Croucher scholar wins prestigious Hong Kong award
Dr Ko Ho of the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong has been named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons of Hong Kong 2023. Dr Ko is the holder of a Croucher Innovation Award.
Ko graduated with Bachelor of Medical Sciences (BMedSci 1st class) and Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) degrees from CUHK. He pursued a 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 doctoral work.
Since 2016 Professor Ko has been working in the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics at CUHK and has established his own laboratory. Leading a multidisciplinary team with expertise in biology, chemistry and engineering, Ko investigates how glial and vascular dysfunction in the ageing brain contribute to neurodegenerative diseases, with the aim of identifying therapeutic targets for drug development. Ko won the Croucher Innovation Award in 2020. To see his Croucher profile click here.
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.”
His laboratory’s work has been recognised and supported by several awards including the 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.
Ten Outstanding Young Persons is a flagship project of the Junior Chamber International Hong Kong. It aims to give formal recognition to those young people who excel themselves in their professional endeavours and commitments to the community. Since 1970 a total of 397 outstanding young persons have been selected.