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Oxford University has been ranked as the world's best institution for medical and health teaching and research in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for the eighth consecutive year. This ranking is based on criteria measuring teaching, research, industry income, international outlook and citations. It was noted that both research and clinical trials are supported by our network of international research units in Africa and Asia.
Effect of a novel house design (star home) on indoor malaria mosquito abundance in rural Tanzania: secondary outcomes of an open-label, household, randomised controlled trial
Posted 23/04/2025. A novel screened house design with bedrooms on the second storey reduced indoor mosquito abundance (51% less Anopheles gambiae; 61% less Culex species) and were 0·5°C cooler compared with traditional houses in Mtwara, Tanzania. By Lorenz Von Seidlein
Call for a fairer approach to authorship in publishing biomedical research
Posted 11/04/2025. Phaik Yeong Cheah and Michael Parker advocate for fairer authorship in collaborative biomedical research to enhance equity and inclusiveness. They highlight how current practices overlook contributors and discuss challenges in authorship decisions, including project size, multidisciplinary complexity, and the varied roles of researchers at different stages.
Validating a web application’s use of genetic distance to determine helminth species boundaries and aid in identification
Posted 26/03/2025. Helminth species identification is challenging due to their diversity. Abigail Hui En Chan, Sompob Saralamba and their team developed ABIapp, a user-friendly R/Shiny application that helps researchers visualize taxonomic boundaries using genetic distance data. With up to 76% accuracy, ABIapp outperforms existing web-based tools, providing a valuable resource for helminth research.
Comparing HemoCue® and Quantitative Buffy Coat® and Coulter Counter-measured haemoglobin concentrations in African children with acute uncomplicated malaria: a Bland–Altman analysis
Posted 19/03/2025. Malaria studies often involve blood transfusion to severe malarial anaemic children. Accurate Anaemia diagnosis is crucial for effective management. Hence, important to determine the level of agreement among haemoglobin concentrations measurement methods. HemoCue® should be used with caution in settings where decisions about blood transfusions are made. By Mavuto Mukaka
Tracing epistemic injustice in global antimicrobial resistance research
Posted 14/03/2025. This commentary explores whether there is epistemic injustice in global antimicrobial resistance (AMR) research – who sets priorities, who produces knowledge, and which types of knowledge are valued. Prof Phaik Yeong Cheah and colleagues argue that epistemic injustice may have created blind spots in policy. Addressing this requires a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Submicroscopic malaria in pregnancy and associated adverse pregnancy events: A case-cohort study of 4,352 women on the Thailand–Myanmar border
Posted 11/03/2025. Malaria is known to be dangerous for pregnant women and their developing babies. But how much malaria is too much malaria? Using an ultra-sensitive PCR method that detects one parasite per drop of blood, Mary Ellen Gilder and SMRU colleagues found that even infections with very few parasites are associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes.
Antibiotic duration for common bacterial infections - a systematic review
Posted 07/03/2025. Reducing antibiotic duration is key to antimicrobial stewardship. A review of 315 trials found strong evidence for shorter courses in common infections but limited data for severe infections and low-income settings. Only 15% had low bias risk. More research is needed in critical care and resource-limited environments. By Mo Yin
Cost-effectiveness of a short-course antibiotic treatment strategy for the treatment of ventilator-associated pneumonia: an economic analysis of the REGARD-VAP trial
Posted 04/03/2025. Previously, the REGARD-VAP trial found that giving patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) a personalised, shorter antibiotic treatment was just as effective as usual care. Mo Yin and colleagues showed this approach is also cost-effective in Nepal, Singapore, and Thailand. This approach could save money, reduce antibiotic use, and help policymakers make better healthcare decisions despite some uncertainties.
Dose-Optimization of a Novel Co-Formulated Triple Combination Antimalarial Therapy: Artemether-Lumefantrine-Amodiaquine
Posted 18/02/2025. Emerging artemisinin-resistance in Africa threatens our ability to treat malaria. Joel Tarning and colleagues developed an optimal weight-based dosing of a fixed-dose artemether-lumefantrine-amodiaquine formulation using population pharmacokinetic modelling. Dosing was designed to achieve consistent drug exposure across all body weights. This formulation should simplify manufacturing and improve adherence, when treating resistant malaria.
Overcoming research challenges in resource-limited settings: perspectives from Thailand
Posted 29/01/2025. Conducting research in LMICs is undeniably challenging, with brain drain often surpassing reverse brain drain. We share an opinion discussing both the difficulties and rewards of working in this space. Claire Chewapreecha and Thongchai Chewprecha hope it will encourage international and national funding agencies to invest in LMIC talent, and drive meaningful, lasting impact.
