Gregory P. Bisson, MD, MSCE
More Info
- Scholar
- United States | Botswana | South Africa
- Epidemiology | HIV/AIDS | Infection Control & Prevention | Infectious disease | Outbreaks | Respiratory Health | Tuberculosis
Languages: English, Japanese(limited)
BIO STATEMENT
Gregory P. Bisson, MD, MSCE is Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Perelman School of Medicine, with a secondary appointment as Professor of Epidemiology, and serves as Medical Director of Tuberculosis Control for the City of Philadelphia. His interest in global health developed prior to and during his Infectious Diseases fellowship at Penn, when, in 2003, he became the first Penn investigator to establish clinical research infrastructure within the Botswana-UPenn Partnership Program. Caring for patients in Botswana, he saw firsthand the scope of tuberculosis as a driver of morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa and dedicated his career to clinical and translational research aimed at improving outcomes for people with TB, particularly those coinfected with HIV.
Dr. Bisson's research program, continuously NIH-funded since he joined the faculty, has produced internationally cited studies on antiretroviral therapy in under-resourced settings, on mechanisms of pathologic inflammation in pulmonary TB, and on immune recovery during TB treatment. His current portfolio, including two R01s, an R21, and a state-funded CURE grant, leverages partnerships in Botswana, South Africa, India, and elsewhere to investigate the pathogenesis of post-tuberculosis lung disease (PTLD), a neglected condition affecting an estimated 155 million TB survivors worldwide. He has helped reshape understanding of PTLD by demonstrating that pulmonary inflammation persists and evolves after treatment initiation and that inflammasome activity, matrix remodeling, and other host pathways may be therapeutically modifiable. He recently led the first international consensus research definition of PTLD (Bisson et al., Lancet Infectious Diseases, 2025).
Globally, Dr. Bisson served or now serves on the Steering Committee for the 3rd and 4th International Post-TB Symposia. He also serves on the Steering Committee of TB Sequel, the largest multinational study of long-term TB complications, and is on data monitoring committees for ongoing trials of novel TB drugs. He has been an invited speaker at Johns Hopkins, McGill, NIH, the Union World Conference on Lung Health, and the upcoming 2027 Keystone Symposium on TB.
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Global health also defines his local work. As Medical Director of TB Control for Philadelphia, he personally cares for every patient diagnosed with TB in the city and has brought the first major translational research grants to the Flick Memorial Clinic. He mentors trainees pursuing TB-focused research and care at Penn and abroad; recent mentees have secured two K01 awards, a state-funded R01-equivalent, and a Thrasher Award, and moved into faculty and leadership roles at Penn, CHOP, Johns Hopkins, and the Gates Medical Research Institute.
His overarching goal is to translate rigorous global observational science into interventions and policies that measurably reduce the worldwide burden of TB and its long-term consequences.
Recent Global Health Projects
I am MPI of a prospective cohort study in South Africa that relates proinflammatory 'omics signatures in sputum and plasma to risk of post-TB lung disease (PTLD) in actuals with pulmonary TB. This NIAID-funded project is in its fourth year.
In addition, I am MPI of an NHLBI-funded project evaluating the association between TB and CVD, based in Botswana. This 5-year cohort study will enroll two cohorts, one of adults with prior history of TB and community controls, and another including adults newly diagnosed with pulmonary TB. All participants will provide measures of pulse wave velocity and will undergo detailed CVD risk assessments. The projects seeks to test that hypothesis that prior TB is associated with arterial aging and that this is mediated by IL-1 signaling.
In addition, I recently led the creation of an international consensus definition for PTLD for use in research studies.
Select Publications
Bisson GP, Allwood B, Byrne A, Günther G, Khosa C, Navuluri N, Nightingale R, Schoeman I, van der Zalm MM, Meghji J, Auld S. Post-tuberculosis lung disease: a case definition for use in research studies. Lancet Infect Dis. 2025 Nov 10:S1473-3099(25)00548-1. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(25)00548-1. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41232546.
Bisson GP, Bastos M, Campbell JR, Bang D, Brust JC, Isaakidis P, Lange C, Menzies D, Migliori GB, Pape JW, Palmero D, Baghaei P, Tabarsi P, Viiklepp P, Vilbrun S, Walsh J, Marks SM. Mortality in adults with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and HIV by antiretroviral therapy and tuberculosis drug use: an individual patient data meta-analysis. Lancet. 2020 Aug 8;396(10248):402-411. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31316-7. Erratum in: Lancet. 2020 Sep 26;396(10255):886. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31971-1. PMID: 32771107; PMCID: PMC8094110.
Bah MS, Htet KKK, Bisson GP, Khosa C, Masekela R, Meghji J, et al. (2025) Assessment of comorbidities, risk factors, and post tuberculosis lung disease in National Tuberculosis Guidelines: A scoping review. PLOS Glob Public Health 5(7): e0004935. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0004935
Ordonez AA, Vangu MW, Rajaratnam A, Mofokeng N, Gabuza L, Maenetje P, Le Fur M, Montesi SB, Caravan P, Auld SC, Bisson GP. Collagen-targeted PET/CT imaging of tuberculosis patients. Eur Respir J. 2025 Jul 24;66(1):2500195. doi: 10.1183/13993003.00195-2025. PMID: 40639875; PMCID: PMC13177661.
Last Updated: 20 May 2026