Our Research Team
The Laboratory has been established under the leadership of its Director, Professor David Parker FRS, Global STEM Chair Professor of the Department of Chemistry at HKBU. The research team is a group of molecular engineers, designing, creating and testing new chemical probes that may provide unique information on the probe environment for analytical and diagnostic purposes.
Aims of the Laboratory:
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To foster transdisciplinary research into the development of new molecular probes as diagnostic imaging tools and translate them so they can be utilised in biomedical or clinical applications.
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To offer training to researchers of the Laboratory and its collaborative partners on the design, synthesis and validation of diagnostic probes, addressing a skills/talent shortage in Hong Kong and Southern China.
The Team
Professor David Parker
Lab Director, Chair Professor
Professor David Parker leads the JC STEM Lab of ChemProbes in HK Baptist University. He arrived in Hong Kong in the autumn of 2022 after a 41 year career at Durham University in the NE of England. His early education was in Durham, Oxford (MA, DPhil) and Strasbourg. The recipient of several prizes and awards, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2002.
Dr Nicola J. Rogers
Research Assistant Professor
Dr Nicola Rogers was educated in her home town, at the University of Birmingham (UK), and subsequently worked in the development of molecular probes for MRI at the University of Nottingham, UK and Durham University. Nicola became a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Warwick (2018-2022), where she developed transition-metal complexes for therapeutic applications, and subsequently joined the JC STEM Lab of ChemProbes in September 2023 to pursue her research interests in therapeutic and diagnostic coordination complexes.
Dr Ashok Kumar Chowan
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Dr Ashok Kumar Chowan did his doctorate under Prof. Bala. Manimaran, from Pondicherry Central University, India on the synthesis and characterization of metallacycle. Following this he moved to IIT Hyderabad, India under Prof. T.K Panda for his first Post-Doc on alkali and alkaline earth metals, followed by a move to Georg August University, Göttingen (Germany), to work with Prof. H.W Roesky on Al-Si bonding. Later he moved to the University of Strasbourg (France) to work with Prof. M.W Hosseini, researching crystal engineering. He arrived in Hong Kong on 1 March 2023 to work under Prof. David Parker on temperature-responsive molecular probes.
Dr Carlson Alexander
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Carlson Alexander grew up in Chennai, India. After a Bachelor degree in Chemistry at Loyola College in Chennai, India and a Masters in Chemistry at the National Institute of Technology in Trichy, India, he pursued his Doctoral studies with Prof. Stephen Faulkner, at Oxford. He explored new pathways of biological anion recognition using lanthanide complexes. Carlson joined the JC STEM ChemProbes laboratory as a postdoctoral fellow in September 2023 and is developing temperature responsive chemical probes for bioimaging. Besides work, Carlson likes to travel and enjoys new cuisines.
Bonnie Cheung
PhD Student
Ms Bonnie Cheung joined the JC STEM Lab of ChemProbes in September 2022 after receiving her Bachelor in Chemistry from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She is currently developing new imaging probes for real-time temperature monitoring in cellulo.
Xinyi Wen
PhD Student
Xinyi WEN joined Prof. David Parker’s research group as a Ph.D. Student in 2022 after obtaining an MSc in Dalian University of Technology. Her previous research work focused on the rational design of dual model lanthanide probes for luminescence and MRI imaging, involving cancer cell and tumour-bearing animal imaging. Her Ph.D. programme involves the design and synthesis of luminescence probes for urate, ascorbate, and catecholates using ratiometric analysis, including a study of their mode of action.
Huishan Li
PhD Student
Huishan LI joined Prof. David Parker’s group in October 2022. She finished her Master's degree at Wuyi University in June 2023, and devised a series of receptor targeted europium probes in which she examined their mode of action in cells. Her PhD research focuses on the development of chiral probes for use in CPL spectroscopy and microscopy.
Group Photos
Fireside chat at the Jockey Club, March 2024
Group trip to Lamma Island, December 2023
Group Christmas dinner, December 2023
JC STEM ChemProbes lab participation for the open day at HKBU, October 2023
Group Lunch, September 2023
Chemistry community of JC STEM ChemProbes lab at HKBU, 2023