Centre for Chemistry and Drug Discovery

Supervisors: Professor David Craik (d.craik@imb.uq.edu.au), Dr Quentin Kaas

Supervisors: Professor David Craik (d.craik@imb.uq.edu.au), Dr Edward Gilding (e.gilding@imb.uq.edu.au), Dr Mark Jackson (m.jackson1@uq.edu.au)

Supervisor: Dr Hana Starobova (h.starobova@imb.uq.edu.au)

Supervisor: Dr Rosemary Cater (r.cater@uq.edu.au)

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a layer of tightly packed endothelial cells that separate the blood for the brain. The BBB has evolved to protect our brains from blood-borne neurotoxins and pathogens, but unfortunately, it also prevents the majority of potential neurotherapeutics from entering the brain. In fact, it has been estimated that ~98% of all small-molecule drugs are not able to cross the BBB. This creates a major bottleneck in the development of treatments for diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, glioblastoma, anxiety, and depression. The more we know about what can enter the brain, the better informed we will be for developing treatments for these diseases. Transporter proteins expressed at the BBB play a very important role in regulating the entrance of molecules in a highly specific manner. For example, the transporters FLVCR2 and MFSD2A allow for the uptake of choline and omega-3 fatty acids into the brain – both of which are essential nutrients that the brain requires in very large amounts. This project will utilise biochemical techniques and structural biology (cryo-EM) to further understand transport proteins at the BBB and how they transport specific molecules into the brain. This will provide critical insights that for the development of neurotherapeutics that can hijack these transporters to allow for entrance into the brain. 

Supervisor: Sam Robinson & Thomas Durek (s.robinson@imb.uq.edu.au & t.durek@imb.uq.edu.au)

Enzymes are a major toxic component of wasp venoms. This project aims to develop a recombinant expression system for these enzymes to facilitate their pharmacological characterisation.

Supervisors: Professor David Fairlie (d.fairlie@uq.edu.au), Dr Tim Hill (t.hill@imb.uq.edu.au)

One of the key limitations in the development of peptide-based drugs is the inability of most peptides to enter cells and reach their targets. This project aims to develop new chemical modifications to peptides that can promote cell uptake and permeability, without compromising activity.

Supervisor: Associate Professor Markus Muttenthaler (m.muttenthaler@imb.uq.edu.au)

Supervisor: Sam Robinson & Thomas Durek (s.robinson@imb.uq.edu.au & t.durek@imb.uq.edu.au)

Stinging trees and nettles can cause severe, long-lasting pain. This project will identify toxins from stinging plants and investigate how they cause pain.

Supervisor: Dr Conan Wang (c.wang@imb.uq.edu.au)

Opportunities are available to develop skills in drug discovery in computational biology and molecular biology. The aim is to accurately predict and quickly design new protein drugs to accelerate translation of new medicines. Please reach out if you would like to know more about drug design or potential projects.

Supervisors: Professor David Craik (d.craik@imb.uq.edu.au), Dr Conan Wang (c.wang@imb.uq.edu.au)

Supervisor: Dr Melanie Oey (m.oey@uq.edu.au), Dr Juliane Wolf (j.wolf@imb.uq.edu.au)

While microalgae have a broad application range, long-term storage and easy application are a challenge. This project aims at developing strategies to dry and revive microalgae and thus improve their long-term storage and “off the shelf”- applications for medical and agricultural purposes.

Supervisors: Professor David Craik (d.craik@imb.uq.edu.au), Angeline Chan (angeline.chan@imb.uq.edu.au)

Supervisors: Professor David Craik (d.craik@imb.uq.edu.au), Dr Conan Wang (c.wang@imb.uq.edu.au)

Supervisors: Professor David Fairlie (d.fairlie@uq.edu.au), Dr Huy Hoang (h.hoang@imb.uq.edu.au)

Computational approaches can be powerful aids for drug discovery as they combine and amplify the power of three dimensional structures of both small molecule drug leads and protein targets with molecular insights to disease development. This project will use computer-based methods to design, discover and optimise new candidate drug leads.

Supervisor: Dr Conan Wang (c.wang@imb.uq.edu.au)

Cytokines are signalling proteins that play essential roles in immune responses and have garnered clinical interest in the context of cancer, autoimmunity, and infectious disease. This project aims to overcome their limitations of poor stability, activity, and specificity to develop new therapeutics. Candidates will learn new skills in drug design and characterisation using tools in molecular biology, biochemistry, and structural biology. 

