IMB researchers are using venom from many of our deadliest creatures to create medications that could lessen the impact of some of the world's deadliest diseases.
Animal venoms, which can incapacitate and even kill you, may seem like a strange place to hunt for new treatments for disease. But the venoms of creatures such as spiders, cone snails, scorpions, assassin bugs, centipedes and more are complex chemical cocktails of molecules that affect our nervous system - exactly what is needed when developing treatments for neurological diseases and seeking to better understand how pain and other signals are transmitted.
The King Lab at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience at UQ investigates the use of venom to create pharmaceuticals and antiparasitics. However, his main focus is on treating the three 'terrors' of neurological disease: stroke, epilepsy, and chronic pain.
Dr Christina Schroeder’s work involves recreating and manipulating the compounds in venom to make better medicine. Once a compound is identified by Professor Glenn King’s lab, Dr Schroeder and her team can synthesise it to recreate it chemically to develop improved pain medication.
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