Harvard Catalyst Profiles

Dr. Ko is a cardiologist and a researcher. She received her medical degree at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons and completed Internal Medicine Residency and Cardiovascular Medicine Fellowship at Boston Medical Center. Dr. Ko was a previous recipient of the American College of Cardiology Foundation/Merck Research Fellowship in Cardiovascular Diseases and Cardioemtabolic Disorders.

Dr. Ko leads the Program for Aging Research in Cardiology at Marcus Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife. Our mission is to advance the cardiovascular care of frail older adults through innovative research and multidisciplinary collaboration. We aim to deepen the understanding of unique challenges faced by frail older adults, developing evidence-based strategies to enhance treatment outcomes and preserve quality of life. In its early stages, the program is focused on generating real-world evidence on the utilization and outcomes of drug and device therapies in frail older adults. In absence of applicable clinical trials, the program seeks to determine the next best level of evidence to guide drug and device therapy in this vulnerable population. This multidisciplinary research program brings together collaborators across multiple subspecialties, including cardiology, neurology general internal medicine, geriatrics, and experts across various research domains, such as pharmaco- and device epidemiology and quantitative and qualitative research.