Featured Publications

R. P. Gale*, A. Muradyan, S. Danelyan, N. Manukyan, M. V. Babak, S. Arakelyan, G. Tamamyan, J. Arakelyan, The humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh, The Lancet, 402(10410), 1324–1325, 2023 (Q1, IF = 168.9)

J. Arakelyan, D.A. Rusanov, M.R. Chang, A.V. Asaturova, G.S. Kireeva, M. Alshehri, W.H. Ang, M.V. Babak*, Targeting emerging cancer hallmarks by transition metal complexes: Epigenetic reprogramming and epitherapies. Part II, Coordination Chemistry Reviews, 475, 214899, 2023 (Q1, IF 24.833)

D. Yan˜, J. Arakelyan˜, T. Wan, R. Raina, T. K. Chan, D. Ahn, V. Kushnarev, T. K. Cheung, H. C. Chan, I. Choi, P. Y. Ho, F. Hu, Y. Kim, H. L. Lau, Y. L. Law, C. S. Leung, C. Y. Tong, K. K. Wong, W. L. Yim, R. Y. C. Kong*, M. V. Babak*, Y. Matsuda*, Genomics-driven derivatization of the bioactive fungal sesterterpenoid variecolin: Creation of an unnatural analogue with improved anticancer properties, Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B, 2023, (Q1, IF = 14.907)

M.V. Babak*, K. R. Chong, P. Rapta, M. Zannikou, H. M. Tang, L. Reichert, M. R. Chang, V. Kushnarev, P. Heffeter, S. M. Meier-Menches, Z. C. Lim, J. Y. Yap, A. Casini, I. V. Balyasnikova, W.H. Ang*. Interfering with Metabolic Profile of Triple-Negative Breast Cancers Using Rationally-Designed Metformin Prodrugs, Angewandte Chemie Int. Ed., 60 (24), 13405-13413, 2021 (IF = 16.823)

M .J. R. Tham, M. V. Babak*, W.  H. Ang*. PlatinER: A Highly Potent Anticancer Platinum(II) complex that Induces Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress-Driven Immunogenic Cell Death, Angewandte Chemie Int. Ed., 59 (43), 19070-19078, 2020 (IF = 16.823)(frontispiece)

G. Kim, H. L. Tan, R. Sundar, B. Lieske, C. E. Chee, J. Ho, A. Shabbir, M.V. Babak, W. H. Ang, B. C. Goh, W. P. Yong, L. Wang, J. B. So*, PIPAC-OX: A Phase I study of Oxaliplatin-based Pressurized Intraperitoneal Aerosol Chemotherapy (PIPAC) in Patients with Peritoneal Metastases, Clinical Cancer Research, 27 (7), 1875-1881, 2020 (IF 13.801)

M.V. Babak, Y. Zhi, B. Czarny, T.B. Toh, L. Hooi, E.K.-H. Chow, W.H. Ang,* D. Gibson,* G. Pastorin.* Dual-targeting Dual-action Platinum (IV) Platform for Enhanced Anticancer Activity and Reduced Nephrotoxicity, Angewandte Chemie Int. Ed., 58, 1-7, 2019 (IF = 16.823) (Very Important Paper, featured in Strait Times)

News feed

4.06.2024
Happy birthday to our always positive and smiling boy, Andy! On this special occasion, we wish you a year filled with good health, happiness, and countless reasons to keep that beautiful smile on your face. May each day bring you new adventures, exciting opportunities, and the fulfillment of all your dreams. Thank you for being a ray of sunshine in our lab. Happy birthday, Andy!

31.05.2024
We extend our heartfelt congratulations to our esteemed supervisor, Prof. Maria Babak, for receiving the prestigious Yvonne Award 2024 in the "Mentorship" category! Your exceptional guidance, unwavering dedication, and commitment to nurturing talent have greatly advanced the field. Congratulations once again, Dr. Masha!

