Research expertise

Tom Decroo (°1973), Medical Doctor (RUG Belgium 2000), Master in Public Health, Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, 2013, PhD Medical Sciences: “Community-based ART in sub-Saharan Africa: lessons learnt from Community ART Groups in Tete province, Mozambique” (University of Antwerp, 2017).

Between 2003 and 2012, he was based as clinician, researcher, and coordinator for MSF-OCB in Africa (Mozambique, Burkina Faso). Between 2014-2016 he worked as Operational Research Program Officer for MSF-OCB.

In 2016, he joined ITM’s Unit of HIV & Tuberculosis (Clinical Sciences Department). He obtained an FWO post-doctoral mandate for the period 2018-2021. Now he works as senior researcher. 

His main interests include HIV community participation and the diagnosis and treatment of drug-resistant TB. He is passionate about supporting research projects led by Master and PhD students.

He is the course co-director of the short course “CLINICAL DECISION-MAKING FOR DRUG-RESISTANT TUBERCULOSIS”  as well as co-director of the "MASTER OF SCIENCE IN TROPICAL MEDICINE". He coordinates and teaches Master students  how to develop the protocol for their thesis project, and how to develop their manuscript step by step. In the "SHORT COURSE IN CLINICAL RESEARCH AND EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICINE" he teaches students to develop their personal research project.

He has over 120 Pubmed-cited publications (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Decroo+T )

Five key publications

1. Tahseen S, Van Deun A, de Jong BC, DECROO T. Second-line injectable drugs for rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis: better the devil we know? Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. 2021;12;76(4):831-835. doi: 10.1093/jac/dkaa489 
2. DECROO T, Maug AKJ, Hossain MA. Gumusboga M, Ortuno-Gutierrez N, de Jong BC, Van Deun A. Bedaquiline Can Act as Core Drug in a Standardized Treatment Regimen for Fluoroquinolone-Resistant Rifampicin-Resistant Tuberculosis. European Respiratory Journal. 2021; 2102124.
3. DECROO T, Henríquez-Trujillo AR, De Weggheleire A, Lynen L. Rational use of Xpert testing in patients with presumptive TB: clinicians should be encouraged to use the test-treat threshold. BMC Infectious Diseases. 2017;17(1):674.
4. DECROO T, Koole O, Remartinez D, dos Santos N, Dezembro S, Jofrisse M, Rasschaert F, Biot M, Laga M. Four-year retention and risk factors for attrition among members of community ART groups in Tete, Mozambique. Tropical Medicine & International Health 2014;19(5):514-21.
5. DECROO T, Telfer B, Biot M, Maikere J, Dezembro S, Cumba L, das Dores C, Chu K, Ford N. Distribution of antiretroviral treatment through self-forming groups of patients in Tete Province, Mozambique. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes 2011;56(2):e39-e44.