Dr. Max O'Donnell

Dr. Max R. O’Donnell is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, where he leads a multidisciplinary research program focused on global health, with particular emphasis on drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB), HIV co-infection, and severe acute respiratory infections. His work integrates clinical trials, molecular and genomic resistance detection, translational microbiology, and implementation science to address the evolving challenges of MDR/RR-TB, including emerging resistance to bedaquiline- and pretomanid-based regimens. His research seeks to improve diagnostic strategies for resistance detection, define genotype–phenotype relationships for novel agents, optimize treatment outcomes through adherence and risk stratification studies, and inform global policy on resistance surveillance. Current research activities are centered in South Africa and Uganda, with complementary training, education, and capacity-building initiatives in Ethiopia and Rwanda. Dr. O’Donnell collaborates closely with the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA), the Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI), the Jacobs and Larsen laboratories at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI). Through these partnerships, he advances clinically anchored and genomics-informed approaches to DR-TB management while strengthening regional research infrastructure and workforce development in high-burden settings.

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