• John Marquardt Clinical Research Professor of Vascular Surgery

MD (2003), Harvard Medical School

Karen Ho’s research focuses on the role of gut microbiome in vascular disease. Specifically, she is interested in understanding how the gut microbes affect neointimal hyperplasia, which is a form of wound healing in arteries after vascular treatments such as endarterectomy, balloon angioplasty, stenting, and bypass surgery which, when excessive, leads to narrowing (restenosis) of the vessel lumen. Her goal is to understand the mechanisms through which intestinal microbes contribute to neointimal hyperplasia and whether dietary supplements and strategies that alter the intestinal microbes can reduce the risk of neointimal hyperplasia after vascular procedures.