Faculty

Mei-Chuan Ko, PhD

Mei-Chuan Ko, PhD

Visiting Professor of Psychiatry

Contact Details

3811 O'Hara St.
Pittsburgh
 
PA
 
15213
Email
Website
NCBI Research Bibliography

Education & Training

PhD
Biopsychology, University of Michigan
Anesthesiology and Pharmacology, University of Michigan School of Medicine

Professional Affiliations

Member, American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
Member, Society for Neuroscience
Member, United States Association for the Study of Pain
Member, College on Problems of Drug Dependence

Selected Honors & Awards

New Team Science Award, Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Research Faculty Achievement Award, University of Michigan
Wyeth-Ayerst Young Psychopharmacologist Award, American Psychological Association

Research Interests

Substance use disorders; Sensory processing (pain and itch); Drug efficacy and therapeutic window
Selected Research Publications & Products
  1. Zhao J, Bang S, Furutani K, McGinnis A, Jiang C, Roberts A, Donnelly CR, He Q, James ML, Berger M, Ko MC, Wang H, Palmiter RD, Ji RR. (2023) PD-L1/PD-1 checkpoint pathway regulates hippocampal neuronal excitability and learning and memory behavior. Neuron 111(17):2709-2726.e9. PMID: 37348508
  2. Kiguchi N, Ding H, Park SH, Mabry KM, Kishioka S, Shiozawa Y, Romero-Sandoval EA, Peters CM, Ko MC. (2022) Functional roles of neuromedin B and gastrin-releasing peptide in regulating itch and pain in the spinal cord of non-human primates. Biochemical Pharmacology 198:114972. PMID: 35189108
  3. Ding H, Ko MC. (2021) Translational value of non-human primates in opioid research. Experimental Neurology 338:113602 (Special Issue: Opioid Analgesia and Opioid Use Disorder). PMID: 33453211
  4. Donnelly CR, Jiang C, Andriessen AS, Wang K, Wang Z, Ding H, Zhao J, Luo X, Lee MS, Lei YL, Maixner W, Ko MC, Ji RR. (2021) STING controls nociception via type-I interferon signalling in sensory neurons. Nature 591(7849):275-280. PMID: 33442058
  5. Ding H, Kiguchi N, Yasuda D, Daga PR, Polgar WE, Lu JJ, Czoty PW, Kishioka S, Zaveri NT, Ko MC. (2018) A bifunctional nociceptin and mu opioid receptor agonist is analgesic without opioid side effects in nonhuman primates. Science Translational Medicine 10(456):eaar3483 (Selected as a cover story). PMID: 30158150

Clinical Interests

Comorbidities with chronic pain; Management of opioid-induced side effects; Neuromodulation
Selected Clinical Publications & Products
  1. Ding H, Kiguchi N, Dobbins M, Romero-Sandoval EA, Kishioka S, Ko MC. (2023) Nociceptin receptor-related agonists as safe and non-addictive analgesics. Drugs 83(9):771-793. PMID: 37209211
  2. Chen Y, Wang ZL, Yeo M, Zhang QJ, Lpez-Romero AE, Ding HP, Zhang X, Zeng Q, Morales-Lzaro SL, Moore C, Jin YA, Yang HH, Morstein J, Bortsov A, Krawczyk M, Lammert F, Abdelmalek M, Diehl AM, Milkiewicz P, Kremer AE, Zhang JY, Nackley A, Reeves TE, Ko MC, Ji RR, Rosenbaum T, Liedtke W (2021) Epithelia-sensory neuron crosstalk underlies cholestatic itch induced by lysophosphatidylcholine. Gastroenterology 161(1):301-317.e16. PMID: 33819485
  3. Ding H, Trapella C, Kiguchi N, Hsu FC, Cal G, Ko MC. (2021) Functional profile of systemic and intrathecal cebranopadol in nonhuman primates. Anesthesiology 135(3):482-493. PMID: 34237134
  4. Wang Z, Jiang C, He Q, Matsuda M, Han Q, Wang K, Bang S, Ding H, Ko MC, Ji RR. (2020) Anti-PD-1 treatment impairs opioid antinociception in rodents and nonhuman primates. Science Translational Medicine 12(531):eaaw6471. PMID: 32075945
  5. Kiguchi N, Ding H, Peters CM, Kock ND, Kishioka S, Cline JM, Wagner JD, Ko MC. (2017) Altered expression of glial markers, chemokines, and opioid receptors in the spinal cord of type 2 diabetic monkeys. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) Molecular Basis of Disease 1863(1):274-283. PMID: 27751964

Education Interests

Research mentorship; Graduate student education; Postdoctoral fellow education