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Andrew Young Koh, MD $$

Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist

Professor at UT Southwestern Medical Center

Languages Spoken:
English

Locations

UT Southwestern Pediatric Group

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Biography

Andrew Y. Koh, MD, is the Director of Pediatric Cellular and ImmunoTherapeutics Program (CITP) at Children’s Health℠ and a Professor of Pediatrics and Microbiology at UT Southwestern. He specializes in treating cancer, immune deficiencies, bone marrow failure syndromes, and blood disorders including sickle cell anemia and beta thalassemia.  

To me, there is no greater opportunity to make a difference than to cure a child of a potentially fatal illness. It is a privilege and an honor.
Dr. Koh

After receiving his medical degree from Harvard Medical School, Dr. Koh completed a pediatrics residency at Children’s Hospital of Boston, where he also performed his Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Pediatric Hematology/Oncology fellowship training.

“As with most people who are drawn to medicine, I wanted to make a difference and help people,” Dr. Koh says. “To me, there is no greater opportunity to make a difference than to cure a child of a potentially fatal illness. It is a privilege and an honor.”

Dr. Koh researches how gut microorganisms affect host immune responses and how this affects the development of infections, the autoimmune complication graft-versus-host disease  (a complication that can happen when transplanted immune cells attack a patient's own cells), and anti-tumor immune responses. 

In 2015, Dr. Koh was the senior author of an article in Nature Medicine showing how to reduce the presence of a fungus that causes infections and complications in cancer and stem cell transplantation (SCT) patients, decreasing mortality by 50 percent.   More recently, Dr. Koh’s group was among the first to show that cancer patients who respond favorably to a type of cancer immunotherapy known as immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy have a distinct gut microbiome signature.  He is now developing a novel gut microbiota therapy to enhance cancer immunotherapy efficacy (which is the basis for two patents, a startup company, and recent NIH funding).

During medical school, Dr. Koh took two years off to pursue musical interests. It is something he still enjoys when he’s not working. Dr. Koh plays guitar and piano, sings, writes music and has a recording studio in his home.

Dr. Andrew Koh in the Koh Lab discussing research.

Education and Training

Medical School
Harvard Medical School (1996)
Residency
Harvard Medical School - Childrens Hospital (2000), Pediatrics
Harvard Medical School - Childrens Hospital (1999), Pediatrics
Fellowship
Harvard Medical School - Childrens Hospital (2004), Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
Harvard Medical School - Childrens Hospital (2004), Pediatric Infectious Diseases
Board Certification
American Board of Pediatrics/Hematology-Oncology

  • Research Interests

    • Antibiotic Resistance
    • Cancer immunotherapy
    • Candida albicans pathogenesis
    • Gut microbiome
    • Gut Microbiota (bacterial-fungal interactions)
    • Host immune anti-tumor response
    • Host pathogen interactions
    • Intestinal graft-versus-host-disease

  • Publications

    Publications

    • Immune checkpoint blockade induces gut microbiota translocation that augments extraintestinal antitumor immunity. Choi Y, Lichterman JN, Coughlin LA, Poulides N, Li W, Del Valle P, Palmer SN, Gan S, Kim J, Zhan X, Gao Y, Evers BM, Hooper LV, Pasare C, Koh AY, Sci Immunol 2023 Mar 8 81 eabo2003
    • Candida albicans inhibits Pseudomonas aeruginosa Virulence through Suppression of Pyochelin and Pyoverdine Biosynthesis. Lopez-Medina E, Fan D, Coughlin LA, Ho EX, Lamont IL, Reimmann C, Hooper LV, Koh AY. PLoS Pathogens 2015 Aug 27; 11(8):e1005129.
    • Activation of HIF-1α and LL-37 by commensal bacteria inhibits Candida albicans colonization. Fan D, Coughlin LA, Neubauer MM, Kim J, Kim M, Zhan X, Simms-Waldrip TR, Xie Y, Hooper LV, Koh AY. Nature Medicine 2015 Jul; 21(7):808-14. doi:10.1038/nm.3871.
    • Intravenous pentamidine is safe and effective as primary pneumocystis pneumonia prophylaxis in children and adolescents undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Demasi JM, Cox JA, Leonard D, Koh AY, Aquino VM. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2013 Mar 27.
    • Collaboration between macrophages and vaccine-induced CD4+ T cells confers protection against lethal Pseudomonas aeruginosa pneumonia during neutropenia. Kamei A, Wu W, Traficante DC, Koh AY, Van Rooijen N, Pier GB, Priebe GP. Journal of Infectious Diseases.  2013 Jan;207(1):39-49.
    • Utility of in vivo transcription profiling for identifying Pseudomonas aeruginosa genes needed for gastrointestinal colonization and dissemination. Koh AY, Mikkelsen PJ, Smith RS, Coggshall KT, Kamei A, Givskov M, Lory S, Pier GB. PLoS ONE, 2010 Dec 10; 5(12): e15131.

    Books

    • Fever and Granulocytopenia; Infections in Children with Cancer. In Long SS, Pickering LK, Prober CG, eds. Principles and Practice of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. 6th ed. Ardura M, Koh AY (2022). Elsevier Saunders
    • Featured Infectious Complications in Pediatric Cancer Patients. In Susan M. Blaney MD, Lee J. Helman MD, Peter C. Adamson MD, eds. Pizzo & Poplack's Pediatric Oncology. 8th ed. Ardura MI, Koh AY. (2020). Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer

  • Professional Activities

    • American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (2009)
    • American Society for Microbiology (2003)
    • American Society for Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (2012)
    • American Society of Hematology (2010)
    • Society for Pediatric Research (2010)

  • Awards and Honors

    • Basil O'Connor Research Award (March of Dimes) (2013-2015)
    • Eleanor and Miles Shore Scholar (2006-2008)
    • Glaser Pediatric Research Network Fellowship Award (2000-2002)
    • Rhodes Scholarship (1988-1990)

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