Maria (Masha) Babak: Addressing counterfeit cancer drugs with aptamer technology
Maria (Masha) Babak posted the following on LinkedIn:
“This year, our CityU iGEM team is addressing a critical issue: counterfeit cancer drugs. Our project focuses on developing a rapid, affordable test for detecting fake Bevacizumab using aptamer technology—an exciting leap forward in cancer care!
- How do you think synthetic biology can further revolutionize healthcare?
- What other global challenges could benefit from interdisciplinary projects like iGEM?
Watch our video for an in-depth look at our project and its impact on vulnerable populations!”
Dr. Maria (Masha) Babak is the Head of The Babak Lab and an Assistant Professor at the City University of Hong Kong. She earned her Ph.D. in bioinorganic chemistry from the University of Vienna in 2014. From 2015 to 2020, Dr. Babak was a postdoctoral research fellow at the National University of Singapore under the mentorship of Prof. Wee Han Ang, where she developed a strong passion for drug discovery and drug target identification. 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 metastasis.
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