RISA People

Dr Philip Ho completed Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry, and Master of Philosophy at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in 1997 and 1999, respectively. Afterward, Dr Ho obtained his Doctor of Philosophy degree in the Department of Medicine, University of Hong Kong in 2004. Before joining PolyU, Dr Ho received his postdoctoral fellowship and worked in a position as Research Assistant Professor and Scientific Officer in HKU.

Dr Ho’s research focuses on pre-clinical investigation of Parkinson’s disease and various related neurological disorders, including elucidation of the pathogenic mechanisms related to mitochondrial dysfunction and impaired autophagy associated with LRRK2 mutations using in vitro and in vivo experimental models to develop novel neuroprotective strategies. In addition to his in-house generated LRRK2mutant mouse model, Dr Ho also started to develop PD patient-derived iPSCs as an alternative disease model. Moreover, Dr Ho is actively participating in collaborative research projects as principal investigator on environmental risks of chemicals of emerging concern in the State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution (SKLMP, CityU). In particular, he has developed a novel human cell-based assay kit to assess level of estrogenicity induced by environmental xenoestrogens and various endocrine disruptive compounds. This novel assay has incorporated a novel patented protein tag as a major detection component of the assay kit. As a listed inventor, this invention is patented in US, Europe and China since 2015.

Dr Ho has published over 50 original research articles and invited reviews in prestigious peer-reviewed journals, including Autophagy, npj Parkinson’s disease, and Translational Neurodegeneration. Philip obtained a number of competitive research grants, including HMRF and RGC/GRF as PI/Co-I, and supervised research postgraduate students in experimental neuroscience. Furthermore, he is invited as review editor, editorial board member, and ad hoc reviewer of a number of peer-reviewed journals, including Nature Communications, Translational Neurodegeneration, Journal of Neurology, Brain and Behavior, and Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, demonstrating his active participation in research community services.

Expertise area
• Pathophysiological mechanisms of Parkinson’s disease (PD) related to mitochondrial dysfunction and autophagy associated with LRRK2 mutations using in vitro and in vivo experimental models; 
• Therapeutic strategies using LRRK2 inhibitors to attenuate synucleinopathies in PD;
• Environmental risks of neurotoxic pollutants and their association with the susceptibility to neurodegenerative diseases;
• Bioassay development & patent application

Ageing related research and development interests
• Interaction between genetic mutation (LRRK2 mutation) and ageing in synucleinopathies using experimental mutant mouse models;
• Development of novel therapeutic strategies to attenuate synucleinopathies using LRRK2 inhibitors in PD in experimental mouse models;
• Elucidation of synucleinopathies in local Chinese PD patients.


Development interests:
• Exploration of novel strategies to reduce toxic alpha-synuclein aggregates in PD;
• Correlation studies between alpha-synuclein aggregation and PD patient’s clinical staging.