People
Dr. Owen H KO
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Director, Gerald Choa Neuroscience Institute
Assistant Dean (Research), Faculty of Medicine
Head of Translational Neuroscience Unit, Division of Neurology
Associate Professor, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics
Associate Faculty Member, Department of Biomedical Engineering
Associate Director, Margaret K.L. Cheung Research Centre for Management of Parkinsonism
Associate Director, Lau Tat-chuen Research Centre of Brain Degenerative Diseases in Chinese
Principal Investigator, Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences
Academic and Professional Qualifications
BMedSc (CUHK), MBChB (CUHK), PhD (UCL)Biography
Dr Ko holds Bachelor of Medical Sciences (BMedSci, 1st class) and Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) from CUHK. He pursued PhD in neuroscience under the supervision of Professor Thomas Mrsic-Flogel at University College London in the UK and won the runner-up award of the 2014 Eppendorf & Science Prize for Neurobiology based on his PhD works.
Dr Ko serves as a principal investigator at the Gerald Choa Neuroscience Institute and the Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Leading a team with expertise in biology, chemistry and engineering, his research works focus on (i) the principles by which neural circuits mediate sensory perception and behavior, (ii) neurovascular and glial dysfunction in neurodegeneration, and (iii) the development of novel neuroimaging tools.
Dr. Owen H KO
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Director, Gerald Choa Neuroscience Institute
Assistant Dean (Research), Faculty of Medicine
Head of Translational Neuroscience Unit, Division of Neurology
Associate Professor, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics
Associate Faculty Member, Department of Biomedical Engineering
Associate Director, Margaret K.L. Cheung Research Centre for Management of Parkinsonism
Associate Director, Lau Tat-chuen Research Centre of Brain Degenerative Diseases in Chinese
Principal Investigator, Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences
Research Interests
- Gliovascular dysfunction and therapeutic targeting in neurodegenerative disorders
- Neural circuits mediating sensorimotor behaviors and their dysfunction in aging
- Development of imaging tools and methods
Honorary Appointments in Other Professional Activities
- Editorial Board Member and Associate Editor, BMC Biology
- Steering Committee Member, Hang Lung Mathematics Awards
Awards
- London Ball Foundation Outstanding Alumni Award 2024, London Ball Foundation (2024)
- Hong Kong Ten Outstanding Young Persons 2023, Junior Chamber International Hong Kong (2023)
- Life Science Fellow, Asian Young Scientist Fellowship (2023)
- Sir David Todd Lectureship, Hong Kong College of Physicians (2022)
- Awardee, Excellent Young Scientists Fund (Hong Kong and Macau), National Natural Science Foundation of China (2021)
- Croucher Innovation Award, Croucher Foundation (2020)
- Faculty Innovation Award (Clinical Lecturer Scheme), CUHK (2017)
- Runner-up, Eppendorf and Science Prize for Neurobiology (2014)
- Dean's Outstanding Research Award, CUHK (2014)
- CUHK Convocation Outstanding Creativity Award for the Natural Sciences (2014)
- Overseas Research Scholarship, Higher Education Funding Council for England (2008 - 2011)
- PhD Scholarship, UCL (2008 - 2011)
- Dean's Award in Intercalated Medical Sciences, CUHK (2008)
- Dean's Outstanding Academic Award in Integrated Medical Sciences, CUHK (2007)
- Outstanding Performance Award in Clinical Skills, CUHK (2007)
- Distinction in the First Professional Examination, CUHK (2006)
- Outstanding Musculoskeletal Panel Prize, CUHK (2006)
- Excellent Performance Award, Enrichment Programme for Young Mathematics Talents, CUHK (2005)
- Honorable Mention, Hang Lung Mathematics Award (2004)
Selected Publications
- Yau CN, Lai HM, Lee K, Kwok AJ, Huang J, Ko H. Principles of deep immunostaining techniques for 3D histology. Cell Reports Methods, 2023 May 22;3:100458.
- Sy SKH, Chan DCW, Chan RCH, Lyu J, Li Z, Wong KKY, Choi CHJ, Mok VCT, Lai HM, Randlett O, Hu Y, Ko H. An optofluidic platform for interrogating chemosensory behavior and brainwide neural representation in larval zebrafish. Nature Communications, 2023 Jan 14;14(1):1-18.
- Lai HM, Tang Y, Lau ZYH, Campbell RAA, Yau CN, Chan CCY, Chan DCW, Wong HKT, Yan LYC, Wu WKK, Wong SH, Kwok KW, Wing YK, Lam HHN, Ng HK, Mrsic-Flogel TD, Mok VCT, Chan JYK, Ko H. Antibody stabilization for thermally accelerated deep immunostaining. Nature Methods. 2022 Sep;19(9):1137-1146.
- Li Z, Chen X, Vong JSL, Zhao L, Huang J, Yan LYC, Ip B, Lai HM, Mok VCT, Ko H. Systemic GLP-1R agonist treatment reverses mouse glial and neurovascular cell transcriptomic aging signatures in a genome-wide manner. Communications Biology. 2021 Jun 2;4(1):656.
- Zhao L, Li Z, Vong JSL, Chen X, Lai HM, Yan LYC, Huang J, Sy SKH, Tian X, Huang Y, Chan HYE, So HC, Ng WL, Tang Y, Lin WJ, Mok VCT, Ko H. Pharmacologically reversible zonation-dependent endothelial cell transcriptomic changes with neurodegenerative disease associations in the aged brain. Nature Communications. 2020 Sep 4;11(1):4413. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-18249-3.
- Li Q*, Ko H*, Qian ZM, Yan LYC, Chan DCW, Arbuthnott GW, Ke Y, Yung WH. Refinement of learned skilled movement representation in motor cortex deep output layer. Nature Communications. 2017 Jun 9;8:15834.
- Ko H, Mrsic-Flogel TD, Hofer SB. Emergence of feature-specific connectivity in cortical microcircuits in the absence of visual experience. The Journal of Neuroscience. 2014 Jul 16;34(29):9812-6.
- Ko H, Cossell L, Baragli C, Antolik J, Clopath C, Hofer SB, Mrsic-Flogel TD. The emergence of functional microcircuits in visual cortex. Nature. 2013 Apr 4;496(7443):96-100.
- Hofer SB*, Ko H*, Pichler B, Vogelstein J, Ros H, Zeng H, Lein E, Lesica NA, Mrsic-Flogel TD. Differential connectivity and response dynamics of excitatory and inhibitory neurons in visual cortex. Nature Neuroscience. 2011 Jul 17;14(8):1045-52.
- Ko H, Hofer SB, Pichler B, Buchanan KA, Sjo stro m PJ, Mrsic-Flogel TD. Functional specificity of local synaptic connections in neocortical networks. Nature. 2011 May 5;473(7345):87-91.