Community responses to a novel house design: A qualitative study of “Star Homes” in Mtwara, southeastern Tanzania
Posted 24/01/2025. Salum Mshamu and colleagues evaluate community responses to novel design homes in Mtwara, Tanzania, aimed at reducing childhood diseases such as malaria, respiratory infections, and diarrhoea. Using qualitative research, the study explores how residents and neighbours interact with the novel housing design including its impact on residents' lives, social, cultural, and health-related issues. The findings offer insights for future community wide novel housing interventions.
Acceptability of improved cook stoves-a scoping review of the literature
Posted 21/01/2025. Novel housing interventions (Star Homes) in Tanzania aim to prevent childhood diarrhea, malaria, and respiratory infections by addressing multiple aspects of housing—one of which is cooking stoves. Our research on Star Homes in rural Tanzania revealed inconsistent use of improved cookstoves, sparking a systematic review into factors influencing stove acceptability globally. By Bipin Adhikari
Identification of Southeast Asian Anopheles mosquito species with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry using a cross-correlation approach
Posted 17/01/2025. Victor Chaumeau and colleagues developed a reference MALDI-TOF mass spectra database for the identification of Anopheles mosquitoes from the Thailand-Myanmar border allowing rapid, affordable and accurate identification of medically important vector species, an important prerequisite to assess disease transmission and evaluate vector control. This is the first free open-source data analysis pipeline allowing anyone to replicate the analysis and develop reference database in-house.
Sustainable antimicrobial resistance surveillance: time for a global funding mechanism
Posted 07/01/2025. The continued costs of a standard national AMR surveillance system are predicted to account for over 5% of the total domestic general government health expenditure (GGHE-D) for 28 LMICs and more than 2% of GGHE-D for 46 LMICs. This high cost is not sustainable without a long-term global financing mechanism. By Liz Ashley
AmpC β-lactamases detected in Southeast Asian Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae
Posted 20/12/2024. AmpC β-lactamases are a neglected cause of third generation cephalosporin resistance in Southeast Asia. This collaboration between COMRU, LOMWRU and SMRU showed that AmpC β-lactamases are an important cause of infection, though infections may be going undetected due to a lack of testing resulting in sub-optimal treatment for patients. By Tamalee Roberts
Population genomics and transcriptomics of Plasmodium falciparum in Cambodia and Vietnam uncover key components of the artemisinin resistance genetic background
Posted 17/12/2024. Tom Peto and colleagues collected Plasmodium falciparum parasites from malaria patients in Cambodia and Vietnam between 2018 and 2020 in the MORU-led TACT-CV study. Novel molecular analyses of these samples at Nanyang Technological University identified new genetic factors that appear under selective pressure and may contribute to artemisinin resistance mechanisms in clinical settings.
A hill tribe community advisory board in Northern Thailand: lessons learned one year on
Posted 22/11/2024. Since 2023 the Chiang Rai community advisory board helped researchers understand the many local ethnic minority groups of Northern Thailand and vice-versa, improving cooperation and research activities. Over time, benefits have grown. Carlo Perrone and colleagues present their experience one year on, supporting long-term partnerships over project-based ones.
Community engagement to develop a dialogue-drama on adolescent pregnancy in a marginalised migrant population on the Thailand-Myanmar border: an ethnographic approach to participatory action research
Posted 20/11/2024. A participatory-action approach involving community members and adolescents resulted in a dialogue-drama (Karen and Burmese versions) on adolescent pregnancy, contraception, and choice in the event of an unplanned pregnancy. The dialogue-drama augmented discussion of traditionally taboo issues and this ethnographic method is potentially useful for similar global health settings. By Rose McGready
Prevalence and risk factors of vitamin D deficiency among Afghan primary school children
Posted 19/11/2024. Bob Taylor and colleagues determined that vitamin D deficiency is exceptionally high, 85%, in 510 5-15 years-old school children from Kandahar city, Afghanistan. Half had severe deficiency. Older children from poor families with limited outdoor activity and inadequate sun exposure were more likely to be deficient. These data provide evidence for a mitigation strategy.
Non-invasive detection of bilirubin concentrations during the first week of life in a low-resource setting along the Thailand–Myanmar border
Posted 22/10/2024. Severe neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia is often diagnosed late in low-resources settings because of lack of point-of-care tools. In this study, Germana Bancone and SMRU researchers have evaluated the performance of a transcutaneous bilirubinometer for screening of neonates born along the Thai-Myanmar border. The study was supported by a Wellcome Trust iTPA grant.