Barbara J. Seaworth, M.D., F.I.S.D.A., F.A.C.P., 
Dr. Seaworth is the Co-Medical Director for the Heartland National Tuberculosis Center of Excellence in San Antonio, Texas. She received her medical degree from Washington University in St. Louis and completed a fellowship in Infectious Disease at Duke University.  She has over 30 years’ experience with treatment of tuberculosis (TB) including complex and  multi-drug resistant TB. She serves as an expert TB consultant to Texas Binational Projects along the Texas border with Mexico and a Consultant with the Global TB Network TB Consilium. Dr. Seaworth is the 2024 recipient of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUATLD) North American Region Lifetime Achievement award.

Contact Information:          
Phone: 210-531-4541
Fax: 210-531-4500
Email: Barbara.Seaworth@dshs.texas.gov

Lisa Y. Armitige, M.D., Ph.D.  
Dr. Lisa Armitige is a Professor of Infectious Diseases, Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Texas at Tyler Health Science Center. She serves on the staff of Heartland National TB Center as the Co-Medical Director and is currently Medical Director of the San Antonio, Texas TB clinic. In these capacities, she lectures nationally and internationally on tuberculosis and cares for both adult and pediatric patients with tuberculosis at a large metropolitan clinic. Dr. Armitige was previously at the McGovern Medical School in Houston where she did her residency in Med/Peds, a fellowship in adult ID and served as faculty caring for both TB and HIV patients. In addition to participating in clinical studies involving treatment shortening regimens for latent TB infection (LTBI), Dr. Armitige conducts biomedical research in the pathogenesis of tuberculosis. Dr. Armitige is the 2024 recipient of the NTCA William Stead TB Clinician Award.

Contact Information
Phone: 210-531-4548
Fax: 210-531-4500
Email: lisa.armitige@dshs.texas.gov 
 

Texas Children's Hospital

Jeffrey R. Starke, M.D. 
Dr. Starke is an internationally recognized expert in the management of childhood tuberculosis and mycobacteria infections. He has served as the Director of the Children’s Tuberculosis Clinic for almost 30 years. He has participated in the writing of numerous clinical guidelines for the City of Houston, the State of Texas, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Thoracic Society, and the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. He has conducted and published research studies on various aspects of the epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of childhood tuberculosis, and has delivered his findings in hundreds of regional, national, and international talks, as well as over 150 papers and 40 book chapters. He was one of the editors of the "Handbook of Child & Adolescent Tuberculosis", the first comprehensive book on the subject published in the last 50 years. He also attends the infectious disease service at Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH) and has served as the TCH Infection Control Officer for over 20 years. Dr. Starke is also active in medical education and has won several department and college-wide teaching awards. In 2021, he received the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease North American Region Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2022 he was honored with the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society Distinguished Research Award.

Contact Information:
Phone: 832-824-4330
Fax: 832-825-4347
Email: jrstarke@texaschildrens.org

Andrea T. Cruz, M.D., M.P.H.
Dr. Cruz is an internationally recognized expert in childhood tuberculosis. She received her A.B. in biochemistry from Harvard University and her medical degree from the Vanderbilt School of Medicine. She completed her pediatric residency and fellowships in pediatric infectious diseases and pediatric emergency medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. She also has an M.P.H. in epidemiology with a focus on global health from the University of Texas. She is an associate professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Cruz has been the director of the Children’s Tuberculosis Clinic at Texas Children’s Hospital for the last 10 years. She serves as a consultant for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. She has over 50 publications on tuberculosis and almost 30 book chapters on mycobacterial infections. She provides consultative services for Heartland and cares for children with tuberculosis at the Texas Children’s Hospital TB Clinic in Houston.

Contact Information: 
Phone: 832-824-5582
Fax: 832-825-1182
Email: acruz@bcm.edu