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Jan 7, 2025, 16:37

Maria Babak: Honoring Victor Tuzov – Yet another reminder of the fragility of life

Maria Babak, Head of The Babak Lab and an Assistant Professor at the City University of Hong Kong, shared a post by The Babak Lab on LinkedIn, adding:

“This serves as yet another reminder of the fragility of life. Just a week ago, I was in conversation with Victor, filled with enthusiasm about our plans of co-authoring a book about a bioinorganic chemistry community. And now, we are faced with the stark reality of moving forward without him and carrying on with the realization of his plans.”

Quoting The Babak Lab‘s post:

“It is with immense grief that we share the heartbreaking news of the passing of our colleague and cherished friend, Victor Tuzov, who tragically died on the 29th of December in a hotel fire. Victor was a remarkably skilled journalist, known for his exceptional interviews with the stars of City University of Hong Kong and the bioinorganic chemistry community including Prof. Kenneth Lo, Prof. Vanessa Barrs, Prof. Wee Han Ang and many others.

In light of this tragic event, we will be taking a break from our regular postings as we come to terms with this loss. Rest in peace, Victor.”

Dr. Maria (Masha) Babak is the Head of The Babak Lab and an Assistant Professor at the City University of Hong Kong. In November 2020, she joined the City University of Hong Kong as an assistant professor. Dr. Babak received the Graeme Hanson-AsBIC Early Career Award in 2022.

Her research interests are at the intersection of chemistry, biology, and medicine, with a focus on the discovery and preclinical development of anticancer drugs for resistant and aggressive cancers with limited treatment options, such as malignant pleural mesothelioma and brain metastases. She received the Yvonne Award by OncoDaily in the “mentorship” category.