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Maria (Masha) Babak: In war-torn areas, cancer patients face a devastating reality

Photo from CityU iGEM/LinkedIn

Jun 17, 2024, 17:50

Maria (Masha) Babak: In war-torn areas, cancer patients face a devastating reality

“In war-torn areas, cancer patients face a devastating reality. Early detection can be a lifesaver, but crumbling infrastructure and scarce resources leave many without access to vital treatment.

With healthcare facilities in ruins, a shortage of medical professionals, and a lack of diagnostic tools, late diagnosis and limited treatment options are all too common.

It’s time to shine a light on this crisis and push for urgent solutions to ensure no one is left to fight cancer alone.”

Quoting

“Cancer Care in Crisis: Challenges in Conflict-Affected Regions. Cancer patients in war-affected areas endure a range of challenging circumstances.

Early detection is essential in overcoming cancer, significantly improving survival rates.

However, limited resources and poor infrastructure make it difficult for people to access cancer treatment.

Destruction of healthcare facilities, a shortage of medical professionals, and a lack of essential diagnostic and treatment equipment result in late diagnosis and few options for cancer treatment.”

Source: Maria (Masha) Babak/LinkedIn and

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.