Alfred Lardizabal has a broad background in clinical tuberculosis as well as the programmatic aspects of tuberculosis (TB) control and has successfully carried out several research projects funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USAID, and National Institutes of Health, both domestically and internationally. His research has primarily focused on understanding the immunological responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection as a basis for improved diagnostics. A better understanding of the immune mechanisms behind TB latency and reactivation can enhance the approach to latent tuberculosis infection, which is the reservoir for future disease and an essential component in the strategy toward tuberculosis elimination.

The collective effort of the Global TB Institute to provide state-of-the-art care for TB, develop education and training programs, and carry out important research has contributed to the decreasing TB incidence domestically, and the intention is to leverage lessons-learned globally.

Lardizabal has conducted work in the northeastern United States, central Asia, and Sierra Leone.