A high-powered collaboration between the University of Otago and the oldest medical university in Burma is likely to shed new light on the genetics of tuberculosis drug resistance.
An international partnership formed in 2012 by Otago University and the Burmese institution, known as the ''University of Medicine (1)'', has since developed in several directions, including Tb-related research.
The 2012 agreement was the first of its kind between a New Zealand university and a Burmese institution to collaborate on research, training and capacity building, including in infectious diseases and medical microbiology.
This month Dr Thanda Tun, a PhD student from the Burmese institution, arrived in Dunedin to work with Otago microbiologist Prof Greg Cook and Otago postdoctoral fellow Dr Htin Lin Aung, studying multiple-drug resistant tuberculosis from Burma and elsewhere.
The three researchers will also work in partnership with Prof John Crump and Prof Philip Hill, of the Otago University's Centre for International Health.