Lemu Golassa

Lemu Golassa

Researcher and Academician

Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia

Tel: +251911371981

Email: lgolassa@gmail.com; lemu.golassa@aau.edu.et

 

 

 

VALIDATE Role:

Network Associate

 

Research Keywords: 

Malaria Genetics, Drug Resistance and Genetic Diversity

 

Biography:

I am instructor and researcher at Addis Ababa University, Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology (ALIPB) as an Associate Professor. I am currently Head of Medical Parasitology research Unit and lead malaria research ALIPB. I have BSc in Biology, MSc in Medical Parasitology and PhD in Tropical and Infectious Diseases. The area of my research interest is malaria including its vectors encompassing 1) Asymptomatic and sub-microscopic malaria carriages; 2) Epidemiology of antimalarial drug resistance and insecticides resistance; 3) Malaria parasites population structure and genetic diversity; 4) Diagnostic challenges in malaria (plasmodium falciparum histidine-rich protein 2/3 gene deletion); 5) Relapse dynamics and the biology of hypnozoites; 6) Human-mosquito transmission through membrane feeding assay; 7) Population structure and dynamics of An.gambae s.l and 8) Duffy antigens and invasion of reticulocytes of Duffy negatives. I have been collaborating with many scientists within Africa and beyond on malaria research. I have successfully served as PI and/or Co-PI several international projects funded by H3Africa, Welcome Trusts; Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Grand Challenges. I have mentored more than 10 MSc and 5 PhD students over the last five years. I have begun my scientific career in 2011 (my first publication) and since then I published more than 50 papers on the peer-reviewed international journals.

 

 

Key Publications:

James Cheaveau,Daniel Castaneda Mogollon,Md Abu Naser Mohon, Lemu Golassa, Delenasaw Yewhalaw &Dylan R Pillai. Asymptomatic malaria in the clinical and public health context. Expert Review of Anti-infective Therapy. Received 20 Aug 2019. Accepted 12 Nov 2019. Accepted author version posted online: 13 Nov 2019

Alfred mambua-Ngwa, , Amaratunga, C, Amenga-Etego, L, Andagalu, B, Chookajorn, T Andrianaranjaka, V, Apinjoh, T, Ashley, E, Auburn, S, Awandare, G, Anderson, TJC, Barry, A, Bejon, P, Bertin, G, Boni, M, Borrmann, S, Baraka, V, Bousema, T, Branch, O, Bull, PC, Chotivanich, K, Claessens, A, Conway, D, Craig, A, D'Alessandro, U Dama, S, Day, N, Djimdé, A, Dolecek, C, Dondorp, A, Drakeley, C Echeverria-Garcia, D, Egwang, TG, Erko, B , Fairhurst, R Faiz, A Gamboa, D, Ghansah, A, Golassa, L, Harrison, GLA Hien, TT, Duffy, P, Fanello, CA, Hodgson, AVO, et al., 2019. An open dataset of Plasmodium falciparum genome variation in 7,000 worldwide samples.(accepted for publication)

Delesa Damena, Awany Denis, Lemu Golassa, and Emile R. Chimusa (2019).  Genome -wide association studies of severe P. falciparum malaria susceptibility: progress, pitfalls and prospects.  BMC Med Genomics. 2019 Aug 14;12(1):120. doi: 10.1186/s12920-019-0564-x. Review. PMID: 31409341

Alfred Amambua-Ngwa, Lucas Amenga-Etego, Edwin Kamau,, Roberto Amato, Anita Ghansah,, Lemu Golassa et al (2019). Major sub-populations of Plasmodium falciparum in sub-Saharan Africa. Science. 2019 Aug 23;365(6455):813-816. doi: 10.1126/science.aav5427. PMID: 31439796

Temesgen File, Hunduma Huluka, Lemu Golassa (2019). A retrospective analysis on the transmission of Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax: the case of Adama City, East Shoa Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia. Malar J. 2019 Jun 11;18(1):193. doi: 10.1186/s12936-019-2827-6. PMID: 31185977

Alebachew Messele; Fitsum Girma; Adey Feleke; Lemu Golassa; Endalamaw Gadissa (2019). Low complexity regions contribute to immune escape mechanisms in PvMSP3α block II. BMC Struct Biol. 2019 Mar 27;19(1):6. doi: 10.1186/s12900-019-0104-0. PMID: 30917807

Golassa L, Cheaveau J, Mohon AN, Pillai DR. Reply to Awandu, et al. (Ultra-low-density Plasmodium falciparum infections in African settings) Clin Infect Dis. 2019 Feb 15. pii: ciz148. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciz148. [Epub ahead of print]

Seble Girma, James Cheaveau, Abu Naser Mohon, Dewdunee Marasinghe, Ruth Legese, Nirujah Balasingam, Sindew M. Feleke, Lemu Golassa, and Dylan R. Pilla (2018) Prevalence and Epidemiological Characteristics of Asymptomatic Malaria Based on Ultrasensitive Diagnostics: Clin Infect Dis. 2019 Aug 30;69(6):1003-1010. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciy1005. PMID: 3047599

Abdissa Biruksew, Ahmed Zeynudin, Yonas Alemu, Lemu Golassa, Moti Yohannes, Asfaw Debella, Sultan Suleman (2018). Zingiber officinale Roscoe and Echinops Kebericho Mesfin  showed antiplasmodial activities against Plasmodium berghei in a dose-dependent manner in Ethiopia. Ethiop J Health Sci. 2018 Sep;28(5):655-664. doi: 10.4314/ejhs.v28i5.17. PMID: 30607081.

Lemu Golassa and Michael T. White (2017). Population‑level estimates of the proportion of Plasmodium vivax blood‑stage infections attributable to relapses among febrile patients attending Adama Malaria Diagnostic Centre, East Shoa Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia. Malar J (2017) 16:301