The research of Frank Ko, PhD, explores mechanisms underlying musculoskeletal homeostasis, diseases, and repair. Understanding these mechanisms could lead to a development of novel therapeutic interventions to diseases such as osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, or sarcopenia.
Our work
Ko’s lab at Rush has been studying how extrinsic (eg. diet, physical activity, injury) or intrinsic (eg. genetics) factors and their underlying mechanisms leading to alterations in the musculoskeletal tissue. The recent effort focuses on examining the role of periostin expressing cells in intramembranous bone regeneration. These cells, while normally restricted to the periosteal surface and absent in bone marrow, are present in the regenerating marrow cavity following marrow ablation surgery. Understanding the periostin expressing cell lineage commitment and the underlying mechanisms during bone regeneration could pave a way to enhance fracture healing or improve implant fixation.
In addition, Ko’s lab has been developing novel experimental strategies to visualize tissue architecture using tissue clearing and light sheet microscopy imaging. While naturally opaque, musculoskeletal tissues can be processed to be rendered transparent and tagged with fluorescent dyes to visualize specific molecules of interest in 3D. This overcomes limitations of 2D histology and comprehensively characterizes heterogenous tissue architecture often observed in regenerating bone.
Publications
A full list of Frank Ko’s research publications can be found on PubMed.
Contact
Frank Ko, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology
Rush University Medical Center
Cohen Building
1735 W. Harrison St.
Office 514
Chicago, IL 60612
Phone: (312) 942-8294
Email: frank_ko@rush.edu