David Alland

David Alland, is Professor and Chief of Division of Infectious Diseases, Director of Center for Emerging Pathogens, and Associate Dean for Clinical Research at Rutgers University. Dr. Alland is a widely recognized expert in the detection and characterization of M. tuberculosis and its mechanisms of antibiotic resistance. His laboratory is responsible for development of the molecular beacon assay used in the Cepheid Xpert™ TB/Rif cartridge, the world’s leading molecular diagnostic for the detection and characterization of TB. This assay may be the world’s most widely utilized infectious disease molecular diagnostic, and is substantially responsible for driving the placement of what is now 10,000 Cepheid instruments worldwide. David’s laboratory has made profound contributions to medicine and humanity by developing the assay at the heart of the world’s foremost diagnostic for TB, an illness that remains one of the world’s largest causes of death, with 9.6M new cases and 1.5M deaths in 2014. He has proven capacity to drive cutting-edge research into practical, affordable diagnostic tests that have been deployed on the largest scale.