My name is King Ho (you can call me Peter) and I am an ethnic Chinese who grew up in the UK. Originally from London, I attended Reading School as a boarder to complete my GCSEs and A-levels. I then graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Biochemistry from the University of Bath, where I had the opportunity to undertake a placement year in Prof. Iyer’s group at the University of Western Australia. During this time, I worked on characterizing hydrogels using PAMAM branched polymers, which resulted in a publication in Chemical Communications (doi.org/10.1039/D0CC07115C). This experience sparked my interest in bioengineering and studying biology at the molecular scale to bring about positive research outcomes and impacts on health.
After completing my undergraduate degree, I pursued an MSc in Drug Discovery and Development at University College London to better understand the current landscape of bringing drugs to market. Then in 2023, I began my PhD journey, once again under the supervision of Prof. Iyer, focusing on projects related to the bioengineering of the skin. This area is under-researched and presents an exciting opportunity to work across multiple fields of bioscience, including aspects of chemistry and computational biology. Being part of the ARC Training Centre is likewise exciting due to the opportunity to be involved on the frontline of research and development with industry partners, fostering essential skills for a career in research.
My PhD focuses on developing novel three-dimensional culture models for the skin. Currently, there are limited tools for both foundational research and platforms for drug development in skin diseases such as inflammation and fibrosis. Traditional two-dimensional cultures are often too simplistic to represent the native cellular environment, and animal models have limitations, including interspecies translatability and cost. A recent white paper by CSIRO highlighted the opportunities to develop in vitro models for medical product development (https://www.csiro.au/en/nonanimalmodels), where the commercial benefit could exceed AU$1 billion in 10–15 years. Ultimately, my PhD aims to understand skin biology in three-dimensional culture and streamline the pipeline for drug discovery, benefiting both the pharmaceutical industry and end users by reducing attrition rates and the costs of novel drugs that come to market. I hope that this research will eventually contribute to providing patients with improved treatment options and quality of life in Australia and beyond. This prospect is rewarding to me, and I believe the collaborative expertise and positive research environment within the ARC Training Centre will enable its success.
Finally, a bit more about myself: my two main hobbies are cooking and dancing. I stopped dancing for almost two years during the COVID-19 lockdown but have recently gotten back into it. I’ve set some personal goals to regain my old moves and stamina, and to learn new moves! If you are interested in getting involved with the Perth dance scene, get in touch 😊.
Thanks for reading, and I hope to meet you in person!
