Biography:

Academic training

2012 – 15             Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB), The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)

2008 – 12             PhD in Neuroscience, University College London (UCL)

2007 – 08             Intercalated Bachelor of Medical Sciences (BMedSc, 1^st Class), CUHK

2005 – 07             Pre-clinical medicine, CUHK

Academic appointments

2019 – present     Assistant Professor (by courtesy), Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, CUHK

2018 – present     Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics & School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, CUHK
2017 – present     Associate Faculty Member, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, CUHK

2016 – present     Principal Investigator, Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, CUHK

2016 – 18             Clinical Lecturer, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, CUHK
2016 – 18             Honorary Resident (Medical Officer), Prince of Wales Hospital, Hospital Authority

2015 – 16             House Officer, Hospital Authority

2013 – 15             Honorary Research Associate, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, CUHK

2012 – 12             Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, UCL

Specialised Research Area(s):

• Neural circuitry mechanisms of sensory perception and behavior
• Neurovascular and glial dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases
• Neuroimaging tools / techniques

1. 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 (in press).

2. Mok VCT, Pendlebury S, Wong A, Alladi S, Au L, Bath P, GJ, Chen C, Cordonnier C, Dichgans M, Dominguez J, Gorelick PB, Kim SY, Kwok T, Greenberg SM, Jia J, Kalaria R, Kivipelto M, Naegandran K, Lam LCW, Lam BYK, Lee ATC, Markus HS, O’Brien J, Pai MC, Pantoni L, Sachdev P, Skoog I, Smith EE, Srikanth V, Suh GH, Wardlaw J, Ko H, Black SE, Scheltens P. Tackling challenges in care of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias amid the COVID-19 pandemic, now and in the future. Alzheimer's and Dementia, 2020 Aug 12;doi:10.1002/alz.12143.

3. Zhou L, Wolfes AC, Li Y, Chan DCW, Ko H, Szele FG, Bayley H. Lipid-bilayer-supported 3D printing of human cerebral cortex cells reveals developmental interactions. Advanced Materials, 2020 Jun 14;e2002183.

4. Ko H, Lam BYK, Mok VCT. Pathophysiology of vascular cognitive impairment (II): amyloid contribution in vascular cognitive impairment. Invited book chapter in Stroke Revisited: Vascular Cognitive Impairment, Springer Press, 2020 ISBN 978-981-10-1433-8.

5. Li Q, Ko H (co-1st), 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. 

6. Mok VCT, Lam BYK, Wong A, Ko H, Markus HS, Wong LKS. Early-onset and delayed-onset poststroke dementia - revisiting the mechanisms. Nature Reviews Neurology. 2017 Mar;13(3):148-159.

7. Okun M, Steinmetz N, Cossell L, Iacaruso MF, Ko H, Bartho P, Moore T, Hofer SB, Mrsic-Flogel TD, Carandini M, Harris KD. Diverse coupling of neurons to populations in sensory cortex. Nature. 2015 May 28;521(7553):511-5.

8. Cossell L, Iacaruso MF, Muir DR, Houlton R, Sader EN, Ko H, Hofer SB, Mrsic-Flogel TD. Functional organization of excitatory synaptic strength in primary visual cortex. Nature. 2015 Feb 19;518(7539):399-403.

9. Ko H. Functional organization of synaptic connectivity in the neocortex. Runner-up essay, Eppendorf and Science Prize for Neurobiology 2014. Science. 2014 Oct 31; 346(6209):555.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. Li Q, Ke Y, Chan DCW, Qian ZM, Yung KKL, Ko H, Arbuthnott GW, Yung WH. Therapeutic deep brain stimulation in parkinsonian rats directly influences motor cortex. Neuron. 2012 Dec 6;76(5):1030-41.

13. Hofer SB, Ko H (co-1st), 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.

14. Ko H, Hofer SB, Pichler B, Buchanan KA, Sjostrom PJ, Mrsic-Flogel TD. Functional specificity of local synaptic connections in neocortical networks. Nature. 2011 May 5;473(7345):87-91.