National Institute for Medical Research - Tanga Medical Research Centre
Staff: Martha Moshi Lemnge Position: Chief Research Scientist I/Centre Director Qualifications: BSc, MSc, PhD Disciplines: Biochemistry and immunology Research areas: Malaria chemotherapy, drug resistance, Clinical trials

Background

Martha Lemnge is a research scientist under National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), Tanzania. Until August 2005 she was the Director of NIMR Amani Centre, a position she held from October 1998. Martha graduated in biochemistry in 1978, from the University of Zambia, and joined the former Malaria Research Laboratory, Lusaka, Zambia in 1978 where she worked until 1987 and joined NIMR the same year. Since then she has continued to work on various aspects of malaria and lymphatic filariasis at NIMR:

Research

Research interests include: biomedical studies and large-scale intervention studies against tropical diseases. Martha has also been involved in recent years in research on IPTi and malaria vaccine trials (RTS,S and MSP3). She has served on a number of committees (IPTi Consortium Executive Committee (2004-2006);; AMANET Scientific Committee (2005-2007); American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (Nov 2004 to date); GSK/MVI Clinical Trial Partnership Committee (Sept 2005 to Nov 2006); MCTA, INDEPTH (May 2006 to date)

• Massaga JJ, Kitua AY, Lemnge MM, Akida JA, Malle LN, Ronn AM, Theander TG, Bygbjerg IC. Effect of intermittent treatment with amodiaquine on anaemia and malarial fevers in infants in Tanzania: a randomized placebo-controlled trial. Lancet, 2003; 361: 1853-1860.
  
  
• Alifrangis M, Lemnge MM, Ronn AM, Segeja MD, Magesa SM, Khalil IF, Bygbjerg IC. Increasing prevalence of P. falciparum dhfr wildtype in an area with high levels of sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine resistance after introduction of treated bednets. Am J Trop Med Hyg, 2003; 69: 238-243.
  
  
• Drakeley CJ, Ilona Carneiro, Hugh Reyburn, Robert Malima, John PA Lusingu, Jonathan Cox, Thor G Theander, Watoky MMM Nkya, Martha Lemnge and Eleanor Riley. (2005). Altitude-dependent and-independent variations in Plasmodium falciparum prevalence in North-eastern Tanzania. J. Infect. Dis. 191(10): 1589-98.
        
• Drakeley CJ, PH Corran, PG Coleman, JE Tongren, SLR McDonald, I Carneiro, R Malima, J Lusingu, A Manjurano, WMM Nkya, MM Lemnge, J Cox, HG Reyburn and EM Riley (2005). Estimating medium and long-term trends in malaria transmission using serological markers of malaria exposure.  Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 102(14): 5108-13.
  
  
• Reyburn, H.G., Mbatia, R., Drakeley, C., Bruce, J., Carneiro, I., Olomi, R, Nkya, W.M.M.M., Lemnge, M.M., Greenwood, B.M. and Riley, E.M. (2005). Association of transmission intensity and age with clinical manifestations and case fatality of severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria. JAMA. 293(12): 1461-70.
  
  
• Lemnge MM, Abdullah S Ali, Ezekiel Malecela, Edward Sambu, Rahma Abdulla, Mohamed S Juma, Khatibu Fakih, Khafidh H Abdulla and Ritha John Njau. (2005). Therapeutic efficacy of sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine and amodiaquine among children with uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Zanzibar,Tanzania. Am J. Trop. Med Hyg, 73: 681-685.
  
  
• Lusingu JP, Jensen AT, Vestergaard LS, Minja DT, Dalgaard MB, Gesase S, Mmbando BP, Kitua AY, Lemnge MM, Cavanagh D, Hviid L, Theander TG (2006). Levels of Plasma Immunoglobulin G with Specificity against the Cysteine-Rich Interdomain Regions of a Semiconserved Plasmodium falciparum Erythrocyte Membrane Protein 1, VAR4, Predict Protection against Malarial Anemia and Febrile Episodes. Infect. Immun. 74(5): 2867-75.
  
  
• Lemnge M, Michael Alifrangis, Mwanaidi Y. Kafuye, Method D Segeja, Samwel Gesase, Daniel Minja, Julius J Massaga, Anita M Rønn and Ib C Bygbjerg. (2006). Evidence of a high re-infection rate in children treated   with amodiaquine for falciparum malaria in Muheza, north-eastern Tanzania. Am. J. Trop.Med .Hyg. 75(2): 188-193.

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