21.05.2024
Happy birthday to our outstanding colleagues, Kira and Samah! On this special day, we celebrate not only your birthdays but also the incredible individuals that you are. May this year bring you joy, success, and fulfillment in all aspects of your lives. Thank you for being an integral part of our team, and shared achievements and memorable moments.

20.05.2024
The ACS Nano Summit hosted by City University of Hong Kong showcased an abundance of knowledge and innovation in nanoscience. We take pride in Prof. Maria Babak's participation as a speaker, particularly her workshop on the impact of gut health on anticancer drug efficacy. 

6.05.2024
Today, we have the privilege of celebrating the birthday of our hardest worker, Ho-Jung. We consider ourselves incredibly fortunate to have you as part of our team. Your dedication, perseverance, and unwavering commitment to excellence are truly inspiring. Wishing you a birthday filled with joy, happiness, and fulfillment. Thank you for all that you do, and here's to another year of success and accomplishments.

26.04.2024
As the semester draws to a close, we would like to bid farewell and extend our heartfelt good luck wishes to Maryana, Shiv, Sasha, and Candy, who have conducted their research under our lab. Your dedication, hard work, and contributions have been invaluable, and we have no doubt that you will continue to excel in your future endeavors. Thank you for your commitment and best of luck in all your future endeavors.

17.04.2024
We were fortunate to have an incredible experience visiting the Hong Kong Shooting Center as part of the captivating course "Science versus Crime" taught by the esteemed Prof. Maria Babak. As this semester draws to a close, we are grateful for the knowledge and insights gained. On a side note, be cautious around Samah, as she is an exceptional marksman.

6.04.2024
Our lab recently took a break from our experiments to attend the Orchestra's "BBC Seven Worlds - One Planet" concert. It was a great way to recharge and come back to our research with renewed energy and inspiration. Thank you to our supervisor - Prof. Maria Babak for his wonderful opportunity! 

8.03.2024
Happy International Women's Day to all the incredible women out there! Your resilience, strength, and compassion inspire us every day. May this day be filled with joy and celebration of the remarkable contributions you make in our lives and to the world. Keep shining and making a difference!

6.02.2024
Happy birthday to our amazing lab colleague, Daniil! Your dedication, expertise, and positive attitude make you an invaluable member of our team. Wishing you a day filled with joy, laughter, and memorable moments. May this year bring you continued success, personal growth, and all the happiness you deserve.

28.02.2024
Happy birthday to our amazing Tamara! Your dedication and hard work inspire us every day. Wishing you a year filled with joy, success, and exciting discoveries in the lab. Have a fantastic birthday celebration!

16.02.2024
We are sad to announce that our beloved colleague Mary will be leaving our lab. Her contributions and positive energy will be greatly missed. We wish her all the best in her future endeavors and know she will continue to shine wherever she goes. Thank you, Mary, for all that you have done for our team.

6.02.2024
On behalf of our laboratory, we are thrilled to celebrate the International Day of Women in Science with our incredible team of talented women at the Drug Discovery Lab!

30.01.2024
We are absolutely thrilled to extend our warmest congratulations and birthday wishes to our wonderful colleague, Jemma! Today, as we celebrate your special day, we want you to know how much you are appreciated and valued.

21.12.2023
On behalf of our laboratory, wish you a wonderful Christmas and a prosperous New Year!

20.10.2023
Expanding across the border! Cooperation is one of the important parts of research and our lab is trending it. In the photo below Dr. Masha, Anna, Jemma, and Andy are with our future collaborators on a business trip to Mainland China.

4.10.2023
Work hard rest hard! Junk boat is a great opportunity to relax and celebrate the past birthday of Dr. Masha who keeps our ship afloat. From all our lab we wish our dearest supervisor the continued success she deserves! 

22.09.2023
We are getting bigger and bigger! We would like to announce our newly enrolled brilliant students: FYP student Candy from HK (under Samah’s supervision), BSc student Maryana from Belarus (under Kira’s supervision), and MSc exchange students Shiv and Sasha from the UK (under Daniil’s supervision). We wish all of you good luck and all the best with your new researches!

