Principal Investigator
MD, PhD, FRCSC
Research Interests
Clinical trials; degenerative cervical myelopathy; light-sheet microscopy; Neuromodulation; spinal cord injury; tissue clearingDr. Newton Cho is a surgeon-scientist with the International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD) at Vancouver General Hospital.
He completed his neurosurgical residency training at the University of Toronto in 2023. During his residency training, he also completed a PhD with Grégoire Courtine at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) examining neuromodulation to improve walking after spinal cord injury in 2021. His graduate work identified a novel target of deep brain stimulation that improves gait after chronic traumatic spinal cord injury.
He then went on to complete a stereotactic/functional neurosurgery fellowship at the University of Toronto in 2024. This was followed by a combined neurosurgery/orthopaedic spine surgery fellowship at the University of Calgary in 2025.
He has received a number of recognitions for his clinical and research work including the Warren Ho Memorial Scholarship by the University of Toronto, Biaggi de Blasys Foundation Award for best doctoral thesis, and the Science & PINS Prize for Neuromodulation.
His clinical interests include adult spine trauma, degenerative disease, tumours, and infections. His research program is very interested in the intersection of functional neurosurgery and spine surgery to improve gait after injury and neurodegenerative disease. He runs a basic science laboratory understanding brain and spinal cord circuits for gait with the aim to develop novel neuromodulatory therapies to improve walking after injury and disease.
Visit the Cho|FORCE Lab website
Recent Collaborations
Dr. Cho actively collaborates with a diverse network of researchers across Canada and internationally. At UBC, he collaborates with ICORD PIs Dr. Brett Hilton and Dr. Brian Kwon, as well as with the NeuroImaging and NeuroComputation Centre to advance imaging-based approaches for studying spinal cord injury. Beyond UBC, Dr. Cho collaborates with Dr. Kajana Satkunendrarajah at the University of Miami and Dr. Maged Goubran at the University of Toronto.
Techniques employed in the lab
- Light-sheet microscopy
- Tissue clearing
- Optogenetics
- Mouse models
- Gait lab
Major Findings
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Novel target to improve walking after traumatic spinal cord injury (lateral hypothalamus)
Awards
Some of Dr. Cho’s major awards and accomplishments include:
- Science and PINS Award for Neuromodulation (2025)
- Best Oral Presentation in Basic Science, WSSFN (2022)
- Biaggi de Blasys Foundation Award for best thesis (2022)
Current Lab Members
Michelle Lu – Research Technician
The Cho Lab is looking for new members: details here.
Recent publications
- Cho, N et al.. 2026. Techniques for Cervical Laminoplasty.. Global Spine J. doi: 10.1177/21925682251375448.
- Chan, V et al.. 2025. Canadian Spine Society: 25th Annual Scientific Conference, February 25 to 28, 2025, Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu, La Malbaie, Charlevoix, Que., Canada.. Can J Surg. doi: 10.1503/cjs.020125.
- Cho, N. 2025. Targeting the brain after spinal cord injury: Targeted deep brain stimulation improves walking after injury.. Science. doi: 10.1126/science.aea0845.
- Cho, N et al.. 2025. Spinal Cord Tract Integrity in Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy.. Neurosurgery. doi: 10.1227/neu.0000000000003428.
- Cho, N, Kalia, LV, Kalia, SK. 2025. Re-examining the pathobiological basis of gait dysfunction in Parkinson's disease.. Trends Neurosci. doi: 10.1016/j.tins.2025.01.002.