Supervisors: Professor David Fairlie (d.fairlie@uq.edu.au), Dr Huy Hoang (h.hoang@imb.uq.edu.au)

Three-dimensional structures of compounds in solution determine their activities on biological targets (e.g. proteins, DNA, RNA). NMR spectroscopy is the most powerful and versatile method to elucidate solution structures, dynamics and interactions of chemical compounds alone and with their targets. This project will give opportunities to solve three dimensional structures of bioactive fragments of proteins and small molecule modulators of proteins.

Supervisor: Dr Juliane Wolf (j.wolf@imb.uq.edu.au)

Soil microbiomes play a crucial role in balancing nutrients in natural ecosystems. This project monitors soil quality from a macadamia farm to develop microalgae soil additive formulation and application strategies that improve nutrient use efficiency of the crop.

Supervisors: Professor David Fairlie (d.fairlie@uq.edu.au), Dr Eunice Poon (k.poon@uq.edu.au)

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a collection of complex chronic inflammatory conditions of the gastrointestinal tract. It is currently treated with immunosuppressives that are associated with significant, often severe, side effects. This project will evaluate the effectiveness of new therapeutic compounds with different mechanisms of action using a mouse model of colitis and various molecular biology techniques.

Supervisors: Dr Waleed Hussein (w.hussein@uq.edu.au); Professor Rob Capon (r.capon@imb.uq.edu.au)

Supervisor: Professor Irina Vetter (i.vetter@uq.edu.au)

Using venom peptides, molecular biology and electrophysiology, students will identify and optimise venom-derived modulators of insect sodium channels with the aim of developing highly selective next-generation insecticides.

Supervisor: Associate Professor Markus Muttenthaler (m.muttenthaler@imb.uq.edu.au)

Supervisor: Professor Irina Vetter (i.vetter@uq.edu.au)

Using molecular biology, electrophysiology and functional assays, students will identify and characterise venom-derived peptides with therapeutic potential for the treatment of pain and inflammatory diseases.

Supervisor: Professor Irina Vetter (i.vetter@uq.edu.au)

Supervisor: Dr Conan Wang (c.wang@imb.uq.edu.au)

Powerful technologies have emerged to perform millions of experiments quickly in tiny nanolitre droplets, and have attracted wide interest from major pharmaceutical companies because of the potential to accelerate drug discovery. Honours project opportunities are available to investigate these next-generation tools for drug design and learn new skills in one or more areas of nanotechnology and molecular biology. 

Supervisor: Dr Melanie Oey (m.oey@uq.edu.au), Dr Ian Ross (i.ross@imb.uq.edu.au)

Microalgae are an emerging platform for recombinant protein production. This project will develop cost-efficient strategies for large scale microalgae processing and down-stream protein-purification.

Supervisor: Dr Nicole Lawrence (n.lawrence@uq.edu.au)

Malaria is a disease caused by Plasmodium parasites. The disease kills half a million people every year and the parasites rapidly evolve resistance to new drugs. Developing new drugs with different ways of killing the parasites is important for staying ahead of the disease progression. We have developed peptide-based drugs that target red blood cells infected with malaria parasites. The peptides are safe and selective and are also less likely to result in the parasites developing drug resistance compared to existing small molecule drugs. 
We are seeking a motivated Honours student to join our discovery team and contribute valuable knowledge required for developing lead peptides into new treatments for malaria. 
The overall aim of the project is to undertake genetic studies to understand how lead peptides affect malaria parasites at transcription and protein expression levels

Supervisor: Dr Angelo Keramidas (a.keramidas@uq.edu.au)

Supervisors: Professor David Craik (d.craik@imb.uq.edu.au), Dr Edward Gilding (e.gilding@imb.uq.edu.au), Dr Mark Jackson (m.jackson1@uq.edu.au)

Supervisor: Dr Melanie Oey (m.oey@uq.edu.au), Dr Ian Ross (i.ross@imb.uq.edu.au), Dr Juliane Wolf (j.wolf@imb.uq.edu.au), Dr Harriet Lo (h.lo@imb.uq.edu.au)

Oxygen is vital for all mammalian cells. This project will establish conditions to improve photosynthetic oxygen production with the end-goal of developing medical therapies and alternative food production systems.

