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Kamran Siddiqi is a clinical academic with an international reputation for leading high quality research in the field of lung health.
In the last 10 years, he has secured £4.9 million in research income as Principal Investigator and another £9.3 million as co-Investigator. Kamran has published extensively in the field of TB and tobacco control. He was recently elected to serve as the chair of the tobacco section and as a board member of the International UNION against TB and Lung Diseases.
What do you hope to achieve through your research?
Through my research, I wish to develop and test innovative ideas that have the potential to improve lung health among the most disadvantaged.
Tell us a little more about the project you are working on
It has been known for a while that smoking worsens TB outcomes and is responsible for significant mortality in TB patients. However, asking about smoking and advising smokers to quit have never been part of TB care provision. The TB & Tobacco project is aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of cheap and efficacious smoking cessation interventions in TB patients. The study is being conducted in Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan. If found effective, the team will also study how best to implement and scale-up such interventions integrated within the national TB programmes in these high TB-burden countries.
How has being part of GACD helped your research?
GACD has galvanised funding bodies around the world to prioritise research on non-communicable diseases and lung health. GACD is also bringing researchers around the world to work together and seek solutions for the poor to curb the epidemic of non-communicable diseases.
What do you enjoy most about your work?
I enjoy the intellectual challenge involved in conducting research, the opportunity to work and collaborate with some of the best scientists and clinicians around the world, mentoring the next generation of public health scientists and building research capacity in countries with limited resources for research and development.
Apart from the project, what are your other passions in life?
As an amateur, I read history and philosophy in my spare time. I am fascinated by the history of the Indo-Pak subcontinent, particularly Indus Valley Civilisation. I also love travelling and cooking vegetarian food.
Can you name someone who has inspired you in your life and work?
Sir Michael Marmot, who changed the way we see public health, for good.
GACD research project
LD02: Tobacco cessation within TB programmes: A ‘real world’ solution for countries with dual burden of disease