Tak Ko, MS

Graduate Research Assistant/Lab Manager
(March 2003 - present)

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Tak is the Laboratory Manager/Research Assistant of the Cellular Reprogramming Laboratory (CRL). His main project is “Reprogramming of somatic cells to make stem cells”. In addition to running a laboratory Tak takes care of numerous lab maintenance duties as well as most of the molecular biology work including qRT-PCR, RT PCR/PCR, Southern/Northern/Western Hybridization and construction of expression vectors in mammalian system. He also performs other research duties involves animals and human Embryonic Stem Cell culture that are being processed in the CRL and differentiation.

Tak received his Masters of Science degree in Microbiology (in the field of molecular biology and Genetics) from Michigan State University. While at MSU, Tak worked in the area of cloning and characterization of the aod-2 alternative oxidase regulatory gene of Neurospora crassa. Physiological analyses of fungal mitochondrial respiration. Another project involved cloning and nucleotide sequence of the catalytic subunit of DNA polymerase-gamma of Neurospora crassa. (Genebank Accession # AF111068).

His previous research experience was at the University of Michigan where his main research project was the investigation of the bone preosteoblast's requirement for an unidentified bone accessory cell, which allows us to culture purified populations of bone precursor cells in vitro, and microspicules forming on the bones.