Supervisors: Professor David Fairlie (d.fairlie@uq.edu.au), Dr Liping Liu (liping.liu@uq.edu.au)

Protein-protein interactions are responsible for most biological processes and so proteins and their peptide fragments hold immense promise for treating diseases. However, to be used as medicines they must first penetrate cellular membranes which is a key problem. Endocytosis is the principal mechanism of cellular uptake but peptides often get trapped in endosomes and mechanisms of escape into the cytoplasm are not well understood. This project will study diverse peptide structures for cell uptake and findings may help in designing new drugs with enhanced cellular delivery.

Supervisor: Associate Professor Markus Muttenthaler (m.muttenthaler@imb.uq.edu.au)

Supervisor: Professor Irina Vetter (i.vetter@imb.uq.edu.au); Dr Hana Starobova (h.starobova@imb.uq.edu.au)

Macrophages are innate immune cells that are crucial for initiating immune response. Macrophage activation is implicated in driving many painful pathological stages, including neuropathy and inflammatory pain. Potassium channels, such as Kv1.3, regulate cell potassium homeostasis, and any dysregulation in intracellular potassium can lead to macrophage activation and resultant cytokine and chemokine release, driving pathogenesis of pain. This project will investigate the effects of specific potassium channel-targeting toxins on macrophage activation using electrophysiology techniques, live cell fluorescent microscopy, and in vivo rodent behavioural studies. 

Supervisor: Professor Irina Vetter (i.vetter@uq.edu.au)

Supervisor: A/Prof Markus Muttenthaler (m.muttenthaler@imb.uq.edu.au)

Memory is probably the single most important brain process that defines our personality and gives us the sense of individuality. Emotional events often cause the generation of strong memories that exist for many years, yet the underlying mechanisms are still poorly understood. Neuropeptides are key players in regulating emotions and have been associated with long-term memory formation. This project is focused on the development of advanced molecular probes to understand how neuropeptides can mediate long-term memory formation.

Supervisor: Professor Irina Vetter (i.vetter@uq.edu.au)

Using molecular biology, protein engineering and functional assays, students will develop and evaluate innovative platforms for the high-throughput identification and characterisation of bioactive venom peptides.

Supervisor: Dr Hana Starobova (h.starobova@imb.uq.edu.au)

Supervisors: Professor David Fairlie (d.fairlie@uq.edu.au), Dr Huy Hoang (h.hoang@imb.uq.edu.au)

Supervisor: A/Prof Markus Muttenthaler (m.muttenthaler@imb.uq.edu.au)

The oxytocin and vasopressin signalling system regulates fundamental physiological processes such as reproduction, water balance, cardiovascular responses and complex social behaviour. It is also a high-profile target for autism, schizophrenia, stress, depression, anxiety, cancer and pain. Our group is particularly interested in creating a complete molecular toolbox to study this signalling system as well as in discovering novel therapeutic leads for autism, pain, gastrointestinal disorders and breast cancer. This project entails structure-activity-relationship studies and medicinal chemistry approaches to develop novel probes and drug candidates for the oxytocin and vasopressin system.

Supervisors: Professor David Craik (d.craik@imb.uq.edu.au), Dr Thomas Durek (t.durek@imb.uq.edu.au)

Supervisors: Professor David Craik (d.craik@imb.uq.edu.au), Dr Thomas Durek (t.durek@imb.uq.edu.au)

Supervisors: Professor David Craik (d.craik@imb.uq.edu.au), Dr Quentin Kaas

Supervisors: Professor David Craik (d.craik@imb.uq.edu.au), Angeline Chan (angeline.chan@imb.uq.edu.au)

Supervisors: Professor David Fairlie (d.fairlie@uq.edu.au), Dr Eunice Poon (k.poon@uq.edu.au)

The intestine is lined with a layer of mucus which acts as a protective barrier against microbial invasion. Mucins are a major component of this layer and are secreted mainly by goblet cells in the epithelium. We have identified a protein that, when activated, depletes mucins from goblet cells. The exact mechanism for this effect is unknown. This project aims to further understand this process by using in vivo and ex vivo techniques and to regulate the process using novel drug leads.

Supervisor: Dr Hana Starobova (h.starobova@imb.uq.edu.au)

Supervisors: Professor David Fairlie (d.fairlie@uq.edu.au), Dr Tim Hill (t.hill@imb.uq.edu.au)

Supervisors: Professor David Craik (d.craik@imb.uq.edu.au), Dr Johannes Koehbach (a.kan@imb.uq.edu.au)

Supervisor: Professor Irina Vetter (i.vetter@uq.edu.au)

Using electrophysiology, molecular biology, structural biology and/or in vivo models of pain, students will investigate the structure, function and pharmacology of ion channel complexes involved in chronic pain.

