Dr Rob Commons
Principal Research Fellow
Qualifications:
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Charles Darwin University, 2019; Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP), Royal Australasian College of Physicians, 2013; Masters of Public Health and Tropical Medicine (MPH&TM), James Cook University, 2015; Diploma of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Royal Australia and New Zealand College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 2008; Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, University of Melbourne, 2006; Bachelor of Medical Science, University of Melbourne, 2006
Approved level of HDR supervision at Charles Darwin University:
Associate Supervisor for PhD
Location:
Biography:
Rob Commons is an infectious diseases and general medicine physician who completed his undergraduate medical degree at The University of Melbourne in 2006 in combination with a Bachelor of Medical Science. He completed his physician training in 2013 while concurrently undertaking a Masters of Public Health and Tropical Medicine through James Cook University.
His PhD, which he completed in 2019, investigated primaquine as a radical cure for Plasmodium vivax malaria through the Tropical Medicine Division of Menzies.
He continues to research ways to improve vivax radical cure, including undertaking large pooled individual patient data meta-analyses through an extended collaboration with the WorldWide Antimalarial Resistance Network (WWARN).
His research program has a substantial focus on data synthesis, including undertaking systematic reviews, individual patient data meta-analyses and translation of findings into guidelines.
Research Themes
- Advancing the radical cure of Plasmodium vivax malaria through optimal antimalarial regimens
- Primaquine radical cure of Plasmodium vivax malaria: a risk-benefit analysis
- Commons RJ, et al, Effect of primaquine dose on the risk of recurrence in patients with uncomplicated Plasmodium vivax: a systematic review and individual patient data meta-analysis, Lancet Infectious Diseases 2024, 24(2):172-183
- Rajasekhar M,… Commons RJ, Primaquine dose and the risk of haemolysis in patients with uncomplicated Plasmodium vivax malaria: a systematic review and individual patient data meta-analysis, Lancet Infectious Diseases 2024, 24(2):184-195
- Watson JA*, Commons RJ*, et al, The clinical pharmacology of tafenoquine in the radical cure of Plasmodium vivax malaria: An individual patient data meta-analysis, eLife 2022, 11: e83433.
- Hossain MS*, Commons RJ*, et al, The risk of Plasmodium vivax parasitaemia after P. falciparum malaria: An individual patient data meta-analysis from the WorldWide Antimalarial Resistance Network, PLoS Med, 2020; 17(11):e1003393.
- Commons RJ, Simpson JA, Watson J, White NJ, Price RN, Estimating the proportion of Plasmodium vivax recurrences caused by relapse: a systematic review and meta-analysis, Am J Trop Med Hyg, 2020, 103(3):1094-1099.
- Commons RJ, McCarthy JS, Price RN, Tafenoquine for the radical cure and prevention of malaria: the importance of testing for G6PD deficiency, Med J Aust, 2019; 212(4):152-153.e1.
- Commons RJ, Simpson JA, Thriemer K, et al., The effect of dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine and artemether-lumefantrine on the risk of Plasmodium vivax: an individual patient pooled analysis, PLOS Med, 2019; 16(10): e1002928.
- Commons RJ, Simpson JA, Thriemer K, et al., The haematological consequences of Plasmodium vivax malaria after chloroquine treatment with and without primaquine: a WorldWide Antimalarial Resistance Network systematic review and individual patient data meta-analysis, BMC Med, 2019; 17(1): 151.
- Commons RJ, Simpson JA, Thriemer K, et al., The risk of Plasmodium vivax parasitaemia after P. falciparum infection: a systematic review and meta-analysis, Lancet Infect Dis, 2019; 19(1): 91-101.
- Commons RJ, Simpson JA, Thriemer K, et al., The effect of chloroquine dose and primaquine on Plasmodium vivax recurrence: a WorldWide Antimalarial Resistance Network systematic review and individual patient pooled meta-analysis, Lancet Infect Dis, 2018; 18: 1025-1034.
