Highlights

Professor Glenn King is a biochemist and structural biologist whose expertise lies in translating venom-derived peptides into human drugs and bioinsecticides. His lab maintains the most extensive collection of venoms in the world, which includes venoms from more than 600 species of venomous spiders, scorpions, centipedes and assassin bugs.

Professor King’s primary focus is on the development of drugs to treat three pervasive nervous system disorders: chronic pain, epilepsy, and stroke. His lab is working closely with several pharmaceutical companies to develop drugs for clinical use.

Professor King has also charted new territory in the field of agriculture by developing venom peptides as eco-friendly bioinsecticides. Vestaron Corporation, the company that he founded, will begin selling these bioinsecticides in the U.S. market in 2017.

Mentorship is important to Professor King, and he is enthusiastically committed to training the next generation of biological scientists. To date he has trained 30 PhD students and 24 postdoctoral scientists, with 10 lab alumni having gone on to independent academic positions.

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Professor Ian Henderson is the Executive Director of the Institute for Molecular Bioscience at The University of Queensland. In this role, he is responsible for developing the research strategy of an established, world-leading research institute with over 500 staff and students, fostering collaboration and raising the profile of the Institute and University internationally. 

Prior to becoming Executive Director, he was Deputy Director (Research) at IMB. Professor Henderson was previously the Director of the Institute of Microbiology and Infection at University of Birmingham from 2015-2018. 

He is a Professor of Microbial Biology who completed his Bachelor of Science (Hons) at University College Dublin and his PhD at Trinity College Dublin. He also holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education from The University of Birmingham. Professor Henderson is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology.

Professor Henderson's research interests focus on the cell surface of bacteria. This focus is based on the philosophy that the bacterial cell surface offers a rich source of molecules, which can be utilised and adapted to diagnose, prevent or treat infections that can lead to life-threatening disease in humans and animals.

His research group has three major themes exploiting a range of experimental techniques to address fundamental questions in the biology of host-pathogen interactions:

(1) Using biochemical and biophysical methodologies to study protein secretion in Gram negative bacteria
(2) using molecular biology, cellular biology and immunological methodologies to study the roles outer membrane proteins play in the interaction of pathogens with their hosts
(3) using genetic, structural, biochemical and biophysical techniques to understand the molecular basis for the integrity of the Gram-negative outer membrane.

Professor Henderson has published over 150 research papers, reviews and book chapters. He has an H-index of 62, and his publications have been cited over 15,000 times, with an average of 100 citations per paper. 

• Spotlight on Professor Ian Henderson