Supervisors: Professor David Craik (d.craik@imb.uq.edu.au), Dr Yen-Hua (Crystal) Huang (a.kan@imb.uq.edu.au)

Supervisors: Professor David Fairlie (d.fairlie@uq.edu.au), Dr Jeff Mak (j.mak@imb.uq.edu.au)

Supervisors: Professor David Fairlie (d.fairlie@uq.edu.au), Dr Aline Dantes de Araujo (a.dantasdearaujo@imb.uq.edu.au)

Supervisors: Professor David Fairlie (d.fairlie@uq.edu.au), Dr Jeff Mak (j.mak@imb.uq.edu.au)

Class IIa histone deacetylases (HDACs) are enzymes involved in regulating inflammation in humans. Unlike other HDACs, they do not localise within the nucleus, but shuttle between the nucleus and the cytosol. The project aims to synthesise fluorescent ligands for studying and visualising these processes.

Supervisors: Professor David Fairlie (d.fairlie@uq.edu.au), Dr Tim Hill (t.hill@imb.uq.edu.au)

Derivatives of the hormone glucagon-like peptide have been used to treat diabetes and more recently obesity. We have previously developed compounds like this hormone that have profoundly different  effects on cells, but with poor drug-like properties such as plasma instability. This project aims to synthesise compounds that can similarly alter cell signalling profiles but have enhanced drug-like properties that make them potential drug candidates for testing in mose models of diabetes and obesity. 

Supervisors: Professor David Fairlie (d.fairlie@uq.edu.au), Dr Jeff Mak (j.mak@imb.uq.edu.au)

Mucosal associated invariant T cells (MAIT cells) are antibacterial immune cells that are activated by small molecule bacterial metabolites. However, their excessive activation can contribute to inflammatory diseases such as colitis. This project aims to modify bacterial metabolites to produce new MAIT cell inhibitors as potential leads to a new class of anti-inflammatory drugs.

Supervisor: A/Prof Markus Muttenthaler (m.muttenthaler@imb.uq.edu.au)

Fluorescently labelled peptides have emerged as promising tools for the detection and visualisation of cancer, the specificity of peptide ligands combined with non-invasive optical imaging presents many favourable characteristics over radiopharmaceutical imaging techniques. Several neuropeptide receptors have been identified as significantly upregulated in some cancers and due to the high specificity of their endogenous peptide hormones present an opportunity for the development of fluorescent neuropeptide tracers for the detection and visualisation of these cancers. This project will involve chemical synthesis, purification and characterisation, cell biology, and confocal microscopy.  

Supervisors: Professor David Fairlie (d.fairlie@uq.edu.au), Dr Jeff Mak (j.mak@imb.uq.edu.au)

Supervisors: Professor David Fairlie (d.fairlie@uq.edu.au), Dr Tim Hill (t.hill@imb.uq.edu.au)

Most approved cancer therapeutics are designed to be cytotoxic and interfere with cellular proliferation. Consequently, they are usually also toxic to normal cells and cause side effects, presenting a major challenge to achieve both therapeutic efficacy and safety. One way to try and over come this problem is to create targeted drug conjugates which contain a protein or peptide which can selectively interact with cancer cells whilst delivering a known  cytotoxic drug to the target. This project aims to create peptide-drug conjugates which can be targeted to cancer cells which overexpress specific receptors.

Supervisor: A/Prof Markus Muttenthaler (m.muttenthaler@imb.uq.edu.au)

Gastrointestinal disorders affect 10–15% of the Western population, reduce the quality of life and result in substantial socioeconomic costs. Recently, we have observed bacterial biofilms in the gastrointestinal tract of IBD and IBS patients, but their disease relevance, function and composition are unknown. This project aims to (i) use various analytical techniques to profile these gut biofilms and (ii) to develop biofilm-specific modulators to explore novel therapeutic strategies.

Supervisor: Associate Professor Markus Muttenthaler (m.muttenthaler@imb.uq.edu.au)

Supervisor: A/Prof Markus Muttenthaler (m.muttenthaler@imb.uq.edu.au)

The gastrointestinal epithelium is a major physical barrier that protects us from diverse and potentially immunogenic or toxic content. A damaged epithelium increases permeability to such content, thus leading to inflammation, uncontrolled immune response, and diseases, such as irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel diseases that affect 10-15% of the population. Our group is involved in the identification and validation of novel drug targets and therapeutic strategies that can protect or repair this important barrier to prevent or treat such disorders. This project focuses on developing novel trefoil factor family peptide probes to understand their mechanisms of action in gastrointestinal protection and wound healing.

