About Josephine Lok, MD

Clinical Interests:

Treats:

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Locations

Mass General for Children: Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
55 Fruit St.
Boston, MA 02114
Phone: 617-724-4380

Medical Education

  • MD, Albert Einstein college of medicine
  • Residency, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
  • Residency, Tufts Medical Center
  • Fellowship, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

American Board Certifications

  • Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, American Board of Pediatrics

Note: This provider may accept more insurance plans than shown; please call the practice to find out if your plan is accepted.


Research

My  research focuses on the neurovascular responses, in particular as it relates to the pathological processes after brain trauma.  I am also interested in the actions of neuregulin-1, an endogenous growth factor, within the neurovascular unit.  NRG1 is known to be important in the function of neurons and glia, but its activity in endothelial cells is not  well defined.  My goals are to 1) determine the roles played by NRG1/erbB signaling in the biology of brain microvascular endothelial cells; and 2) to investigate the neuroprotective potential of NRG1 in brain injury due to trauma and hemorrhage.  Data from my experiments demonstrated that NRG1 has key functions in brain microvascular cells; in particular, NRG1 prevents endothelial hyper-permeability due to cytokine injury, a significant finding given the many pathological processes that stem from microvascular hyper-permeability during CNS and systemic illness. 

Publications