Sanjeev Krishna

Sanjeev Krishna is Professor of Molecular Parasitology and Medicine at St George’s Hospital Medical School, London. He is also an honorary consultant in infectious disease and medicine.

Sanjeev maintains a wide-ranging programme of research in malaria, spanning laboratory studies providing new insight into parasite biology, clinical studies aiming to refine treatments for malaria, and research into a newly discovered form of malaria transmitted to humans from monkeys. He also has strong interests in the development of new diagnostic technologies for diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis (TB), which will not only confirm the disease, but also guide the choice of most effective treatment regimes.

Sanjeev’s research focuses on infectious disease, particularly malaria, encompassing diagnostics, the mechanism of action of drugs, identification of new drug targets, and clinical studies of drug responses. His group has a particular interest in parasite transporter proteins, which are targeted by existing antimalarial drugs and are also promising new targets.

In a wide-ranging programme of research, Sanjeev’s group spans basic research into the function of Plasmodium transporters, translational studies on transporters as drug targets, and clinical studies to refine treatments for P falciparum malaria and to understand better P knowlesi malaria, a zoonotic form of malaria affecting parts of South-East Asia.

Sanjeev also has a strong interest in diagnostics. He is principal investigator of a €5.2m EU Framework Programme VII project, Nanomal, which is developing a low-cost point-of-care diagnostic for malaria. As well as rapidly identifying the presence of the parasite, the device will also provide a drug resistance profile. The technology is also being adapted for use with TB, and may be applicable to other tropical infectious diseases.