Associate Professor Kamala Thriemer

Principal Research Fellow

Qualifications:

PhD, University Antwerp, Belgium, 2013; Master of Public Health, University Liverpool, UK, 2011; Medical degree, Medical University Vienna, Austria, 2005

Approved level of HDR supervision at Charles Darwin University:

Primary supervisor for PhD

Location:

Darwin - Royal Darwin Hospital campus

Biography:

Kamala Thriemer is a clinical researcher committed to public health and tropical medicine. She holds a Medical Degree, a Master of Public Health and a PhD. She has more than fifteen years’ field experience in Africa and Asia, coordinating large scale and multi-centred clinical trials to inform treatment of infectious diseases. Her research focuses on optimising the treatment of P. vivax and developing public health strategies for malaria elimination. Her research program spans from clinical trials and epidemiological studies to policy and implementation research. She also teaches in Menzies Postgraduate Public Health programs for Charles Darwin University.

Kamala graduated from the Medical University Vienna (MUV), Austria in 2005 where she first began researching antimalarial drug resistance in Thailand and Bangladesh. Kamala graduated with a Master of Public Health from the University of Liverpool in 2011 and received her PhD degree from the University Antwerp, Belgium.

She is an Associate Member of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.
 

 

Associate Professor Kamala Thriemer
Email
Research Themes
  1. Thriemer K, Degaga T, Alam MS, Adhkari B, Tripura R, Hossain MS, Christian M, Ghanchi NK, Mnjala H, Weston S, Ley B, Rumaseb A, Tadesse D, Teferi T, Yilma D, Lee G, Unger H, Sutanto I, Pasaribu AP, Ghimire P, Beg MA, Price RN. Adapting international clinical trials during COVID-19 and beyond. Clin Trials. 2023 Feb 11:17407745231154215. doi: 10.1177/17407745231154215
  2. Thriemer K, Degaga T, Christian M, Alam MS, Ley B, Hossain MS, Kibria MG, Teferi T, Tadesse D, Weston S, Karahalios A, Rajasekhar M, Simpson JA, Rumaseb A, Mnjala H, Lee G, Woyessa A, Anose RT, Kidane FG, Baird K, Sutanto I, Hailu A, Price RN. Reducing the risk of P. vivax after falciparum infections in co-endemic areas - a randomized controlled trial. Trials. 2022 May 18;23(1):416. doi: 10.1186/s13063-022-06364-z.
  3. Poespoprodjo JR, Burdam FH, Candrawati F, Ley B, Meagher N, Kenangalem E, Indrawanti R, Trianty L, Thriemer K, Price DJ, Simpson JA, Price RN. Supervised versus unsupervised primaquine radical cure for the treatment of falciparum and vivax malaria in Papua, Indonesia: a cluster randomised, controlled, open-label superiority trial. Lancet Infect Dis. 2022 Mar;22(3):367-376. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(21)00358-3. Epub 2021 Oct 25.
  4. Ruwanpura VH, Neukom J, Grietens KP, Price RN, Lynch CA, Thriemer K. Opening the policy blackbox: unravelling the process for changing national diagnostic and treatment guidelines for vivax malaria in seven countries. Malar J. 2021 Oct 30;20(1):428. doi: 10.1186/s12936-021-03959-w.
  5. Thriemer, K., Ley, B., von Seidlein, L. Towards the elimination of Plasmodium vivax malaria: implementing radical cure. PLoS Med, 2021 Apr 23;18(4):e1003494.  doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1003494.
  6. Taylor, W.R.J.*, Thriemer, K.*, von Seidlein, L., Yuentrakul, P., Assawariyathipat, T., Assefa, A., et al. (2019). Short-course primaquine for the radical cure of Plasmodium vivax malaria: a multicentre, randomised, placebo-controlled non-inferiority trial. Lancet, 394 (10202), 929-938. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(19)31285-1.
  7. Commons, R.J., Simpson, K.A., Thriemer ,K., Hossain, M.S., Douglas, N.M., Humphreys, G.S., et al. (2019) Risk of Plasmodium vivax parasitaemia after Plasmodium falciparum infection: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Infect Dis,19(1), 91-101. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(18)30596-6.
  8. Abreha, T.*, Hwang, J.*, Thriemer, K.* , Tadesse, Y., Girma, S., Melaku, Z., et al. (2018) Comparison of artemether-lumefantrine and chloroquine with and without primaquine for the treatment of Plasmodium vivax infection in Ethiopia: A randomized controlled trial. PLOS Medicine 15(10): e1002677. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002677 
  9. PREGACT Study Group, Pekyi, D., Ampromfi, A.A., Tinto, H., Traoré-Coulibaly, M., Tahita, M.C., et al. (2016). Four Artemisinin-Based Treatments in African Pregnant Women with Malaria. New England Journal of Medicine, 374(10), 913-27. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1508606.
  10. Thriemer, K., Hong, N.V., Rosanas-Urgell,  A., Phuc, B.Q., Ha, D.M., Pockele, E., et al. (2014). Delayed parasite clearance after treatment with dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine in Plasmodium falciparum malaria patients in Central Vietnam. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 58(12), 7049-55. pii: AAC.02746-14.

