Metabolism; immunometabolism; mitochondrial biology; cancer biology; cellular stress; molecular and cell biology

Dr Palak Ahuja is an Assistant Lecturer in the School of Biomedical Sciences at The University of Hong Kong. She obtained her PhD in Biochemistry from HKU and subsequently conducted postdoctoral research at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, and Hospital for Special Surgery/Weill Cornell Medicine. Her research spans metabolic disease, cancer biology, and immunometabolism. Her teaching interests include biochemistry, cell and molecular biology, metabolism, and scientific communication.

• PhD in Biochemistry, The University of Hong Kong, 2021
• Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, The University of Hong Kong, 2017
• MSc in Biotechnology, Jamia Hamdard University, 2015
• BSc in Biochemistry, University of Delhi, 2013

Research focuses on the molecular and metabolic mechanisms underlying disease, with experience in metabolic disorders, mitochondrial biology, cancer, and immunometabolism. Current interests include cellular stress responses and metabolic regulation in immune cells.

1. Ahuja P*, Bi X*, Ng CF, et al. Obesity induces hepatic fibroblast growth factor 21 production via SH3 domain binding kinase 1-mediated Nur77 stabilization. Hepatology. 2023;77(1):213–229.
2. Ahuja P*, Ng CF*, Pang BPS*, Chan WS*, et al. Muscle-generated brain-derived neurotrophic factor maintains mitochondrial quality control in diet-induced obesity. Autophagy. 2022.
3. Yang X, Brobst D, Chan WS, et al. Muscle-generated BDNF is a sexually dimorphic myokine that controls metabolic flexibility. Science Signaling. 2019;12(594):eaau1468.
4. Chan CB, Ahuja P, Ye K. Developing insulin and BDNF mimetics for diabetes therapy. Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry. 2019;19(24):2188–2204.
5. Singh K, Zaw AM, Sekar R, Ahuja P, et al. Glycyrrhizic acid reduces heart rate and blood pressure by a dual mechanism. Molecules. 2016;21.

*Co-first author 

HKU Faculty of Science (2022). HKU Biologists Find a New Protective Factor against Excessive Lipid Accumulation in the Liver of Obese Mouse, Providing a Potential Treatment for Fatty Liver Disease.