13.09.2023
Mum, I’m on TV!!! Congrats Jemma, Samah, and Daniil for participating in the TV program. If you want to watch the brilliant interview with Jemma about the Belt and Road Scholarship, click the link.

4.09.2023
Back to school! Congrats to our dearest colleague Daniil Rusanov on starting PhD in CityU as HKPFS and Belt and Road Scholarship awner student. We wish Daniil to continue to make advanced organic synthesis and get our lab safer and better!

4.09.2023
We are welcoming our new PhD HKPFS awner student Tamara Petrovic to our lab. In our team, Tamara will work with rhenium-based compounds and do in vitro testing in order to investigate their cytotoxicity. We wish Tamara all the best with her new research!

11.08.2023
Congratulations to our dear 11th-grade student Olivia from Hong Kong International School, who completed her summer program in Drug Discovery Lab with excellent performance. We wish Olivia all the best with her studies and all her beginnings!

7.08.2023
The summer program of our dear Szeto Yan Ting Caitlyn is going to finish. We are inclined to believe that time here for Caitlyn was interesting and productive. We wish Caitlyn all the best with her study and all beginnings!

7.07.2023
Congrats to our internship school student Jason for publishing his first-ever paper just at the age of 16.

30.06.2023
Congrats Egor with promotion to Bio Lead in the our lab and wish all the best responsible position!

10.06.2023
We are welcoming our new RA Bekir Pashaliev who started to know the culture before arriving in HK. In our laboratory, Bekir will work with AI for discovering new promising drugs and we wish Bekir all the best with his new research!

30.06.2023
Today is the last day of our favorite Helen as Head of Technician. Dear Helen, we wish you all the best in your new beginning. The workplace won’t be the same without you!

29.06.2023
Warmest congratulations to Jemma for receiving CSCI Excellent Paper Award for Research Students.

7.06.2023
We are welcoming our new RA Egor Matnurov who had a long trip to Hong Kong. Nevertheless, Egor doesn't waste time and already has looked main attractions of HK. We wish Egor all the best with his research!

22.08.2022
We are welcoming our new RA Daniil Rusanov who is an organic chemist from Russia. The trip to Hong Kong is never easy and Daniil was not an exception. He also experienced a lot of troubles getting here, but he managed to overcome all the hurdles and finally reached us! We wish Daniil all the best with his research!

12.08.2022
We are saying good-bye to our MSc student Zhuolin who successfully defended her master thesis and returned to China! We wish you all the best in your future endeavors!

10.08.2022
Jemma passed her qualification exam with flying colors! Good job!

6.08.2022
It is time to say good-bye to our exchange students Yee Kiat, Winnie and Vika, who successfully completed their summer research projects! It was such a great pleasure to have you in the lab and we hope to see you again in future!

17.06.2022
Warmest congratulations to Samah and Dr Masha on their publication in Inorganic Chemistry journal <link> !

14.06.2022
Warmest congratulations to Jemma on her publication in Journal of Clinical Oncology <link> !

12.06.2022
We welcome two exchange students from National University of Singapore and one exchange student from High School of Economics in Russia! Yee Kiat will be working on investigation of anticancer activity of tubulin-targeting combretastatin analogues. Winnie will investigate anticancer potential of gold(I) complexes and Vika will work on the development of anticancer vaccines!

27.05.2022
This is a very sad news, but we are saying good-bye to our most favourite lab member! Samah is going back to her family, but to us Samah was also like a family member! She brought so much piece and joy to the lab and we will miss her so much! Samah, come back to HK anytime!

7.05.2022
Warmest congratulations to Jemma on her publication in Cureus journal <link> !

1.05.2022
Warmest congratulations to Andy, who finally got his PhD offer and will start his PhD journey with us in September!

29.04.2022
Congratulations to Eon and David! They successfully passed their final exams and are ready to graduate!

25.04.2022
Congratulations to Jemma! She got A+ for the most scary exam (Selected topics in modern chemistry) and became the top PhD student of the department! We are proud of you!