Supervisors: Professor David Fairlie (d.fairlie@uq.edu.au), Dr Eunice Poon (k.poon@uq.edu.au)

Asthma is a chronic condition which leads to narrowing and inflammation of airways in the lung. Common triggers include allergens such as pollen, dust and mould. There is currently no cure. This project will investigate a protein on the cell surface that is associated with allergic asthma, investigate its mechanistic role in promoting lung inflammation, and help in the development of new therapeutics using a mouse model of lung inflammation.

Supervisors: Professor David Fairlie (d.fairlie@uq.edu.au), Dr James Lim (j.lim@imb.uq.edu.au)

Understanding bacterial metabolites in immunity involves investigating the role of various compounds produced by bacteria. This project will provide insights into understanding bacterial metabolites and the immune system and new therapeutic strategies for treating diseases.

Supervisors: Professor David Fairlie (d.fairlie@uq.edu.au), Dr James Lim (j.lim@imb.uq.edu.au)

G protein-coupled receptors are the most common therapuetic target on the cell surface. Understanding how they work involves investigating how specific molecules bind to them, triggering a series of fundamental cellular functions. This project aims to unravel the details of this activation process and potentially identify novel drug targets to treat various diseases. 

Supervisor: Dr Rosemary Cater (r.cater@uq.edu.au)

The human brain comprises ~650 kilometres of blood vessels lined by brain endothelial cells, which supply the brain with oxygen and essential nutrients. The growth of cerebral blood vessels begins early in development via a process called sprouting angiogenesis. Despite its importance, the molecular mechanisms underlying brain angiogenesis and formation of the blood-brain barrier are poorly understood. It has recently been demonstrated that the gene Flvcr2 is critical for blood vessels to grow in the brain, and last year we discovered that the protein encoded by this gene (FLVCR2) transports choline – an essential nutrient – across the blood brain barrier and into the brain. This project will utilise biochemical techniques and structural biology (cryo-EM) to investigate what other molecules may regulate this transport process, and how choline regulates angiogenesis in the brain.

Supervisor: Dr Himaya Siddhihalu Hewage (h.siddhihalu@imb.uq.edu.au)

Supervisor: Dr Rosemary Cater (r.cater@uq.edu.au)

Rare diseases are often caused by genetic mutations that disrupt protein function. In some cases, we already understand the three-dimensional structure and functional role of these proteins in healthy individuals. However, unfortunately, for some rare diseases, we lack this knowledge. This lack of information prevents us from understanding how mutations within the protein can lead to malfunction and disease onset, which in turn prevents us from understanding the disease and how to treat it. This project will employ biochemical techniques, structural biology (cryo-EM), and computational approaches to understand the normal 3D structure and role of proteins implicated in rare diseases. By elucidating these aspects, we will provide critical insights for the development of drugs to treat these rare diseases.

Supervisors: Professor David Craik (d.craik@imb.uq.edu.au), Dr Conan Wang (c.wang@imb.uq.edu.au)

Supervisor: Professor Irina Vetter (i.vetter@uq.edu.au)

Supervisor: A/Prof Markus Muttenthaler (m.muttenthaler@imb.uq.edu.au)

The blood-brain-barrier (BBB) is a biological barrier that tightly controls the transfer of substances between the blood and the brain. There is evidence that some peptides found in animal venom can pass the BBB via receptor-mediated transcytosis, for example the bee venom peptide apamin. This project aims to identify new venom peptides that can pass the BBB, and develop peptide-based shuttles to transfer cargo across it.

Supervisor: A/Prof Markus Muttenthaler (m.muttenthaler@imb.uq.edu.au)

Venoms comprise a highly complex cocktail of bioactive peptides evolved to paralyse prey and defend against predators. Homology of prey/predator receptors to human receptors render these venom peptides also active on human receptors and they have become a rich source for neurological tools and therapeutics. This project comprises discovery, synthesis and structure-activity relationship studies of these venom peptides with the goal to develop novel probes for neuroscientists as well as therapeutic drug leads.

Supervisor: Vanessa Schendel & Sam Robinson (v.schendel@uq.edu.au & s.robinson@imb.uq.edu.au)

Animal venoms contain peptides that can kill insects with remarkable potency and selectivity. This project will screen venom peptides for insecticidal activity to identify candidates for environmentally friendly bioinsecticides.