Pharmacology of marine toxins
Venoms: predatory, defensive, and a treatment for chronic pain
Our lab researches the venoms of cone snails and spiders to better understand their evolution and potential as research tools and therapeutics to treat pain.
Research areas and current projects
- Proteomic studies of cone snail venoms
- Transcriptomic studies of cone snail venoms
- Origin and diversification of conotoxins for predation and defence
- Pharmacological studies of cone snail and tarantula venoms
- Structure-function of venom peptides targeting sodium and calcium channels, nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, GPCRs and monamine transporters
- Discovery, characterisation and development of sodium channel inhibitors of pain
Publications
Cone snail venom peptides in drug discovery
Striatus fish feeding
Group leader
Professor Richard Lewis
Group Leader, Chemistry and Structural Biology Division
Director, Centre for Pain Research
+61 7 334 62984
r.lewis@imb.uq.edu.au
UQ Researcher Profile
Our team
Research excellence
$1.3 billion+ commercial investment attracted to IMB research
1454 international collaborators
385 original publications in 2020
$28M in research funding last calendar year
20%+ of patent families at UQ are derived from IMB research
100% of donations go to the cause
Help us shape the future
Stories
- Chronic pain is a life-altering condition, but the answer to this devastating condition could come from an animal with a deadly sting.
- Molecules from the venom of one of the world’s largest spiders could help tailor pain blockers for people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
- University of Queensland health and medical research projects aimed at improving the nation’s healthcare will benefit from more than $42 million in funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council for 2017.
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