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Professor Ko Ho, Assistant Dean (Research) of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)’s Faculty of Medicine (CU Medicine) and Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, has been named among the Ten Outstanding Young Persons 2023. CUHK extends its warmest congratulations to Professor Ko on his achievement.

CUHK Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Rocky S. Tuan said, “CUHK is immensely proud of Professor Ko Ho’s remarkable research accomplishments at CU Medicine. His dedication to academic excellence and groundbreaking work in neuropathology set a shining example for young people in Hong Kong, and is an inspiration for future talents to pursue biomedical research and contribute to societal well-being.”

Professor Ko said, “I consider myself extremely fortunate to have received support from my mentors, colleagues, and the younger generation, which enabled me to establish my laboratory and now lead a team at CUHK. While we have achieved certain results in the field of neurodegenerative diseases, there is still much more to explore. My team and I will remain committed in our initial purpose, and continue to integrate experimental and clinical testing, aiming to find more effective treatments for degenerative diseases in the future.”

Professor Ko Ho graduated from CUHK with a Bachelor of Medical Sciences (BMedSc, 2008) and a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB, 2015). He pursued his PhD in neuroscience under the supervision of Tom Mrsic-Flogel at University College London (PhD, 2012) and was awarded the runner-up position in the 2014 Eppendorf & Science Prize for Neurobiology for his work during his doctoral studies. Since 2016, Professor Ko has been working in the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, and has established his own laboratory. He currently serves as a Principal Investigator at both the Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences and the Gerald Choa Neuroscience Institute at CUHK. Leading a multidisciplinary team with expertise in biology, chemistry and engineering, he investigates how glial and vascular dysfunction in the ageing brain contribute to neurodegenerative diseases, with the aim of identifying therapeutic targets for drug development. His laboratory’s work has been recognised and supported by several awards, including a 2020 Croucher Innovation Award from the Croucher Foundation, a 2021 Excellent Young Scientists Fund (Hong Kong and Macau) from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the 2022 Sir David Todd Lectureship from the Hong Kong College of Physicians, and the inaugural 2023 Asian Young Scientist Fellowship (Life Science) from the Future Science Prize Foundation.