"As a researcher, you can’t be too calculated because innovation is always out of expectation."
Professor Chi-Ming CHE
Zhou Guangzhao Professor in Natural Sciences and Head of Chemistry
Professor Chi-Ming CHE Zhou Guangzhao Professor in Natural Sciences and Head of Chemistry
Director of State Key Laboratory of Synthetic Chemistry
Director of HKU-CAS Joint Laboratory on New Materials
Director of Laboratory for Synthetic Chemistry and Chemical Biology
Research interests: Synthetic Chemistry and Coordination Chemistry, Sustainable Metal Catalysed Organic Transformation Reactions for Organic Synthesis, Phosphorescent Metal Compounds and Excited State Dynamics, Organic Light Emitting Diode Materials, Bioinspired Iron Catalysed Functionalization of Alkanes and Alkenes Bonds, Highly Reactive Metal-Ligand Multiple Bonded Complexes, Anti-Cancer Metal Medicines and Chemical Biology of Tradition Chinese Medicines.
Research achievements: Professor Che is a world leader in metal catalysis, phosphorescent metal compounds and organic lightemitting diode materials, and chemical biology of anti-cancer metal medicines. He is well respected and recognised by the global research community, and is also a pioneer in deepening cooperation between Hong Kong and the Mainland in scientific research.
Cancer, one of the leading causes of death worldwide, accounted for about one in six deaths in 2020. Despite modern medical advancements, finding a definite cure for cancer is still hard, not to mention suitable treatment without bringing severe side effects. This gap in progress is why Professor Chi-Ming Che dedicates his time to New Anti-Cancer Metal Targeted Chemotherapy and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) research in the hope of finding a way to eradicate all cancerous cells including the metastatic cancer cells with minimal unwanted effects on patients’ systems and health conditions.
Professor Che enrolled in the physical science stream (Physics, Chemistry & Mathematics) at The University of Hong Kong in 1975 and chose Chemistry as his Major. The eminent chemist of today was not encouraged by his teacher at the time. ‘I was always the last one who finished experiments at lab class. My course teacher even persuaded me to give up on chemistry and pursue mathematics or physics alternatively!’ Professor Che laughed and said.
Little did he know that his curiosity in finding reasons for the success and/or failure of experiments eventually made him a prominent synthetic chemist.
‘Thanks to fate and opportunities,’ Professor Che said modestly. ‘But it is also attributed to my personality – I am not the kind of person who tracks a bunch of habits at a time. This allows me to concentrate on conducting research. Having too many hobbies would inevitably deter one from pursuing knowledge in the laboratory. As a scientist, you have to take Science as part of your life: this is my philosophy and what I do.’
An old photo of Professor Che, his mentor and renowned chemist Professor Harry Barkus GRAY and Professor Vivian Wing-Wah YAM.
From Synthesis to Pharmacy
2003 is a watershed year. Before that, Professor Che’s research interests were focused more on fundamental topics, such as chemical synthesis, photochemistry and excited state. In 2003, here came the turning point – Professor Che received funding from the University Grants Committee under the Areas of Excellence Scheme (AoE) that opened up another opportunity for his research path. He used this opportunity to set up an Open Laboratory of Chemical Biology for the AoE programme, focusing on pharmaceutical research. Being the coordinator of the AoE project, ‘Institute of Molecular Technology for Drug Discovery & Synthesis’, he broadened his research from synthetic chemistry to pharmaceutical and drug discovery.
Not long afterward, Professor Che was offered a chance to explore Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) while working on a project outsourced by the Government’s Department of Health about TCM analysis and identification. This experience opened the doors for him to explore using TCM as a core component in treating cancer.
Developing TCM as a Cancer Treatment
There are around three main types of cancer treatments to date, besides surgery and precision radiotherapy: chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy. The current clinical used chemotherapy drugs cannot prevent relapses in finalstage patients. On the other hand, targeted therapy normally suppresses proliferation of cancer cells rather than eliminating them. When targeted therapy drugs fail to work, immunotherapy is used to treat cancers. In the treatment of stage IV lung cancer where targeted therapy and immunotherapy alone become ineffective, a combination of immunotherapeutic drugs, an anti-angiogenesis drug and two chemotherapeutic drugs is used for the treatment. However, the clinically used chemotherapeutic drugs are highly toxic but are not quite effective against the cancer stem cells and metastatic cancer cells. In addition, cancer is a complex disease.