8.04.2022
We welcome our new RA Andy from China did his master study in immunology at the University of Copenhagen! Andy will be working on deciphering biomolecular targets of metal-based drugs!

6.04.2022
Warmest congratulations to Daniil, Jiaying and Dr Masha on their publication in Pharmaceuticals journal <link> !

14.01.2022
Warmest congratulations to Kelvin, David and Dr Masha on their publication in Inorganic Chemistry journal <link> !

7.01.2022
Warmest congratulations to Dr Masha on her publication in Inorganic Chemistry journal <link> !

22.11.2021
Warmest congratulations to Jemma Arakelyan on her publication in eCancer <link> journal and to David Ahn on his publication in Inorganic Chemistry journal <link> ! 

25.10.2021
We welcome two students from China who will be doing their final year and master projects with us. Eon will be working on the investigation of the mechanism of action of anticancer copper complexes with Samah and Zhuolin will be synthesizing novel copper complexes with anticancer properties! Good luck Eon and Zhuolin!  We are happy to have you here!

18.10.2021
It is time to say goodbye to our most senior chemist Kelvin Tong! Kelvin has been an immense help in setting up the lab, managing equipment and overall safety of the lab. Kelvin, we will miss you at our hikes and hotpot dinners! We wish you good luck in your future career and hope that we will stay friends for many years ahead!

22.08.2021
We are becoming more and more international and after a super long wait we finally welcome our research assistant Samah Mutasim Alfadul from Sudan. Samah is a molecular biologist and a lecturer at Ahfad University for Women. She will be working on anticancer drugs which affect tubulin polymerization. Samah’s arrival to Hong Kong was extremely problematic: visa delays, travel bans, lost flight tickets, 21 days of quarantine… We really hope that all your problems are over now, good luck Samah!

19.08.2021
Our doctor Jemma has finally arrived from Armenia and finished her quarantine! Jemma will be performing animal surgeries and will be investigating immunomodulating properties of the drugs in vitro and in vivo!

7.08.2021
The time has flown by so fast and now we have to say good-bye to our dearest Jiaying, who became a very important part of our Drug Discovery Lab meow-family! In only two months Jiaying managed to complete a small project that will be published soon. We hope that you will come again Jiaying! All the best to you in your future endeavors!

21.07.2021
Our warmest congratulations to David and Dr Masha on their new review in Biomedicines journal (IF = 6.081) about copper-based anticancer drugs!

15.06.2021
We welcome Jiaying from University College London (UCL) who just finished her quarantine and is starting her summer internship project today! We are very excited to have you here!

31.05.2021
We welcome our first chemist Kelvin Tong from New Zealand who did his PhD with our close friends - Muhammad Hanif and Christian Hartinger. Kelvin has just finished his quarantine and is finally free! He will be working on the synthesis of bioactive gold and copper complexes! Good luck Kelvin!

14.04.2021
Yuuhuu! We got our first PhD student with a super prestigious Hong Kong PhD fellowship and Belt and Road fellowship! Jemma, we are looking forward to welcoming you to the Drug Discovery Lab!

9.03.2021
Congratulations to Dr Masha and her collaborator Prof Ang Wee Han on the acceptance of their manuscript to Angewandte Chemie Int. Ed.! They have combined anti-diabetic drug metformin with gold scaffolds, resulting in novel drug candidates for the treatment of highly aggressive triple negative breast cancer!

15.12.2020
We welcome our first undergraduate student Ahn Dohyun (David) from South Korea. David is coming from chemistry engineering background and will be involved in in vitro drug testing. One more interdisciplinary researcher on board! We are wishing you a productive and inspiring scientific journey in our Drug Discovery Lab!

1.12.2020
And this is how it starts: after 2 weeks of quarantine we heartedly welcome our first PhD student Anastasiia Sivchenko (Nastya or Ana) from Ukraine! Anastasiia is a molecular biologist who will be working on establishment of gene-engineered cellular models for high-throughput anticancer drug screening as well as investigation of mechanism-of –action of drug candidates! Good luck with your academic endeavors!