77(12): 1193-1201.

Aguilera-Alonso D, Solís-García G, Noguera-Julian A, González-Martín J, Román Cobeña A, Baquero-Artigao F, Toro Rueda C, Rodríguez-Molino P, Bloise Sánchez I, Vallmanya T, Bernet-Sánchez A, Minguell Domingo L, Rubio A, Saavedra-Lozano J, Ruiz-Serrano MJ, Blázquez-Gamero D, López-Roa P, Gomez-Pastrana D, López Prieto MD, López Medina EM, Gil-Brusola A, Martín Nalda A, Soriano-Arandes A, Tórtola T, Falcon-Neyra L, González Galán V, Tebruegge M, Santiago-García B. Accuracy of Xpert Ultra for the diagnosis of paediatric tuberculosis in a low TB burden country: a prospective multicentre study. Thorax 2022; 77(10): 1023-1029.

Thee S, Basu Roy R, Blázquez-Gamero D, Falcón-Neyra L, Neth O, Noguera-Julian A, Lillo C, Galli L, Venturini E, Buonsenso D, Götzinger F, Martinez-Alier N, Velizarova S, Brinkmann F, Welch SB, Tsolia M, Santiago-Garcia B, Schilling R, Tebruegge M (joint last author), Krüger R; ptbnet TB Meningitis Study Group. Treatment and Outcome in Children With Tuberculous Meningitis: A Multicenter Pediatric Tuberculosis Network European Trials Group Study. Clin Infect Dis 2022; 75(3): 372-381.

Pittet LF, Fritschi N, Tebruegge M, Dutta B, Donath S, Messina NL, Casalaz D, Hanekom WA, Britton WJ, Robins-Browne R, Curtis N, Ritz N. Bacillus Calmette-Guérin Skin Reaction Predicts Enhanced Mycobacteria-Specific T-Cell Responses in Infants: A Post Hoc Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2022; 205(7): 830-841.

Martínez-Planas A, Baquero-Artigao F, Santiago B, Fortuny C, Méndez-Echevarría A, Del Rosal T, Bustillo-Alonso M, Gale I, Guerrero C, Blázquez-Gamero D, Canet A, Lillo M, Calavia O, Núñez Cuadros E, Falcón-Neyra L, Soriano-Arandes A, Van Ingen J, Tebruegge M (joint last author) Noguera-Julian A; Spanish Pediatric TB Research Network (pTBred) and the European NontuberculouS MycoBacterial Lymphadenitis in childrEn (ENSeMBLE) Study.
Interferon-Gamma Release Assays Differentiate between Mycobacterium avium Complex and Tuberculous Lymphadenitis in Children. J Pediatr 2021; 236: 211-218.e2.

Noguera-Julian A, Calzada-Hernández J, Brinkmann F, Basu Roy R, Bilogortseva O, Buettcher M, Carvalho I, Chechenyeva V, Falcón L, Goetzinger F, Guerrero-Laleona C, Hoffmann P, Jelusic M, Niehues T, Ozere I, Shackley F, Suciliene E, Welch SB, Schölvinck EH, Ritz N, Tebruegge M. Tuberculosis Disease in Children and Adolescents on Therapy With Antitumor Necrosis Factor-ɑ Agents: A Collaborative, Multicenter Paediatric Tuberculosis Network European Trials Group (ptbnet) Study. Clin Infect Dis 2020; 71(10): 2561-2569.

Götzinger F, Santiago-García B, Noguera-Julián A, Lanaspa M, Lancella L, Calò Carducci FI, Gabrovska N, Velizarova S, Prunk P, Osterman V, Krivec U, Lo Vecchio A, Shingadia D, Soriano-Arandes A, Melendo S, Lanari M, Pierantoni L, Wagner N, L’Huillier AG, Heininger U, Ritz N, Bandi S, Krajcar N, Roglić S, Santos M, Christiaens C, Creuven M, Buonsenso D, Welch SB, Bogyi M, Brinkmann F, Tebruegge M; ptbnet COVID-19 Study Group. COVID-19 in children and adolescents in Europe: a multinational, multicentre cohort study. Lancet Child Adolesc Health 2020; 4(9): 653-661.

Basu Roy R, Thee S, Blázquez-Gamero D, Falcón-Neyra L, Neth O, Noguera-Julian A, Lillo C, Galli L, Venturini E, Buonsenso D, Götzinger F, Martinez-Alier N, Velizarova S, Brinkmann F, Welch SB, Tsolia M, Santiago-Garcia B, Krüger R, Tebruegge M; ptbnet TB Meningitis Study Group. Performance of immune-based and microbiological tests in children with tuberculosis meningitis in Europe: a multicentre Paediatric Tuberculosis Network European Trials Group (ptbnet) study. Eur Respir J 2020; 56(1): 1902004.

Tebruegge M, Ritz N, Donath S, Dutta B, Forbes B, Clifford V, Zufferey C, De Rose R, Robins-Browne RM, Hanekom W, Graham SM, Connell T, Curtis N. Mycobacteria-Specific Mono- and Polyfunctional CD4+ T Cell Profiles in Children With Latent and Active Tuberculosis: A Prospective Proof-of-Concept Study. Front Immunol 2019; 10: 431.
Tebruegge M, Pantazidou A, MacGregor D, Gonis G, Leslie D, Sedda L, Ritz N, Connell T, Curtis N. Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Disease in Children – Epidemiology, Diagnosis & Management at a Tertiary Center. PLoS One 2016;11(1):e0147513.

Tebruegge M, Dutta B, Donath S, Ritz N, Forbes B, Camacho-Badilla K, Clifford V, Zufferey C, Robins-Browne R, Hanekom W, Graham SM, Connell T, Curtis N. Mycobacteria-Specific Cytokine Responses Detect Tuberculosis Infection and Distinguish Latent from Active Tuberculosis. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2015; 192(4): 485-99.