Dr Gerrit Woltmann

I am a senior NHS Respiratory Physician with strong interest in respiratory infections including tuberculosis nontuberculous mycobacterial disease and pneumonia. As Head of Service for Respiratory Medicine and Allergy at the University Hospitals of Leicester (UHL) I lead one of the 3 largest respiratory departments in the UK. The Respiratory Department Ied the pandemic response at Glenfield rapidly pivoting care towards safe COVID-19 care in extreme circumstances. I was instrumental in abolishing artificial boundaries between clinical care and research. UHL researchers and clinicians were leading contributors to the platform trials RECOVERY and REMAP-CAP resulting in evidence-based treatment options in record time. As medical informatics lead within the NIHR Leicester BRC I initiated the rapid development of the COVTRACK platform. I played a pivotal role in the setting up and the sustained success of the regional TB network since 2001 a concept that was fully adopted in the UK TB strategy 2015-20. Bespoke in-house IT system designs have facilitated hypothesis building in relation to TB. 

Jointly with other members of the Leicester TB research group (LTBRG) I contributed significantly to a shift of the national TB agenda to prevention. I had led early Leicester TB cohort research into TB progression risk in low prevalence countries research recently incorporated and validated in a personalised TB risk prediction tool (periskope.org). Screening for latent TB infection (LTBI) has now been established in Leicester for many years in numerous risk groups. Our group’s work on TB progression risk led to an international collaboration between UoL Francis Crick Institute and BIOASTER Microbiology Technology Research Institute Lyon France. Firmly grounded in NHS audit QI and mortality review I have pursued a strong interest in health data research. In the respiratory BRU and NIHR Leicester BRC I have for many years led on the development of innovative database tools to capture and facilitate evidence-based care. As NHS physician I developed a clinical interest in community acquired pneumonia (CAP) the leading cause of in-hospital mortality worldwide. I established the first dedicated Specialist Pneumonia Intervention Nurse (SPIN) team in the UK. 

1. Tabone O, Verma R, Singhania A, et al. Blood transcriptomics reveal the evolution and resolution of the immune response in tuberculosis. J Exp Med 2021;218:e20210915.
2. Richardson M, Verma R, Singhania A, et al. Blood Transcriptional Phenotypes of Progressive Latent M. tuberculosis Infection Inform Novel Signatures That Improve Prediction of Tuberculosis Risk. Ssrn Electron J 2021.
3. Gupta RK, Calderwood CJ, Yavlinsky A, et al. Discovery and validation of a personalized risk predictor for incident tuberculosis in low transmission settings. Nature Medicine 2020;26:1941-9.
4. Verma R, Swift BMC, Handley-Hartill W, et al. A Novel, High-sensitivity, Bacteriophage-based Assay Identifies Low-level Mycobacterium tuberculosis Bacteremia in Immunocompetent Patients With Active and Incipient Tuberculosis. Clinical Infectious Diseases 2019;70:933-6.
5. Singhania A, Verma R, Graham CM, et al. A modular transcriptional signature identifies phenotypic heterogeneity of human tuberculosis infection. Nature communications 2018;9:2308.
6. Rosser A, Richardson M, Wiselka MJ, et al. A nested case-control study of predictors for tuberculosis recurrence in a large UK Centre. BMC infectious diseases 2018;18:94.
7. Williams CML, Cheah ESG, Malkin J, et al. Face Mask Sampling for the Detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Expelled Aerosols. PLoS ONE 2014;9:e104921.
8. Panchal RK, Browne I, Monk P, Woltmann G, Haldar P. The effectiveness of primary care based risk stratification for targeted latent tuberculosis infection screening in recent immigrants to the UK: a retrospective cohort study. Thorax 2014;69:354.
9. Haldar P, Thuraisingam H, Patel H, et al. Single-step QuantiFERON screening of adult contacts: a prospective cohort study of tuberculosis risk. Thorax 2013;68:240.
10. Pareek M, Watson JP, Ormerod LP, et al. Screening of immigrants in the UK for imported latent tuberculosis: a multicentre cohort study and cost-effectiveness analysis. The Lancet Infectious Diseases 2011;11:435-44.

My research focuses on opportunities to modify the future risk of TB and improve the outcome of other respiratory infections including pneumonia.

I teach medical students during their attachments to Respiratory Medicine in University Hospitals Leicester. I provide postgraduate teaching on the epidemiology and clinical spectrum of mycobacterial diseases.

TB epidemiology and risk factors for TB progression and disease. Community Acquired Pneumonia - safe management focused on improved outcome. Health data research related topics. 

"Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP UK London). Medical Doctorate University of Leicester."