Margareth Dalcolmo is featured in a profile published in the scientific journal The Lancet

The pneumologist and researcher at the National School of Public Health Sergio Arouca (ENSP/Fiocruz), Margareth Dalcolmo, was featured in the profile titled Margareth Dalcolmo: TB expert and Brazil’s "face of COVID-19", published in the scientific journal The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.

The article narrates how the researcher became a physician, recalling her admission to the Medical School of Santa Casa de Misericórdia and, later, her doctorate at the Federal University of São Paulo, where she worked on a large randomized clinical trial comparing different treatments for tuberculosis.

The text also describes how Margareth became the “face of COVID” in Brazil, emphasizing her importance in tackling the pandemic. “Although she found that fame was not always a good thing when Brazil's Rio and São Paulo Carnaval Parades were cancelled in 2021 and 2022 on her and others’ advice, she has always maintained the public's confidence and received multiple accolades for her COVID-19 work”, highlights the article.

By tracing the path of the researcher’s solid career, the article highlights her work at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), her role at ENSP/Fiocruz as a pneumologist – which led to the establishment of “a new outpatient unit and the national accreditation of tuberculosis and other mycobacteria service” – as well as her involvement in the national tuberculosis committee, where she remains to this day.

The text also recalls the decades during which Margareth treated and researched respiratory infectious diseases, particularly tuberculosis, as well as her leadership in the Global Alliance SimpliciTB clinical trial and her pioneering use of a new combination of drugs for multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis. The article also highlights recent studies she led on the efficacy of the BCG vaccine against COVID-19 and BCG revaccination in adults, in addition to her active role, as president of the Brazilian Thoracic Diseases Association, in reducing the cost of triple therapies for cystic fibrosis and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). The article further emphasizes that the researcher is about to implement a new clinical trial aimed at reducing tuberculosis treatment, called PARADIGM4TB.

Margareth’s integration into the Essential Medicines team at the World Health Organization (WHO), the publication of her book Um tempo para não esquecer (A Time Not to Forget), which was recognized with the Jabuti Prize, and her election to the Brazilian Academy of Medicine are also among the highlighted accomplishments.