In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ryan Ko, M.D., was a newly minted medical student who wasn’t about to sit around and wait for the world to hopefully heal.

Instead, Ko, along with several other medical students, took action by developing an educational campaign that centered on COVID-19 vaccines.

The campaign included informational flyers that were handed out by the group at local churches, clinics, and wherever else they could find people willing to listen.

And it’s just one reason why Ko recently was named recipient of the 2024 Excellence in Public Health Award from the U.S. Public Health Service Physician Professional Advisory Committee. Ko was recognized for the award at the 2024 OUWB Honors Convocation.

“I was very surprised, happy, and grateful to have received this award,” he said.

“There were plenty of other classmates of mine who did great work and I felt that many of them were very deserving.”

Ko said he felt an overwhelming sense of appreciation, too, for those who worked with him on projects like the educational campaign.

“I received the award but right behind me were all of the people who helped others in the community,” he said.

Early motivation and OUWB

Ko is a dual citizen, having been born in Vancouver, British Columbia, and raised primarily in the San Francisco area.

As a youngster, two key events would dictate the course of his life: when Ko was 12, his grandfather died abruptly of leukemia; and his mom was diagnosed with cancer the following year (she was able to recover and remains cancer-free).

“When all of that happened, I decided I wanted to go and make my career about cancer research,” he said. “Contributing in some way to move the whole field forward was that early motivation to go into cancer oncology.”

Ko would go on to earn an undergraduate degree in molecular biochemistry from the University of California-Davis.

Post-graduation from UC-Davis, he worked for more than two years at Stanford University’s Radiation Oncology Department. His role was to work with clinical staff and enroll patients in clinical trials.

While at Stanford, Ko was encouraged by one of the leading physician-scientists to pursue medicine — radiation oncology, specifically.  

Concurrently, Ko connected with Thomas Guerrero, M.D, a radiation oncologist at Corewell Health, former assistant dean, Diversity & Inclusion, and former PRISM mentor.

While still on the west coast, Ko helped Guerrero with a clinical trial. Beyond the practical experience, it also introduced Ko to OUWB. He applied and was accepted.

“On my interview day, I felt like I was welcomed by so many students…everyone seemed to have such a collaborative and collegial mindset,” he said. “I felt like OUWB was very unique.”

‘How do we help?’

Ko started at OUWB during a COVID-19 peak. The OUWB Class of 2024’s orientation, for example, primarily was virtual.

But Ko was on a mission to not only become a doctor but to make a difference.

“When I got to medical school, the same kind of theme (from when I was younger) continued to ring in my head — how do we help underserved people?” he said.

He jumped at the chance to get involved in opportunities consistent with that mindset.

Ko worked on the grassroots COVID-19 vaccine educational campaign with Mallory Evans, M.D., OUWB ’23, and Brandon Prentice, M.D., OUWB ’24. (Ko said the effort also couldn’t have been done without Tiffany Loh, M.D., OUWB ’24, Rose Wedemeyer, Ph.D., director, Education Training, and Nelia Afonso, M.D., professor, Department of Foundational Medical Studies.)

The students took the campaign to places like Baldwin Center, and the Gary Burnstein Community Clinic.

One of the most enlightening experiences Ko said he had was at Welcome Missionary Baptist Church in Pontiac. The students often took their campaign to the church and would talk to people about the vaccines.

 Ko said he was able to better understand how some have different views of medicine, like vaccines.

“I never experienced the kind of questions like I did in that setting,” he said. “I gained a really different perspective.”

“That was really great practice because I know I’ll face that later on in my career,” he added. “Navigating those kind of situations is what makes someone a better doctor.”

Ko was involved in other extracurriculars, too. He served on the AAMC Organization of Student Representatives and as a national delegate within the AAMC Executive Leadership Team.

He also was involved with OUWB’s Robert J. Lucas Surgical Society and volunteered frequently at the Student Run Free Clinic at the Gary Burnstein Community Clinic and at the Baldwin Center in Pontiac.

And he’s also credited with helping save a person’s life at a local gym.     

Looking back, Ko said he feels “really lucky” to have had the experiences he did at OUWB.

“I had a lot of opportunities to stand out…I found my niche while navigating different challenges,” he said.

Following a transitional year at St. Joseph’s Medical Center, Ko will head to University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Ko said that he’s “over the moon” about the next phase of his career in medicine.

“Here is this kid who wanted to do cancer research early on and pivoted to a clinical setting later on, went to school in Michigan, and now ends up at a really great training center,” he said. “Things couldn’t have gone any better…I can’t wait to move to Houston and get some of the best training in the country.”

For more information, contact Andrew Dietderich, senior marketing specialist, OUWB, at [email protected].

To request an interview, visit the OUWB Communications & Marketing webpage.

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