• Gliovascular dysfunction and therapeutic targeting in aging and neurodegeneration
• Neural circuits mediating sensorimotor behaviors and their dysfunction in aging
• Imaging methods development for systems and translational neuroscience

Owen Ko’s team investigates how aging drives neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease and cerebral small vessel disease. The team has recently demonstrated that certain medication can significantly slow age-related decline throughout the body by targeting the brain in animal model. These findings, together with their previous work, have led to clinical trials aimed at treating cerebral small vessel disease, the second commonest cause of dementia. To complement this research, the team is also developing machine learning-empowered imaging tools to assess brain health in animal models and human subjects. By combining biological insights with technological innovations, Owen’s team aims to create next-generation therapies that protect brain function and improve the lives of the aging population.

Owen Ko is a clinician-scientist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). He holds a Bachelor of Medical Sciences, a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from CUHK, and a PhD in neuroscience from University College London (UCL). In his early career, he advanced our understanding of the physical basis of sensory perception by uncovering several fundamental rules governing the connections between neurons. After medical training, he established his lab and shifted his research focus from studying the neural basis of information processing, to its preservation in diseases. His current research employs preclinical and clinical approaches to investigate the neural circuitry and molecular mechanisms underlying nervous system dysfunction in aging and neurodegeneration, with the aim of guiding the development of disease-modifying therapeutics.

1. Elected Member, Hong Kong Young Academy of Sciences (2026)
2. Richard Yu Lectureship, Hong Kong College of Physicians (2025)
3. Life Science Fellow, Asian Young Scientist Fellowship (2023)
4. Ten Outstanding Young Persons of Hong Kong, Junior Chamber International Hong Kong (2023)
5. Sir David Todd Lectureship, Hong Kong College of Physicians (2022)
6. Awardee, Excellent Young Scientists Fund (Hong Kong and Macau), National Natural Science Foundation of China (2021)
7. Croucher Innovation Award, Croucher Foundation (2020)
8. Finalist, Eppendorf and Science Prize for Neurobiology, Eppendorf Corporation and AAAS (2014)

1. Sy SK, Chan DC, Zhang JJ, Lyu J, Feng C, Wang K, Mok VC, Wong KK, Mu Y, Hu Y, Ko H. Pallium-encoded valence-specific chemosensory amplification of eye-body coordination in larval zebrafish. eLife. 2026;15. doi:10.7554/elife.109494.1.
2. Huang J, Kwok AJ, Li JCY, Chiu CLH, Ip BY, Tung LY, Chan RCH, Chan DCW, Wang Z, Zheng X, Chow HT, Lo MPS, Li Z, Lin N, Wang M, Yan LYC, Wu WKK, Chow KHM, Lin WJ, Tang Y, Zhang Y, Song W, Ng BWL, Wong SH, Leung TW, Mok VCT, Ko H. Body-wide multi-omic counteraction of aging with GLP-1R agonism. Cell Metabolism. 2025;37(12):2362-2380.e8. doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2025.10.014.
3. Wang H, Ko H, Leung TW, Huang J, Sai J, Liang Y, Li H, Zhang J, Cao Q, Zang W, Li Y, Ma SH, Lui WT, Choi J, Chan C, Wong J, Kwok AJ, Ma K, Fan F, Chan A, Ip V, Leung H, Soo Y, Wong KT, Lai B, Chu CM, Leung HS, Hui A, Cheung T, Abrigo J, Li SH, Chan L, Yeung J, Pan S, Yip T, Lui LT, Hung T, Tsang SF, Leng X, Lam B, Mok VCT, Chan RHM, Nguyen TN, Hu W, Che F, Ip BY. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist in large vessel occlusion treated by reperfusion therapy – A phase 2 randomized trial. Nature Communications. 2025;16(1). doi:10.1038/s41467-025-66167-z.
4. Kwok AJ, Lu J, Huang J, Ip BY, Mok VCT, Lai HM, Ko H. High-resolution omics of vascular ageing and inflammatory pathways in neurodegeneration. Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology. 2024;155:30-49. doi:10.1016/j.semcdb.2023.06.005. (Review)
5. Sy SKH, Chan DCW, Chan RCH, Lyu J, Li Z, Wong KKY, Choi CHJ, Mok VCT, Lai HM, Randlett O, Hu Y, Ko H. Author correction: An optofluidic platform for interrogating chemosensory behavior and brainwide neural representation in larval zebrafish. Nature Communications. 2023;14(1):2599-. doi:10.1038/s41467-023-38152-x. (Correction)
6. Cai Y, Fan X, Zhao L, Liu W, Luo Y, Lau AYL, Au LWC, Shi L, Lam BYK, Ko H, Mok VCT. Comparing machine learning-derived MRI-based and blood-based neurodegeneration biomarkers in predicting syndromal conversion in early AD. Alzheimer’s and Dementia. 2023;19(11):4987-4998. doi:10.1002/alz.13083.
7. Yau CN, Lai HM, Lee K, Kwok AJ, Huang J, Ko H. Principles of deep immunohistochemistry for 3D histology. Cell Reports Methods. 2023;3(5):100458. doi:10.1016/j.crmeth.2023.100458. (Review)
8. Lai HM, Tang Y, Lau ZYH, Campbell RAA, Yau JCN, Chan CCY, Chan DCW, Wong TY, 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;19(9):1137-1146. doi:10.1038/s41592-022-01569-1.
9. Li Z, Chen X, Vong JSL, Zhao L, Huang J, Yan LYC, Ip B, Wing YK, 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;4(1). doi:10.1038/s42003-021-02208-9.
10. 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;11(1). doi:10.1038/s41467-020-18249-3.
11. Li Q, Ko H, Qian ZM, Yan LYC, Chan DCW, Arbuthnott G, Ke Y, Yung WH. Refinement of learned skilled movement representation in motor cortex deep output layer. Nature Communications. 2017;8. doi:10.1038/ncomms15834.
12. Ko H, Mrsic-Flogel TD, Hofer SB. Emergence of feature-specific connectivity in cortical microcircuits in the absence of visual experience. Journal of Neuroscience. 2014;34(29):9812-9816. doi:10.1523/jneurosci.0875-14.2014.
13. 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;496(7443):96-100. doi:10.1038/nature12015.
14. Ko H, Hofer SB, Pichler B, Buchanan KA, Sjöström PJ, Mrsic-Flogel TD. Functional specificity of local synaptic connections in neocortical networks. Nature. 2011;473(7345):87-91. doi:10.1038/nature09880.
15. 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;14(8):1045-1052. doi:10.1038/nn.2876.