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In the past few months, the Shoklo Malaria Research Unit (SMRU) has begun a campaign to make pregnant Karen women and their husbands aware of the importance of pre-conceptual folate to prevent neural tube defects in newborns.
A migrant mother’s 4-hr walk for antenatal care
24 September 2025
On the Thai-Myanmar border, life is often a daily struggle, especially for expectant mothers like migrant day labourer Daw Mu (name changed for privacy), who lives in a village near Jaydi Koh in Tak Province’s Phop Phra District. Now three months pregnant with her second child, Daw Mu must walk 4 hours to the Jaydi Koh SMRU/BHF outreach clinic for antenatal care, often with her four-year-old son by her side.
SMRU honored at One Health Conference
19 August 2025
On 13 August 2025, SMRU received the “One Health Champion” First Prize for its response to a cholera outbreak along the Thai–Myanmar border. Awarded at a national One Health conference, the recognition highlights SMRU’s excellence in cross-border disease surveillance and public health response through collaborative, sustainable policy efforts.
Oxford and Thai Health Officials Sign Agreement on Infectious Disease Control
15 May 2025
On 13 May 2025, representatives from the University of Oxford and the Tak Provincial Public Health Office signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen collaboration on infectious disease prevention and control along the Thai–Myanmar border. The agreement focuses on joint research into key diseases affecting the border population.
Myanmar-Thailand: Healthcare access without barriers
14 January 2025
In Myanmar, the United Nations reports that 3 million people have been displaced due to the ongoing civil war. The 2021 coup intensified conflicts and worsened the humanitarian crisis, forcing at least a hundred thousand to seek refuge and medical care in Thailand. The Tak province, a key crossing point between the two countries, sees a rising number of new migrants (with 40% of women) crossing the border every day. In response to this health emergency caused by these large-scale forced displacements, the SMRU and M-FUND projects have concentrated their efforts along the border area.
Study finds methaemoglobin levels could predict malaria recurrence
26 November 2024
A new study has found methaemoglobin levels during treatment for vivax malaria could be used to predict whether a patient would have recurrent malaria.
Dialogue drama on adolescent pregnancy in a marginalised migrant population on the Thailand-Myanmar border
20 November 2024
A participatory-action approach involving community members and adolescents resulted in a dialogue-drama 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.
Visit MalariaWorld
24 July 2024
The Malariaworld exhibition was developed in conjunction with World Malaria Day 2024 to raise awareness of malaria and malaria research, and to highlight some of our contributions to malaria research. You can now visit our virtual exhibition!
New evidence supports higher dose antimalarial to combat relapsing malaria
26 September 2023
Analysis of data from more than 6,800 patients located across 16 countries has supported the need to increase the dose of the antimalarial drug, primaquine, in Plasmodium vivax malaria endemic countries.
Identifying factors for maternal and foetal mortality from malaria
31 August 2023
A study coordinated by NDM researchers published in BMC Medicine explores the factors predicting higher mortality in pregnant women with severe malaria and describes how severe falciparum malaria in pregnancy affects foetal health and mortality.
Are we getting tafenoquine dosing right?
6 December 2022
Researchers analysing clinical trial data for the new antimalarial drug tafenoquine find that higher doses are needed to cure reliably vivax malaria infection.
Meta-analysis informed the updated WHO guidelines for treatment of uncomplicated malaria in the first trimester of pregnancy
29 November 2022
A new WWARN meta-analysis, commissioned by the World Health Organization and which informed a change to its treatment guidelines, has been published in The Lancet. The study provides compelling evidence that artemether-lumefantrine should now replace quinine as the treatment of choice in the first trimester.
SMRU and BHF inaugurate new Admin Building
29 November 2022
Today saw the long-awaited grand opening of the new Shoklo Malaria Research Unit (SMRU) / Borderland Health Foundation (BHF) Admin Building in Mae Ramat, Thailand, near the Thai-Myanmar border. And, boy was it worth the wait! Years in the planning, the very impressive new Admin Building looked absolutely stunning, the siting and architecture being universally admired by the many guests.
Study shows clear link between antibiotic treatment and acquisition of AMR bacteria in children
19 October 2022
A study of the genetic diversity of Streptococcus pneumoniae, the bacterium responsible for hundreds of thousands of infant deaths each year, found that deep sequencing whole pneumococcal populations gave unsurpassed sensitivity for detecting multiple colonisations and was twice as effective at detecting invasive virulent strains of the bacteria as current best methods, say researchers in a study published in Nature Microbiology.
INTERBIO-21st study findings could help predict infants at risk of obesity
30 August 2022
Fetal abdomen growth and the mother’s blood fat metabolites very early in pregnancy influence a child’s weight, body fat, vision and neurodevelopment at 2 years of age
Field evaluation of EasyScan GO: a digital malaria microscopy device
28 June 2022
Microscopic examination of Giemsa-stained blood films is key to quantifying and detecting malaria parasites but there can be difficulties in ensuring both a high-quality manual reading and inter-reader reliability. The EasyScan GO was developed as a potential solution to this, a microscopy device using machine-learning-based image analysis for automated parasite detection and quantification.
Under the Mask, drama film based on testimonies of tuberculosis patients
24 March 2022
In 2022, tuberculosis (TB) remains a major global health problem, particularly in developing countries. On the Thai-Myanmar border, TB is an important problem among migrants, a vulnerable, very mobile population, with unstable, often difficult living conditions, insecure incomes, and poor access to health services.
Largest-ever IPD meta-analysis of malaria patients to inform haemoglobin changes
8 March 2022
A new malaria study using a very large analysis of pooled individual patient data (IPD) from more than 70,000 patients of all ages, has been published in BMC Medicine by the WorldWide Antimalarial Resistance Network Falciparum Haematology Study Group
All-nighter: staying up to fight malaria
24 November 2021
Featured in Nature, Victor Chaumeau collects mosquitoes in Myanmar to better understand how to control malaria.
Arjen Dondorp, Peter Horby and Rose McGready elected Academy of Medical Sciences Fellows
12 May 2021
"Although it is hard to look beyond the pandemic right now," says President of the Academy of Medical Sciences Professor Dame Anne Johnson, "I want to stress how important it is that the Academy Fellowship represents the widest diversity of biomedical and health sciences. The greatest health advances rely on the findings of many types of research, and on multidisciplinary teams and cross-sector and global collaboration."
Clare Ling awarded honorary FRCPath
23 November 2020
Dr Clare Ling has been made an honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists (FRCPath). Currently running Shoklo Malaria Research Unit (SMRU) Microbiology department and supporting the unit’s molecular activities, Clare is a clinical scientist who has worked at SMRU on the Thai-Myanmar border since 2012.