Contact information:
National Institute for Medical Research
Tanga Medical Research Centre
PO Box 5004,
Tanga,
Tanzania

Telephone (Office):        +255 272644423
      (Mobile):     +255 787679515
Fax (office) :                 +55 272644423
Email:  jpalusingu@yahoo.co.uk
jlusingu@tanga.mimcom.net
         

Background and research profile
Dr John Lusingu is a Principal Research Scientist of National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), with main focus in epidemiology and immunity of malaria. Having completed Degree in Doctor of Medicine in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in 1994 and one compulsory year of internship in Mbeya Consultant Hospital, he worked as General Practitioner in Clinical Departments in Mbeya Consultant Hospital under the Ministry of Health of Tanzania. He obtained Diploma in Health Care and Management in Tropical Countries in Swiss Tropical Institute, Basel, Switzerland in 1998 and attended several other short courses and awarded certificates in District Health Management and Health Care in Tropical Countries with limited resources. In 2000, he joined NIMR at Amani Medical Research Centre. He was involved in malaria epidemiology studies and Clinical Trials of antimalarial drugs as part of either NIMR or Joint Malaria Programme, collaboration between Centre for Medical Parasitology (Denmark), Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (Tanzania) London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (UK) and NIMR. In 2002, he was awarded a PhD Scholarship by Gates Malaria Partnership (GMP). He studied malaria morbidity and immunity in communities with different Plasmodium falciparum transmission intensity. He completed successfully and awarded PhD in Health Sciences from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. During PhD training, he attended several courses including epidemiology training in CDC, Atlanta sponsored by GMP and Good Clinical Practice under AMANET, immunohistochemical methods, Epidemiology and Biostatistics (Linear and Logistic Regression) and Ethics and Health Research in Low-Income Societies.

He is a co-principal investigator of the Phase IIb RTSS antimalarial vaccine trial in Korogwe funded by Malaria vaccine Initiative of the PATH and sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline Biologiacals (GSK), registered by Clinical Trials Organisation at www.clinicaltrials.org.

He is a Principal Investigator of the Phase Ib MSP3 antimalarial vaccine trial in Korogwe funded by AMANET and EMVDA, registered by Clinical Trials Organisation at www.clinicaltrials.org.

He has also obtained grants in other basic biomedical research projects, namely Gates Malaria Partnership re-entry grant which focuses on determining expression of variant surface antigens in different malaria syndromes in children and pregnant mothers by using qRT-PCR technique that has been established in AMBRELA at NIMR Tanga Centre. He has also obtained a grant from European Union framework number 6 focusing on human monoclonal antibodies as tools for therapy and research and framework number 7 focusing on strategies to prevent pregnancy associated malaria.

With about 17 publications in peer reviewed journals, he is a member of several societies including Tanzania Public Health Association, Medical association of Tanzania, American Society of Microbiology and British Society of Parasitology.

Current main research areas:

• Malaria epidemiology
• Malaria immunity
• Antimalarial vaccine trials

Current research projects

• Phase IIb RTSS vaccine trial in north-eastern Tanzania sponsored by MVI/GSK.
• Phase Ib MSP3 vaccine trial in north-eastern Tanzania sponsored by AMANET/EMVDA.
• Project Leader of malaria morbidity and immunity at hospital and community sponsored by ENRECA/DANIDA.
• Human monoclonal antibodies as tools for therapy and research sponsored by European Union (EU).
• Expression of variant surface antigens in children and pregnant mothers with different malaria syndromes as a re-entry grant by GMP.
• Strategies to prevent pregnancy associated malaria funded by European Union (EU).

Publications
   1. Lusingu JP, Vestergaard LS, Mmbando BP, Drakeley CJ, Jones C, Akida J, Savaeli ZX, Kitua AY, Lemnge MM, Theander TG: Malaria morbidity and immunity among residents of villages with different Plasmodium falciparum transmission intensity in North-Eastern Tanzania. Malar J 2004, 3: 26.[PubMed]
  
2. Nielsen MA, Vestergaard LS, Lusingu J, Kurtzhals JA, Giha HA, Grevstad B, Goka BQ, Lemnge MM, Jensen JB, Akanmori BD etal.: Geographical and Temporal Conservation of Antibody Recognition of Plasmodium falciparum Variant Surface Antigens. Infect Immun 2004, 72: 3531-3535.[PubMed]
  
3. Jensen AT, Magistrado P, Sharp S, Joergensen L, Lavstsen T, Chiucchiuini A, Salanti A, Vestergaard LS, Lusingu JP, Hermsen R etal.: Plasmodium falciparum Associated with Severe Childhood Malaria Preferentially Expresses PfEMP1 Encoded by Group A var Genes. J Exp Med 2004, 199: 1179-1190.[PubMed]
  
