Group Members — The Babak Lab at CityU

Integrating chemistry, molecular biology and experimental oncology

Principal Investigator

Prof. Maria (Masha) Babak

Country of origin: Russia
Majoring in: Chemistry
Previous Affiliation: University of Vienna (PhD), Harvard Medical School (HICR scholar)
Hobbies: singing, dancing zouk, art-house movies, learning languages
Research Interests: drug discovery, cancer cell signaling, proteomics, brain metastases
My unusual desire: I want to do my sabbatical in Brazil and dance zouk all night long
My life credo: If plan A doesn’t work, the alphabet has 25 more letters!

PhD Students

Jemma Arakelyan, MD

HKPFS scholarship 2021
Belt and Road Scholarship

Country of origin: Armenia
Majoring in: Medicine
Previous Affiliation: Yerevan State Medical University (M.D.), Harvard Medical School (HICR scholar)
Hobbies: water sports, books, travel, binge-watching, coffee, learning foreign languages, writing short stories, running, shopping, skiing
Research Interests: cancer biology, drug discovery, translational research
My unusual desire: scuba diving with sharks
My life credo: As you take another breath, someone takes their last. Stop complaining. Appreciate life.
No matter how educated, talented, rich, or cool you believe you are, how you treat people ultimately tells all. Integrity is everything.

Anna (Kira) Kirsanova

HKPFS scholarship 2022
Belt and Road Scholarship

Country of origin: Russia
Majoring in: Chemistry
Previous Affiliation: Lomonosov Moscow State University, Chemistry Department
Hobbies: house plants, music, books, art, Asian cultures
Research Interests: organic and organometallic synthesis, chemistry of heterocyclic compounds, cross-coupling reactions, drug discovery
My unusual desire: achieve enlightenment
My life credo: Each cuttlefish backs away in its own way

Daniil Rusanov

HKPFS scholarship 2023
Belt and Road Scholarship

Country of origin: Russia Majoring in: Chemistry Previous Affiliation: Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia, Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Hobbies: Running, music, films, games, art Research Interests: Organic Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, Coordination Chemistry, Drug Discovery, Natural Products.
My unusual desire: Ever go to distant galaxies
My life credo: Per aspera ad astra

Egor Matnurov

HKPFS scholarship 2024
Belt and Road Scholarship

Country of origin: Russia
Majoring in: Fundamental and Applied Chemistry, Medicinal chemistry
Previous Affiliation: Lomonosov Moscow State University, Chemistry Department
Hobbies: volleyball, coffee, Netflix
Research Interests: Clinical and Pre-Clinical Trials, Immunology, Molecular Biology
My unusual desire: Become a vampire from Twilight
My life credo: Turn obstacles into opportunities

Chengnan (Andy) Wu

Country of origin: China
Majoring in: Biology-Biotechnology
Previous Affiliation: Copenhagen University (MSc)
Hobbies: Tennis, badminton, traveling
Research Interests: Cancer research
My unusual desire: live in where can see stars, sea, prairie and mountains.
My life credo: Life is blank in the beginning, so we should collect nice clips as many as possible. And we only live once, you should go and love yourself.

Samah Mutasim Alfadul

Country of origin: Sudan
Majoring in: Molecular biology
Previous Affiliation: Ahfad Center for Science and Technology (ACST) (BSc, MSc)
Hobbies: Crochet and table tennis
Research Interests: Cancer research
My unusual desire: Cooking the sweetest chocolate cake
My life credo: Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That’s why we call it the present.

Nikita Kuznetsov

HKPFS scholarship 2025

Country of origin: Russia
Majoring in: Chemistry
Previous Affiliation: Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia, Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Hobbies: Table tennis, badminton, alpine skiing, swimming, guitar, chess
Research Interests: Organic and organometallic synthesis, molecular docking, computational chemistry
My unusual desire: Climb Kilimanjaro
My life credo: If a job is worth doing, it's worth doing well

Kirill Kriukov, MD

HKPFS scholarship 2025

Country of origin: Russia
Majoring in: Medicine, Oncomorphology
Previous Affiliation: Saint Petersburg State University (MD), Pavlov University (residency)
Hobbies: volleyball, futsal, karting, chess
Research Interests: Relationship of tumor morphology with genetic defects and microenvironment
My unusual desire: I want to travel all continents by car
My life credo: You’ll only regret the things you didn’t do

Research Assistants

Ho-Jung Choe

Country of origin: Republic of Korea
Majoring in: Chemistry
Previous Affiliation: City University of Hong Kong
Hobbies: Watching movies, drawing, listening to music
Research Interests: Cancer research, Medicinal chemistry
My unusual desire: Become a magician
My life credo: Seize the day

Dmitrii Brezgunov

Country of origin: Russia
Majoring in: Data Engineering
Previous Affiliation: Moscow State University of Geodesy and Cartography
Hobbies: video games, music, history, geography
Research Interests: machine learning, AI, data research, computational chemistry
My unusual desire: go on adventure in a fantasy universe
My life credo: with a strong desire everything is possible

Dmitrii Vasilev

Country of origin: Russia
Majoring in: Engineering
Previous Affiliation: Moscow Aviation Institute
Hobbies: video games, tabletop games, coding, game development, reading, music, foreign languages, 3D printing
Research Interests: virtual/mixed reality experiences and simulations, machine learning
My unusual desire: Witnessing the heat death of the universe
My life credo: if nothing we do matters, all that matters is what we do

Miria Kuranova

Country of origin: Russia
Majoring in: Cytology, genetics
Previous Affiliation: Saint-Petersburg Polytechnic University
Hobbies: playing the piano and the bayan, latino ballroom dance, historical and fiction literature, drawing
Research Interests: cancer and senescent cell signaling, DNA repair, rare genetically diseases
My unusual desire: traveling in Tibet and Himalayas
My life credo: Nosce te ipsum