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Kang Ko

Kang I Ko, DMD, DScD

Assistant Professor
Department of Periodontics
Room: Levy 315
Phone: 215-746-8187
Email: gank@upenn.edu
Professional Biography

Dr. Kang Ko is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Periodontics at Penn Dental Medicine. He earned his B.S. degree in Physiology and Neuroscience in 2009 and an M.S. degree in Neurobiology in 2011 from the University of California, San Diego. He earned his D.M.D degree in 2015 and a combined certificate in Periodontics/D.Sc.D degree in 2020 from Penn Dental Medicine. He is an active member of the International Association of Dental Research, the American Academy of Periodontology, and the American Dental Association. He has received numerous awards for his teaching and research, including the Ricardo Teles Research Award in 2020. Dr. Ko currently leads a NIH-funded research program that investigates fibroblast heterogeneity and its impact on immunity in the oral cavity and skin.

Honors/Credentials:
  • Instructor, Penn Dental Medicine, 01/2020-04/2020
  • Ricardo Teles Research Award, 2020
  • NIH Loan Repayment Program (LRP) Award, NIDCR, 2020
  • Travel Grant AADR 2019, Vancouver, 2019
  • AAP Educator Award, 2018
  • K08 Award, NIDCR, 2017
  • Travel Grant AADR, San Francisco, 2017
  • Henry M. Thornton Fellowship Award, 2016
  • Straumann Fellowship Award, 2015
  • Achievement Award in Pharmacology/Therapeutics, 2015
  • Alpha Omega Academic Achievement Award, 2015
  • HANAUTM Best of the Best Prosthodontic Award, 2015
  • AADR Bloc Travel Grant Award, NIDCR, Boston, 2015
  • Oral Biology Award, 2015
  • American Academy of Periodontology Student Award, 2015
  • Abram Cohen Award in Periodontics, 2015
  • Earle Banks Hoyt Teaching Award, 2015
  • Omicron Kappa Upsilon Honor Society, 2015
  • AADR Bloc Travel Grant Award, NIDCR, Seattle, 2013
  • Matthew Cryer Honors Society, 2013
  • Scott Perry Award, 2011
Education
  • Residency in Periodontics, University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, 2020
  • D.Sc.D, Stem Cell Biology, University of Pennsylvania, 2020
  • D.M.D, University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, 2015
  • M.S., Neurobiology, University of California, San Diego, 2011
  • B.S., Physiology and Neuroscience, University of California, San Diego, 2009