4. Enevold A, Vestergaard LS, Lusingu J, Drakeley CJ, Lemnge MM, Theander TG, Bygbjerg IC, Alifrangis M: Rapid screening for glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency and haemoglobin polymorphisms in Africa by a simple high-throughput SSOP-ELISA method. Malar J 2005, 4: 61.[PubMed]
  
5. Lusingu JP, Vestergaard LS, Alifrangis M, Mmbando BP, Theisen M, Kitua AY, Lemnge MM, Theander TG: Cytophilic antibodies to Plasmodium falciparum glutamate rich protein are associated with malaria protection in an area of holoendemic transmission. Malar J 2005, 4: 48.[PubMed]

   6. Drakeley CJ, Corran PH, Coleman PG, Tongren JE, McDonald SL, Carneiro I, Malima R, Lusingu J, Manjurano A, Nkya WM etal.: Estimating medium- and long-term trends in malaria transmission by using serological markers of malaria exposure. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2005, 102: 5108-5113.[PubMed]
  
7. Drakeley CJ, Carneiro I, Reyburn H, Malima R, Lusingu JP, Cox J, Theander TG, Nkya WM, Lemnge MM, Riley EM: Altitude-Dependent and -Independent Variations in Plasmodium falciparum Prevalence in Northeastern Tanzania. J Infect Dis 2005, 191: 1589-1598.[PubMed]
  
8. Lusingu JP, Jensen AT, Vestergaard LS, Minja DT, Dalgaard MB, Gesase S, Mmbando BP, Kitua AY, Lemnge MM, Cavanagh D etal.: 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 2006, 74: 2867-2875.[PubMed]
  
9. Alifrangis M, Dalgaard MB, Lusingu JP, Vestergaard LS, Staalsoe T, Jensen AT, Enevold A, Ronn AM, Khalil IF, Warhurst DC etal.: Occurrence of the Southeast Asian/South American SVMNT Haplotype of the Chloroquine-Resistance Transporter Gene in Plasmodium falciparum in Tanzania. J Infect Dis 2006, 193: 1738-1741.[PubMed]
 
10. Carneiro IA, Smith T, Lusingu JP, Malima R, Utzinger J, Drakeley CJ: Modeling the relationship between the population prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum malaria and anemia. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2006, 75: 82-89.[PubMed]
           
  11. Enevold A, Alifrangis M, Sanchez JJ, Carneiro I, Roper C, Borsting C, Lusingu J, Vestergaard LS, Lemnge MM, Morling N, Riley E, Drakeley CJ. Associations between alpha+-thalassemia and Plasmodium falciparum malarial infection in northeastern Tanzania. J Infect Dis 2007, 196: 451-9.[PubMed]
 
12. Joergensen L, Turner L, Magistrado P, Dahlback MA, Vestergaard LS, Lusingu JP, Lemnge M, Salanti A, Theander TG, Jensen AT. Limited cross-reactivity among domains of the Plasmodium falciparum clone 3D7 erythrocyte membrane protein 1 family. Infect Immun 2006; 74: 6778-84.[PubMed]
 
13. Joergensen L, Vestergaard LS, Turner L, Magistrado P, Lusingu JP, Lemnge M, Theander TG, Jensen AT. 3D7-Derived Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 is a frequent target of naturally acquired antibodies recognizing protein domains in a particular pattern independent of malaria transmission intensity. J Immunol 2007, 178: 428-35.[PubMed]
 
14. Magistrado PA, Lusingu J, Vestergaard LS, Lemnge M, Lavstsen T, Turner L, Hviid L, Jensen AT, Theander TG. Immunoglobulin G antibody reactivity to a group A Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 and protection from P. falciparum malaria. Infect Immun 2007, 75: 2415-20.[PubMed]

  15. Vestergaard LS, Lusingu JP, Nielsen MA, Mmbando BP, Dodoo D, Akanmori BD, Alifrangis M, Bygbjerg IC, Lemnge MM, Staalsoe T, Hviid L, Theander TG. Differences in human antibody reactivity to Plasmodium falciparum variant surface antigens are dependent on age and malaria transmission intensity in northeastern Tanzania. Infect Immun 2008, 76: 2706-14, 2008.[PubMed]

  16. Enevold A, Lusingu JP, Mmbando B, Alifrangis M, Lemnge MM, Bygbjerg IC, Theander TG, Vestergaard LS. Reduced risk of uncomplicated malaria episodes in children with alpha+-thalassemia in northeastern Tanzania. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2008, 78: 714-20, 2008.[PubMed]

  17. Gerald KK Cham, Jonathan Kurtis, John Lusingu, Thor G Theander, Anja TR Jensen &  Louise Turner. A semi-automated multiplex high-throughput assay for measuring IgG antibodies against Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1) domains in small volumes of plasma. Malar J. 2008 Jun 12;7: 108.[PubMed]

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