Having graduated in Pharmacology BSc (Hons), followed by the completion of a Master of Science in Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Chi’s interests spans widely across many areas of scientific enquiry within the life sciences and beyond. This has been demonstrated with his successful completion of modules relating to pharmacology, neuroscience, organic chemistry, biomedical science, as well as animal and plant biology, during his academic pursuits.
Chi also completed his honours project with Medicines for Malaria Venture at the University of Dundee’s Drug Discovery Unit, an international project which aims to find new treatments in tackling malaria, a parasitic-borne disease which saw it being responsible for over half a million deaths worldwide in 2020. It was within the lab of Professor Ian Gilbert that Chi helped progress the understanding of the structure-activity relationship (SAR) of a promising compound exhibiting antimalarial properties. This progress was achieved through the successful organic synthesis of various analogues of the compound of interest, which were then tested in a pharmacokinetic assay involving the use of Plasmodium malariae, the malaria parasite, to uncover the IC50 of each of the synthesised analogues. Through this it would be understandable of whether changing certain structural components of the primary compound would affect its antimalarial properties, and thus, provide further understanding of its SAR, and further progressing its development as a novel therapy against malaria.
Furthermore, at the Medical Research Council Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit (PPU), Chi conducted his masters project in the area of neuroscience, under the supervision of Dr. Paul Davies, where he undertook an investigation into the Leucine-Rich Repeat Kinase 2 (LRRK2) enzyme and its relation in Parkinson’s disease progression.
As with his interests in various scientific fields, Chi’s dynamic curiosity has also extended to other avenues of life such as art and dance, being a former break-dancer and having produced works of art throughout his life.