Ryan Dinkele

Ryan Dinkele is a PhD candidate in the Molecular Mycobacteriology Research Unit at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. In addition, he is in the process of completing a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree in biostatistics and epidemiology. Ryan’s doctorate examines the aerosolization, aerobiology, and transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a high-burden TB setting. To this end, he contributed to the development of a novel, highly efficient method for the detection and characterization of M. tuberculosis in bioaerosol samples. This method was then utilized to compare the rate at which M. tuberculosis was aerosolized between tidal breathing and cough. Ultimately, his research suggests that tidal breathing likely contributes more than 90% of the daily aerosolized M. tuberculosis compared to coughing.