Steven Kho

Steven Kho is Senior Research Fellow in the Global and Tropical Health Division at Menzies School of Health Research, Honorary Research Fellow at the Papuan Health and Community Development Foundation, and Honorary Team Member in the Malaria Atlas Project at Telethon Kids Institute. His current research focuses on understanding the pathophysiological role of the spleen and innate host components such as platelets and neutrophils in human malaria. He recently made paradigm shifting discoveries identifying the spleen as the major hidden reservoir for Plasmodium species, uncovered novel endosplenic lifecycles of P. falciparum and P. vivax, and identified that congestion of the spleen is the major cause of anemia in human malaria. Steven is now undertaking research targeting the hidden splenic reservoir to reduce global malaria burden through a combination of multiomics studies, diagnostics and phenotypic testing, modelling and surveillance. Steven has informed treatment policy for splenectomised patients living in endemic areas of Indonesia who are at higher risk of vivax and falciparum malaria. His field studies in Papua have also found that platelets directly attack and kill parasites in the blood of malaria patients, which may lead to the identification of novel therapeutic targets to treat malaria or alleviate disease severity.