Personal profile
Research expertise
Professor Bouke de Jong leads the Mycobacteriology Unit at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp. A clinical infectious disease specialist, she has worked extensively on tuberculosis in high burden settings, with a focus on molecular epidemiology, diagnostics, and drug resistance. Her work on leprosy centers on molecular epidemiology and post-exposure prophylaxis. Her Unit serves as a WHO Supranational TB Reference Lab and houses the world’s largest M. tuberculosis strain collection. She also co-leads ITM’s Master’s in Tropical Medicine and a global course on drug-resistant TB.
Research lines
- Improved (resistance) diagnostics for leprosy, Buruli ulcer, and tuberculosis
- Phylogeography, phylodynamics, and molecular epidemiology of M. ulcerans, M. tuberculosis, and M. leprae in the context of intervention studies
- Optimized treatment for M. tuberculosis
Education/Academic qualification
Medicine, PhD
Medicine, MD
Epidemiology, MSc
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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TEBULA: Telacebec to Control Buruli Ulcer and Leprosy in Africa
de Jong, B. (Promotor) & Braet, S. (CoPI)
The European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership
1/06/25 → 31/05/29
Project: Research Project
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Rifampicin-Resistant Tuberculosis Treatment: Improve Safety while Safeguarding Success in Niger
Maman Lawan Sahirou, I. (PhD Student), de Jong, B. (Promotor), Decroo, T. (Promotor), Lorent, N. (Promotor) & Ag Doutchi, M. (Promotor)
1/01/25 → …
Project: PhD-project
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THREE-G: The causes and consequences of historical contingencies in the evolution of extensively drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Gagneux, S. (Copromotor), Ardizzoni, E. (Researcher), Rigouts, L. (Researcher) & de Jong, B. (Promotor)
1/01/25 → 31/12/28
Project: Research Project
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ZLRM Pakistan: ZeroLeprosyRoadMap Pakistan (2)
de Jong, B. (Copromotor), Braet, S. (Researcher), Cloots, K. (Researcher), de Gooyer, T. (Researcher), Shih, K. (Researcher) & Hasker, E. (Promotor)
Deutsche Lepra- und Tuberkulosehilfe
1/11/24 → 31/12/27
Project: Research Project
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STARLEP: Contribution of drug-resistance and M. lepromatosis to persistent leprosy transmission in parts of Africa
de Jong, B. (Promotor) & Braet, S. (PI)
1/07/24 → 30/06/28
Project: Research Project
Research output
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Genome-wide analyses of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex isolates reveal insights into circulating lineages and drug resistance mutations in The Gambia
Faal, F., Top, N., Jobe, O., Colley, S. M., Ayorinde, A., Mendy, A., Sarr-Kuyateh, B., Donkor, S., Antonio, M., de Jong, B. C., Rachow, A., Kampmann, B., Sutherland, J. S., Li, H., Blundell, T. L., Campino, S., Kohl, T., Dreyer, V., Neimann, S. & Pandurangan, A. P. & 3 others, , 4-Mar-2026, In: Scientific Reports. 16, 1Research output: Contribution to journal › A1: Peer-reviewed journal articles › peer-review
Open Access -
Multicentre field evaluation of Xpert MTB/XDR in sub-Saharan Africa
Massou, F., Diarra, B., Ba Diallo, A., Bah, K. S., Vuchas, C., Neh, A., Sander, M., Adebiyi, E. O., Aderemi, B. O., Agbla, S. C., Floyd, S., Kaswa, M. K., Aloni, M., Sissy, M., Ushizimpumu, B., Niyigena, E. B., Ngabonziza, J. C. S., Abebe, G., Tadesse, M. & Bah, B. & 20 others, , Mar-2026, In: ERJ Open Research. 12, 2Research output: Contribution to journal › A1: Peer-reviewed journal articles › peer-review
Open Access -
70% ethanol preserves mycobacterial RNA from cultures more efficiently than GTC-TCEP
Krausser, L., Van Dyck-Lippens, M., Balde, R., Reenaers, R., Al Mubarak, R., Rigouts, L., Walter, N. D., Voskuil, M. I., Van Rie, A., de Jong, B. C. & Braet, S. M., 2025, In: Scientific Reports. 15, 1, 9 p., 12322.Research output: Contribution to journal › A1: Peer-reviewed journal articles › peer-review
Open Access -
Advancing Mycobacterium leprae transmission research: Insights from the R2STOP fund
Palmeirim, M., Geluk, A., de Jong, B., Braet, S., Macaluso, K., Tufariello, J., Lavania, M., Singh, I., Sharma, R., Singh, P. & Steinmann, P., Aug-2025, In: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. 19, 8, 10 p., e0013370.Research output: Contribution to journal › A1: Peer-reviewed journal articles › peer-review
Open Access -
Are social and spatial proximity the same? A case study from an endemic leprosy village
Ronse, M., Dens, S., Snijders, R., Braet, S., Maoulida, H. A., Ali, I. S., Ny Aina Anny, W. M., Absoir, C., Moundji, E., Attoumane, A., Azihari, M., de Jong, B., Hasker, E., Assoumani, Y., Peeters, K., Verdonck, T. & Nieto Sanchez, C., Jul-2025, (Unpublished).Research output: Contribution to conference › Poster
Activities
- 1 Lecture and oral contribution
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Qualitative exploration of potential links between spatially dispersed but phylogenetically connected leprosy patients: an interdisciplinary study in the Comoros
Ronse, M. (Speaker), Braet, S. (Speaker), Ali, I. S. (Speaker), Ny Aina Anny, W. M. (Speaker), Maoulida, H. A. (Speaker), Snijders, R. (Speaker), Dens, S. (Speaker), Hasker, E. (Speaker), Assoumani, Y. (Speaker), Nieto Sanchez, C. (Speaker), de Jong, B. (Speaker) & Peeters, K. (Speaker)
2025Activity: Talk or presentation types › Lecture and oral contribution