Email kartika@nus.edu.sg

I am a clinician by training with experience in tropical medicine and global health research. I am interested in addressing research questions that can generate impactful knowledge for resource limited settings. My research interests include neglected tropical diseases e.g. rickettsial diseases (scrub typhus, murine typhus, spotted fever group rickettsia) and arboviral diseases (dengue, Japanese encephalitis). At NUS, my research focuses on applying modelling techniques to analyse serology data of tropical diseases, including scrub typhus and murine typhus.

• NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (Primary)
• Oxford University Clinical Research Unit Indonesia

• Infectious diseases
• Tropical medicine
• Global health
• Neglected tropical diseases
• Rickettsial diseases
• Infectious disease modelling
• Evidence synthesis

• Bachelor in Medicine and Medical Doctor, Universitas Udayana, Bali, Indonesia (2012)
• MSc in International Health and Tropical Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK (2016)
• Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Royal College of Physicians, London, UK (2016)
• DPhil in Clinical Medicine (Tropical Medicine and Global Health), University of Oxford (2022)

• Research physician, Biorisk and Zoonosis group, Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, Bangkok, Thailand (2022-2023)
• Research physician, Clinical Infectious Diseases group, Oxford University Clinical Research Unit Indonesia (2022-2023)
• Interim director, Wisma Prashanti General Hospital, Bali, Indonesia (2023)
• Research physician, Biorisk and Zoonosis group, Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, Bangkok, Thailand (2016-2017)
• Physician, head of Family Medicine Department, BIMC Hospital Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia (2013-2015)
• Physician, Seririt I Community Health Centre and Buleleng General Hospital, Bali, Indonesia (2012-2013)

• SG Academies South-East Asia Fellowship (SASEAF)

• Saraswati K, Baird JK, Blacksell SD, Grijsen ML, Day NPJ. History of scrub typhus in Indonesia. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2025 Feb 26;traf017.
• Tshokey T, Ko AI, Currie BJ, Munoz-Zanzi C, Goarant C, Paris DH, Dance DAB, Limmathurotsakul D, Birnie E, Bertherat E, Gongal G, Benschop J, Savelkoel J, Stenos J, Saraswati K, Robinson, MT, Day NPJ, Graves SR, Belmain SR, Blacksell SD, Wiersinga WJ. Leptospirosis, melioidosis, and rickettsioses in the vicious circle of neglect. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2025 Jan 1;19(1):e0012796.
• Wang Q, Ma T, Ding FY, Lim A, Takaya S, Saraswati K, Hao MM, Jiang D, Fang LQ, Sartorius B, Day NPJ, Maude RJ. A systematic review of environmental covariates and methods for spatial or temporal scrub typhus distribution prediction. Environ Res. 2024 Sep 26;263(Pt 1):120067.
• Wang Q, Ma T, Ding F, Lim A, Takaya S, Saraswati K, Sartorius B, Day NPJ, Maude RJ. Global and regional seroprevalence, incidence, mortality of, and risk factors for scrub typhus: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Infect Dis. 2024 Sep 1;146:107151.
• Saraswati K, Tanganuchitcharnchai A, Ongchaikupt S, Mukaka M, Day NPJ, Baird JK, Antonjaya U, Myint KSA, Dewi YP, Yudhaputri FA, Haryanto S, Witari NPD, Blacksell SD. Scrub typhus in Indonesia: A cross-sectional analysis of archived fever studies samples. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2024 Jan 11:trad094.
• Saraswati K, Elliott I, Day NPJ, Baird JK, Blacksell SD, Ristiyanto, Moyes CL. Geographical distribution of scrub typhus and risk of Orientia tsutsugamushi infection in Indonesia: Evidence mapping. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2023 Sep 25;17(9):e0011412.
• Saraswati K, Maguire BJ, McLean ARD, Singh-Phulgenda S, Ngu RC, Newton PN, Day NPJ, Guérin PJ. Systematic review of the scrub typhus treatment landscape: Assessing the feasibility of an individual participant-level data (IPD) platform. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2021 Oct 14;15(10):e0009858.
• Surendra H, Elyazar IR, Djaafara BA, Ekawati LL, Saraswati K, Adrian V, Widyastuti, Oktavia D, Salama N, Lina RN, Andrianto A, Lestari KD, Burhan E, Shankar AH, Thwaites G, Baird JK, Hamers RL. Clinical characteristics and mortality associated with COVID-19 in Jakarta, Indonesia: A hospital-based retrospective cohort study. Lancet Reg Health West Pac. 2021 Apr;9:100108.
• Saraswati K, Sichanh C, Newton PN, Caillet C. Quality of medical products for diabetes management: a systematic review. BMJ Glob Health. 2019 Sep 24;4(5):e001636.
• Saraswati K, Phanichkrivalkosil M, Day NPJ, Blacksell SD. The validity of diagnostic cut-offs for commercial and in-house scrub typhus IgM and IgG ELISAs: A review of the evidence. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2019 Feb 4;13(2):e0007158.
• Saraswati K, Day NPJ, Mukaka M, Blacksell SD. Scrub typhus point-of-care testing: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2018 Mar 26;12(3):e0006330.