Naomi Y. Ko MD, MPH
Associate Professor, Hematology & Medical Oncology
820 Harrison Ave | (617) 638-8188naomi.ko@bmc.org
naomiko@bu.edu

Sections
Hematology & Medical Oncology
Centers
BU-BMC Cancer Center
Center of Excellence in Women’s Health
Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research
Biography
Breast Cancer
Cancer Disparities
Health Equity
Dr. Ko is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine (BUSM) and a medical oncologist at Boston Medical Center (BMC) who has a lifelong passion for social justice. After college, Dr. Ko participated in Teach For America followed by volunteer service at the Berkeley Free Clinic in the Bay Area. She went on to Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and School of Public Health to complete her MD MPH with a focus on health outcomes research for vulnerable populations. After internal medicine residency at Brigham and Women's Hospital she arrived for fellowship in hematology/oncology at BUSM/BMC, which allowed Dr. Ko to conduct research in the context of caring for an underserved population within a large safety net institution. She has sought out meaningful projects that are a culmination of her passion for oncology, service to the underserved, and academic research. Her research has a translational focus that has been directed to understanding the disconnect between scientific discoveries in cancer treatment and delivery of evidence-based treatment to vulnerable, racial/ethnic minority women with breast cancer. She is actively investigating how tumor biology, poverty, communication and treatment influence breast cancer outcomes in diverse breast cancer populations.
Websites
Boston Medical Center Provider Profile
Radio Boston Financial Toxicity of Cancer
Education
Medicine-Internal, MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Epidemiology, MPH, Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health
East Asian Studies, AM, Harvard University
American Studies, BA, Barnard College
Publications
Oshry LJ, Lederman RI, Gagnon H, Fikre T, Gundersen DA, Revette AC, Odai-Afotey A, Kantor O, Hershman DL, Crew KD, Keating NL, Freedman RA, Ko NY. Racial discrimination among women seeking breast cancer care. NPJ Breast Cancer. 2025 Jan 16; 11(1):4. PMID: 39819887.
Published on 9/20/2024Ko N, Oshry L, Lederman R, Gagnon H, Fikre T, Gundersen D, Revette A, Odai-Afotey A, Kantor O, Hershman D, Crew K, Keating N, Freedman R. See Me, Hear Me: Racial Discrimination Among Women Seeking Breast Cancer Care. Res Sq. 2024 Sep 20. PMID: 39372929.
Published on 9/19/2024Ennis CS, Seen M, Chen A, Kang H, Ilinski A, Mahdaviani K, Ko N, Monti S, Denis GV. Plasma exosomes from individuals with type 2 diabetes drive breast cancer aggression in patient-derived organoids. bioRxiv. 2024 Sep 19. PMID: 39345362.
Published on 7/3/2024Beaulieu-Jones BR, Ha EJ, Fefferman A, Wang J, Chung SH, Tseng JF, Merrill A, Sachs TE, Ko NY, Cassidy MR. ASO Visual Abstract: Association of Race, Ethnicity, Language and Insurance and Time to Treatment Initiation Among Women with Breast Cancer at an Urban, Academic, Safety-Net Hospital. Ann Surg Oncol. 2024 Jul 03. PMID: 38961042.
Published on 5/2/2024Qiu Y, Chen A, Yu R, Llevenes P, Seen M, Ko NY, Monti S, Denis GV. Insulin Resistance Increases TNBC Aggressiveness and Brain Metastasis via Adipocyte-derived Exosomes. bioRxiv. 2024 May 02. PMID: 38746141.
Published on 3/21/2024Mayer EL, Ren Y, Wagle N, Mahtani R, Ma C, DeMichele A, Cristofanilli M, Meisel J, Miller KD, Abdou Y, Riley EC, Qamar R, Sharma P, Reid S, Sinclair N, Faggen M, Block CC, Ko N, Partridge AH, Chen WY, DeMeo M, Attaya V, Okpoebo A, Alberti J, Liu Y, Gauthier E, Burstein HJ, Regan MM, Tolaney SM. PACE: A Randomized Phase II Study of Fulvestrant, Palbociclib, and Avelumab After Progression on Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 4/6 Inhibitor and Aromatase Inhibitor for Hormone Receptor-Positive/Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor-Negative Metastatic Breast Cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2024 Jun 10; 42(17):2050-2060. PMID: 38513188.
Published on 11/28/2023Beaulieu-Jones BR, Ha EJ, Fefferman A, Wang J, Chung SH, Tseng JF, Merrill A, Sachs TE, Ko NY, Cassidy MR. Association of Race, Ethnicity, Language, and Insurance with Time to Treatment Initiation Among Women with Breast Cancer at an Urban, Academic, Safety-Net Hospital. Ann Surg Oncol. 2024 Mar; 31(3):1608-1614. PMID: 38017122.
Published on 10/28/2023Huang HC, Guadamuz JS, Hoskins KF, Ko NY, Calip GS. Risk of contralateral breast cancer among Asian/Pacific Islander women in the United States. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2024 Feb; 203(3):533-542. PMID: 37897647.
Published on 9/1/2023Chung SH, de Geus SWL, Shewmaker G, Romatoski KS, Drake FT, Ko NY, Merrill AL, Hirsch AE, Tseng JF, Sachs TE, Cassidy MR. ASO Visual Abstract: Axillary Lymph Node Dissection is Associated with Improved Survival for Men with Invasive Breast Cancer and Sentinel Node Metastasis. Ann Surg Oncol. 2023 Sep; 30(9):5621-5622. PMID: 37202569.
Published on 9/1/2023Ko NY, Fikre TG, Buck AK, Restrepo E, Warner ET. Breast cancer survivorship experiences among Black women. Cancer. 2023 Sep; 129(S19):3087-3101. PMID: 37691522.
Media Mentions
Published on 11/7/2024
Using Light to Monitor Blood Pressure and Track Cancer Treatment Progress
Published on 10/9/2024
Varied efforts aim to close gaps in care for Black women facing breast cancer
Published on 1/31/2024
The US will see record-breaking number of new cancer cases in 2024
Published on 1/30/2024
New Cancer Cases Are Expected to Pass 2 Million This Year. What Does That Mean for All of Us?
Published on 11/8/2023
Report shows breast cancer survival rates worst among Black women
Published on 10/27/2023
Women of color share their stories of breast cancer treatment and survivorship
Published on 6/15/2023
'I don't know of a time that was worse': What to know about cancer drug shortages
Published on 6/14/2023
What’s Behind the Critical Shortage of Drugs for Cancer and Other Diseases
Published on 5/9/2023
So, when do you need that next mammogram?
Published on 4/3/2023
View full list of 24 media mentions.