‘It is forecasted that simply based on immunotherapy and targeted therapy is less likely to provide a definite cure for the cancer patients in the advanced, late stages in the next 10 to 15 years,’ Professor Che said. His goal is to contribute to turning advanced cancer into a treatable chronic disease, and hence, he began to study TCM, and hoping it will help cancer patients to take it on a long-term basis without harming their bodies.
‘It is a formidable challenge for synthetic drugs to achieve this because of drug resistance and the complexity of cancers. Chinese medicine itself is a cocktail treatment. The Chinese herbal compound can enhance the immune capacity, effectively block tutor angiogenesis, and be used in the long term without common side effects,’ said Professor Che.
Professor Che’s laboratory has been studying TCM in order to achieve this outcome. His recent findings revealed that the TCM under his investigation is effective in treating both breast and lung cancers. His team is carrying on the study to evaluate its efficacy and in launching clinical trials study.
Professor Che is also working on new platinum targeted chemotherapy with higher efficacy and safety. He is pushing the new platinum targeted chemotherapy to enter into clinical trials in the next two to three years. ‘I hope I can successfully develop an anti-cancer drug that can treat metastatic cancer with minimal side effects, or at least enable the patients not to relapse in five or six years,’ he said.
Professor Che and his 2022 OLED team.
Nurturing the Researchers of Tomorrow
Apart from dedicating to research, he is also obliged to nurture young scientists to contribute to the field. Professor Che always encourages students to be independent and do their own research, ‘They often do something that I can’t, and that enlightened me because I am not proficient in everything. I will provide the best possible support to students in need.’
During the interview, Professor Che also shared some words of wisdom with students who want to pursue a research career, he said, ‘When you go into research, your future depends on what you can do today and what you can learn, every moment is an opportunity for you to find a way to your goal. When studying PhD, you should enjoy it and try to do it best. Because when you always try your best, somehow, opportunities will find you.’
The logic of thinking in the way of looking at things is closely related to the training of scientists, ‘Keep this in mind. Even if you don’t do scientific research after your PhD, you should always carry the spirit.’
Silver Bauhinia Star, HKSAR Government
Luigi Sacconi Medal
Ryoji Noyori ACES Award
Huang Yao-Zeng Organometallic Chemistry Award of the Chinese Chemical Society – Lifetime Achievement Award
Vice President and Founding Member of the Hong Kong Academy of Sciences
Bronze Bauhinia Star, HKSAR Government Foreign Associate (renamed as International Member in 2020) of National Academy of Sciences, USA
Centenary Prize of the Royal Society of Chemistry, UK
1st Class Prize of State Natural Science Award, China
TWAS Prize in Chemistry
Distinguished Research Achievement Award, HKU
Croucher Senior Research Fellow
Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
Student Writer
En Yu YAP Year 2 student in Science Master Class (BSc&MRes), majoring in Chemistry (Intensive) 'Professor Che’s journey is very inspiring. He demonstrates how sometimes what we end up doing are not necessarily what we started with. Keep an open mind and explore opportunities around you. That is how you can find your future path.'
There are around three main types of cancer treatments to date, besides surgery and precision radiotherapy: chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy. The current clinical used chemotherapy drugs cannot prevent relapses in finalstage patients. On the other hand, targeted therapy normally suppresses proliferation of cancer cells rather than eliminating them. When targeted therapy drugs fail to work, immunotherapy is used to treat cancers. In the treatment of stage IV lung cancer where targeted therapy and immunotherapy alone become ineffective, a combination of immunotherapeutic drugs, an anti-angiogenesis drug and two chemotherapeutic drugs is used for the treatment. However, the clinically used chemotherapeutic drugs are highly toxic but are not quite effective against the cancer stem cells and metastatic cancer cells. In addition, cancer is a complex disease. 
En Yu YAP