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Mercedes Becerra, ScD

Jeffrey Cheah Professor of Global Health and Social Medicine

Mercedes C. Becerra, ScD, is the Jeffrey Cheah Professor of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She is also the Faculty Dean of Adams House at Harvard College.  Professor Becerra completed the AB degree at Harvard College in 1991 (History), followed by the MSc (Population and International Health) in 1993 and the DSc (Epidemiology) in 1999, both at the Harvard School of Public Health. 

For more than 25 years, Professor Becerra has conducted research focused on improving the treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB), strategies to estimate and detect TB in children, and strategies to treat and prevent TB in families exposed at home to this airborne infection. She sustains long-term collaborative partnerships with three international health delivery organizations: Partners In Health, IRD Global, and Advance Access & Delivery. Professor Becerra is co-founder of the Sentinel Project on Pediatric Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis— a network of clinicians, investigators, and advocates who collaborate to share evidence and resources that can increase children’s access to prompt and effective treatment.  Professor Becerra is also a co-founder of the Zero TB Initiative— a global consortium of local coalitions working to drive down TB rates, one community at a time.

Dr. Becerra's research focuses on the treatment and epidemiology of tuberculosis. She studies the burden of tuberculosis in the child and adult household contacts of tuberculosis patients. She also studies strategies to improve tuberculosis screening and treatment in children and high-risk households.

Complete list of Dr. Mercedes Becerra's publications on MyBibiliography.

Toward patient-centered tuberculosis preventive treatment: preferences for regimens and formulations in Lima, Peru.
Authors: Authors: Yuen CM, Millones AK, Galea JT, Puma D, Jimenez J, Lecca L, Becerra MC, Keshavjee S.
BMC Public Health
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Closing delivery gaps in the treatment of tuberculosis infection: Lessons from implementation research in Peru.
Authors: Authors: Yuen CM, Millones AK, Puma D, Jimenez J, Galea JT, Calderon R, Pages GS, Brooks MB, Lecca L, Nicholson T, Becerra MC, Keshavjee S.
PLoS One
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Cost of delivering 12-dose isoniazid and rifapentine versus 6 months of isoniazid for tuberculosis infection in a high-burden setting.
Authors: Authors: Yuen CM, Majidulla A, Jaswal M, Safdar N, Malik AA, Khan AJ, Becerra M, Keshavjee S, Lu C, Hussain H.
Clin Infect Dis
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Prevention care cascade in people exposed to drug-resistant TB.
Authors: Authors: van de Water BJ, Vance AJ, Ramangoaela L, Botha M, Becerra MC.
Int J Tuberc Lung Dis
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Two Clinical Prediction Tools to Improve Tuberculosis Contact Investigation.
Authors: Authors: Li R, Nordio F, Huang CC, Contreras C, Calderon R, Yataco R, Galea JT, Zhang Z, Becerra MC, Lecca L, Murray MB.
Clin Infect Dis
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Isoniazid Preventive Therapy in Contacts of Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis.
Authors: Authors: Huang CC, Becerra MC, Calderon R, Contreras C, Galea J, Grandjean L, Lecca L, Yataco R, Zhang Z, Murray M.
Am J Respir Crit Care Med
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Tuberculosis clinical presentation and treatment outcomes in pregnancy: a prospective cohort study.
Authors: Authors: van de Water BJ, Brooks MB, Huang CC, Trevisi L, Lecca L, Contreras C, Galea J, Calderon R, Yataco R, Murray M, Becerra MC.
BMC Infect Dis
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Transmissibility and potential for disease progression of drug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis: prospective cohort study.
Authors: Authors: Becerra MC, Huang CC, Lecca L, Bayona J, Contreras C, Calderon R, Yataco R, Galea J, Zhang Z, Atwood S, Cohen T, Mitnick CD, Farmer P, Murray M.
BMJ
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Transmissibility and potential for disease progression of drug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis: prospective cohort study.
Authors: Authors: Becerra MC, Huang CC, Lecca L, Bayona J, Contreras C, Calderon R, Yataco R, Galea J, Zhang Z, Atwood S, Cohen T, Mitnick CD, Farmer P, Murray M.
BMJ
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Early progression to active tuberculosis is a highly heritable trait driven by 3q23 in Peruvians.
Authors: Authors: Luo Y, Suliman S, Asgari S, Amariuta T, Baglaenko Y, Martínez-Bonet M, Ishigaki K, Gutierrez-Arcelus M, Calderon R, Lecca L, León SR, Jimenez J, Yataco R, Contreras C, Galea JT, Becerra M, Nejentsev S, Nigrovic PA, Moody DB, Murray MB, Raychaudhuri S.
Nat Commun
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