BME Welcomes Ted Ho

This spring, BME welcomed its newest faculty member, Assistant Professor Theodore (Ted) Ho. 

Ted made his way to the Forty Acres via Stanford University, where he conducted postdoctoral research in systems neuroscience with renowned optogenetics pioneer Karl Deisseroth. There, he discovered new neural mechanisms of cognitive decline during aging and Alzheimer’s disease progression and developed spatiotemporally precise optogenetic approaches to fully restore neural encoding and learning abilities in Alzheimer’s disease-related model mice. 

We recently spoke with the Forbes 30 Under 30 recipient about his aging research, introduction to Austin and interests outside of the lab!  

Tell us about your research and what led you to pursue it.  
My research focuses on understanding how neural activity and connectivity change during aging and in Alzheimer’s disease, and on translating mechanistic discoveries into new treatments that precisely re-engineer and repair neural circuits to restore cognitive function. I study these questions across multiple scales, from single-neuron activity to brain-wide connectivity, using two-photon calcium imaging and optogenetics to precisely target and modulate neural activity, to whole-brain tissue clearing and imaging, advanced computational analyses, mouse models and human studies. 

Ever since I first learned in college that aging is the greatest risk factor for most major diseases, I have developed a passion for discovering the fundamental mechanisms of aging and developing strategies to slow, or even reverse, biological aging, helping us live healthier and longer lives. Our brains hold all of our most important memories, relationships, and personalities and make us who we are, so if I can contribute to our understanding of why and how our brains change and lose cognitive abilities as we age, and help develop new treatments that help us remember our loved ones a little bit longer, it would be a very worthwhile career to me! 

What do you enjoy most about your research? 
First and foremost is the potential to make a great impact on improving people’s health and lives. This is what drives me. Every discovery we make in science may not lead to a treatment or help a patient, but each one can be a small building block that future research builds upon. As the saying goes, we stand on the shoulders of giants, which, of course, is true, but actually I think most of the time it’s really that we stand on the shoulders of every small experiment done by students, postdocs and scientists of all sizes.  

Second is working at the forefront of human knowledge, trying every day to learn and discover new things—what’s more exciting than that! Finally, conducting fundamental mechanistic biological research on how the brain works, combined with applied bioengineering, allows me to scratch the itch of not only understanding how things work (and stop working), but also how to fix them. I think this is one of the beauties of bioengineering. It is truly a privilege to research what I find most important, interesting and fulfilling every day as a “job.” 

What brought you to UT Austin? 
UT Austin was a great fit for my research, and it felt ideal for starting and building my lab, with its strong emphasis on expanding both neurotechnology and dementia-related research and infrastructure. The culture seemed very collegial, welcoming and collaborative, and during my visits, I had great interactions with many people across many departments. It felt like a place where my lab could grow and really thrive. And it didn’t hurt that literally every person I talked to about Austin loved and highly recommended it! 

What has been your favorite part of being a UT BME faculty member? 
Everything is still so new and exciting, so it is hard to pick a favorite part, but I would say the people. From the advice from faculty and staff to the invigorating energy of the enthusiastic and smart students, I’m very grateful for how supportive and welcoming the community has been.  

Outside of work, how do you like to spend your free time? 
Outside of work, I like to think about work… Just kidding, but not really! But some of my other interests include spending time with friends and family, reading, cooking pasta, running and working out, discovering new restaurants, bakeries, and coffee shops and chasing sunsets!