Research expertise

Tom Decroo (°1973), Medical Doctor (RUG Belgium 2000), Master in Public Health (Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, 2013), PhD in 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 in Africa (Mozambique, Burkina Faso) as a clinician, researcher, and coordinator for MSF-OCB. Between 2014 and 2016, he worked as an Operational Research Programme Officer for MSF-OCB.

In 2016, he joined ITM’s Unit of HIV & Tuberculosis (Department of Clinical Sciences). He obtained an FWO postdoctoral mandate for the period 2018-2021. Since 2025, he serves as Unit Head in his role as Professor of Tuberculosis.

His main interests include the diagnosis and treatment of drug-resistant TB. He is passionate about supporting research projects led by master's and PhD students.

He is the 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 teaches the evidence base of WHO guidelines for TB treatment and supports master’s students in developing their thesis protocol and manuscripts. In the Short Course in Clinical Research and Evidence-Based Medicine, he guides students in designing their personal research projects.

He is actively involved in three EDCTP projects (2025-2030). He will coordinate the TASP (TB Antimicrobial Stewardship Programme; https://tasp.health/) project, which investigates strategies to treat highly drug-resistant TB, as well as the SAHRI (sub-Saharan Africa Health Research and Innovation; https://sahrifellowship.net/) fellowship programme, together with Maria Zolfo (Education Coordinator, Clinical Sciences) and Rodrigo Henriquez (senior team member). He will also support the CAD LUS4TB (AI-powered Lung Ultrasound for TB diagnosis; https://www.cadlus4tb.org/en) project, in which Rodrigo leads a work package.

He has over 150 Pubmed-cited publications.

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.