You are cordially invited to join the MED Frontiers in Medical Research Seminar to be delivered by Prof. KO Chi Bun on May 22, 2025 (Thursday). The lecture is entitled " Discovering new functions from old compounds through chemical biology and multi-omics ".

Please find the details as follows:

Date: May 22, 2025 (Thursday)

Time: 11:00-12:00

Location: First Floor, H.L.Tu Building, AIE Exhibition Room

Speaker: Prof. KO, Chi Bun

Host: Prof. ZHAO Yongjuan

Abstract

Natural products are one of the most productive sources of chemical inspiration for new drug development owning to their diversity in both structural features and molecular targets. Approximately 28% of all approved drugs are either natural products in origin or natural product derivatives. Nevertheless, there are many challenges during the development of natural products-based drugs. Understanding their biological interaction and the mechanism of action are among the most challenging aspects of natural product drug development. In this talk, I will share our most recent work on the identification of molecular target of Tetrandrine (Tet), a natural product isolated from a traditional Chinese medicinal plant. Tet is one of the most potent compounds that blocks infection and replication of Ebola virus through inhibiting lysosomal calcium signaling, yet its direct molecular target has not been clearly shown. Using a Tet derivative as probe, coupled with multi-omics analysis, we unambiguously identified the molecular target of Tet and discovered a novel lysosomal calcium signaling pathway. Our findings have profound implications in the understanding of lysosomal

biology and drug development of Tet.

Biography

Prof. Ko is the Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology of Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Current research of his lab focuses on chemical biology of natural products, drug discovery, oncogenesis of liver cancer, and regulation of transcription factors. He published over 50 peer-reviewed journals, including Nature Communications (in press), Hepatology, Cancer Research, Clinical Cancer Research, Journal of Cell Science, Journal of Biological Chemistry. He has been the Principal Investigator of 11 General Research Fund (HK), 1 NSFC fund, and the Co-Principal Investigator of 1 Research Impact Fund (HK), and holds 2 patents.

All of you are warmly welcome!