Sanghyuk Shin is an Assistant Professor at the UCI Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing. He has a MSc in Epidemiology from Harvard School of Public Health, a PhD in Public Health from San Diego State University/UC San Diego, and completed his postdoctoral training in HIV prevention at the UCLA School of Medicine. Dr. Shin’s current research includes two NIH-funded projects on the molecular epidemiology of tuberculosis in Botswana (NIH grants K01AI118559 and R21AI120838). In particular, he is investigating the clinical and population-level effect of infection with multiple M. tuberculosis strains. Dr. Shin conducts epidemiologic research in Botswana, South Africa, India, and the United States. He has taught courses and delivered lectures on HIV surveillance, TB/HIV co-infection, program evaluation, statistical evaluation of medical diagnostics, and social determinants of health.
UCI Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing Professor Sanghyuk Shin’s research findings on tuberculosis (TB) was published in the August 2018 Journal of Infectious Diseases. The paper, entitled, “Mixed Mycobacterium tuberculosis–Strain Infections Are Associated With Poor Treatment Outcomes Among Patients With Newly Diagnosed Tuberculosis, Independent of Pretreatment Heteroresistance,” was the culmination of 5 years of work by Dr. Shin and his colleagues. These authors conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients with TB who were enrolled in a population-based molecular epidemiology study in Botswana (the Kopanyo Study).
Using new genetic methods, Dr. Shin and his colleagues found that many TB patients are infected with multiple M. tuberculosis strains. Prior to the study, it was believed that some of these patients had “hidden” drug-resistant strains that put them at risk for treatment failure and death.
“My research shows that such patients are at increased risk for poor outcomes, even without the presence of drug-resistant strains,” says Dr. Shin. “The most important takeaway is that TB patients with mixed infections may warrant additional clinical care to improve their treatment success.”
Dr. Shin traveled to Botswana 2-3 times per year for the last 5 years to conduct his research. His reflection of the experience: “The best thing about traveling to Botswana for this research is that I had the honor of working with tremendously gifted and dedicated colleagues in Botswana, including the project coordinators for my study, who are all nurses.”
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