* shared first authorship

  1. MEDIA RELEASE | Menzies researchers RESPOND to priority diseases in our global neighbourhood

    MEDIA RELEASE | Menzies researchers RESPOND to priority diseases in our global neighbourhood

    Date

    Menzies will lead a 4-year health system strengthening partnership in the Asia-Pacific region, under the Partnerships for a Healthy Region Initiative by the Australian Government.

  2. MEDIA RELEASE | NHMRC Grants awarded to investigate local and global health challenges

    MEDIA RELEASE | NHMRC Grants awarded to investigate local and global health challenges

    Date

    Five researchers from Menzies School of Health Research have been awarded National Health and Medical Research Council Investigator Grants in today’s funding round announcement.

  3. MEDIA RELEASE | NHMRC funding awarded to tackle malaria and pneumonia on a global scale

    MEDIA RELEASE | NHMRC funding awarded to tackle malaria and pneumonia on a global scale

    Date

    Two top researchers from Menzies are closer to tackling life-threatening diseases and improving global health approaches after securing competitive national funding.

  4. MEDIA RELEASE | Menzies researchers in the top 2 per cent

    MEDIA RELEASE | Menzies researchers in the top 2 per cent

    Date

    Menzies School of Health Research is celebrating the work of its researchers who have been ranked amongst the world’s top scientists.

  5. Finding innovative solutions to eliminate vivax malaria by 2030

    Finding innovative solutions to eliminate vivax malaria by 2030

    Date

    New research by Menzies’ malaria team is identifying innovative new ways to eliminate Plasmodium vivax (P. vivax) malaria by 2030.

  6. Regional research set to get digital boost

    Regional research set to get digital boost

    Date

    Resources Regional Collaborations Programme COVID-19 Digital Grants, recognises A/Prof Kamala Ley-Thriemer, Dr Jo Wapling and Dr Chris Lowbridge.

  7. Lost in translation: In search of an end to the malaria epidemic

    Lost in translation: In search of an end to the malaria epidemic

    Date

    CDU Research Impact story | Menzies researcher Dr Kamala Ley-Thriemer is committed to the cause.

  8. Calls for a universal radical cure to treat malaria

    Calls for a universal radical cure to treat malaria

    Date

    The elimination of malaria from the Asia Pacific within the decade will require the safe and effective radical cure of malaria, a new paper in Trends in Parasitology suggests.

  9. Calls for a universal radical cure to treat malaria

    Calls for a universal radical cure to treat malaria

    Date

    The elimination of malaria from the Asia Pacific within the decade will require the safe and effective radical cure of malaria, a new paper in Trends in Parasitology suggests.

  10. Media Release | Malaria researcher awarded national fellowship

    Media Release | Malaria researcher awarded national fellowship

    Date

    Menzies School of Health (Menzies) researcher Dr Kamala Thriemer has been awarded a prestigious $1.25 million CSL Centenary Fellowship to develop and optimise treatment programs against vivax malaria in SE Asia and the Horn of Africa.

  11. Media Release | $2.5 million CSL Centenary Fellowships announced

    Media Release | $2.5 million CSL Centenary Fellowships announced

    Date

    Two Australian scientists have each been awarded AUD$1.25 million CSL Centenary Fellowships over five years to improve treatments for two of the world’s biggest health challenges: malaria and cancer.

  12. New Research Pinpoints Faster Treatment to Cure Vivax Malaria

    New Research Pinpoints Faster Treatment to Cure Vivax Malaria

    Date

    A new research study has shown that a seven-day treatment with a high dose of an anti-malaria drug can be tolerated by patients

  13. New study shows faster way to cure vivax malaria

    New study shows faster way to cure vivax malaria

    Date

    A large clinical trial in Africa and Asia has shown that a 7 day course of high dose primaquine, a drug used to treat P. vivax malaria, is well tolerated.

  14. 7th International Conference on Plasmodium vivax Research | Final Report

    7th International Conference on Plasmodium vivax Research | Final Report

    Date

    MESA Correspondents bring you cutting-edge coverage from the 7th International Conference on Plasmodium vivax Research (ICPVR 2019).

  15. Coverage from the 7th International Conference on Plasmodium vivax Research

    Coverage from the 7th International Conference on Plasmodium vivax Research

    Date

    Wrapping up the 7th International Conference on Plasmodium vivax Research, day three focused on the topics of P. vivax drugs and approaches for P. vivax elimination.

  16. Asia–Pacific research partnerships set to tackle big challenges

    Asia–Pacific research partnerships set to tackle big challenges

    Date

    The largest grant, of $257,767, goes to the Menzies School of Health Research for a project with collaborators in Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Netherlands.

  17. SMH | Commonwealth regional research grants key to 'science diplomacy'

    SMH | Commonwealth regional research grants key to 'science diplomacy'

    Date

    Among the other projects funded are the Menzies School of Health Research partnering with Bangladesh, Indonesia and Nepal to develop malaria treatments.

  18. Funding spotlight on eliminating malaria in Vietnam

    Funding spotlight on eliminating malaria in Vietnam

    Date

  19. Weeding out Malaria

    Weeding out Malaria

    Date

    A study led by the Menzies School of Health Research recommends a two-stage treatment for the notoriously difficult-to-cure Plasmodium vivax malaria

  20. Study emphasises the need for radical cure of vivax malaria

    Study emphasises the need for radical cure of vivax malaria

    Date

    A study into the treatment of the difficult-to-cure Plasmodium vivax malaria in Ethiopia.