Welcome to the ARC Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science
CIPPS focuses on discovering new proteins and peptides, decoding their biological functions, and developing new proteins and peptides to address challenges in health, agriculture and industry.
In the News
CIPPS researchers named on Periodic Table of younger chemists
It has been 150 years since the periodic table of elements has been first created and to celebrate this breakthrough in chemistry, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) has created the 'Periodic table of younger chemists', profiling successful young chemists from around the world. CIPPS researchers…
CIPPS scientists discover blood vessel relaxing molecule
As part of an international team, CIPPS scientist Richard Payne and his staff have discovered a new molecule that relaxes blood vessels. The team has published their findings in the prestigious scientific journal Nature. Their publication is available on the Nature website and for more information, visit the website…
Stroke drug lead under development
Professor Glenn King of the University of Queensland is developing a new drug that could safe many lives and improve the outcome of strokes. The drug is derived from spider venom of a local Australian funelweb spider. Currently, stroke diagnosis in the hospital is required before drugs can be…
Tuberculosis drug breakthrough on the horizon.
Scientists from the Australian National University under the lead of CIPPS researcher Professor Colin Jackson have made a major breakthrough that could eventually lead to better treatment for tuberculosis, which is still one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Professor Jackson…
Latest Events
CIPPS' First Wokshop
The first CIPPS workshop took place on the 18th and 19th of February 2020 in Brisbane. The workshop was attended by nearly all the lab heads of CIPPS, which is not a small feat considering that the research groups came from five Australian states and territories (ACT, NSW, QLD, VIC, WA). In an atmosphere of excitement, the attendees decided on the governance of the centre as well as the broad scientific directions. The cumulative skills, knowledge and facilities in the centre will enable the centre to tackle the most pressing challenges in protein and peptide science. The attendees on the picture are, from left to right, (bottom row) Kate Jolliffe (USyd), Liz New (USyd), David Craik (UQ), Max Cryle (Monash), Richard Payne (USyd), Gottfried Oting (ANU), Colin Jackson (Monash), (front row) Michelle Colgrave (CSIRO/ECU), Glenn King (UQ), Lara Malins (ANU), Greg Challis (Monash) and Kathy Belov (USys). David Fairlie (UQ) also attended the meeting. Sonia Henriques (QUT) was excused.
The ARC Centre of Excellence is Funded!!
On Friday 25th of October, the Australian Research Council has announced that our centre will be funded for seven year as the ARC Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science (CIPPS). See more details on the ARC website. On that day, the director of the centre, David Craik, has received official congratulations from the ARC and the Australian government. This award will foster collaborations between 14 laboratories from six universities, acknowledging their outstanding research and leadership in Australia. We expect the fund to boost discoveries in many aspects of STEM, especially in Molecular and Structural Biology, Plant and Animal Biology, Protein and Peptide Engineering, Physical Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry. CIPPS will be officially be launched in the first quarter of 2020.
Scientists crack the genetic code of koalas
An international team scientists – including CIPPS researcher Katherine Belov – have successfully sequenced the full koala genome. A total of 54 scientists from 29 different institutions across seven countries were engaged in the effort which was led by Professor Katherine Belov, University of Sydney and Professor Rebecca Johnson,…
Major breakthrough in Antibiotic research
A team under the lead of CIPPS researcher Max Cryle have discovered how a crucial step in the biosynthesis of ‘last-resort’ antibiotics occurs. Their breakthrough discovery led to two publications in prestigious journals Proceedings of the National Academy of Scoences of the USA (PNAS) and Chemical Science. You can find…
Circular peptides featured on theconversation.com
In a recent article on theconversation.com, two scientists working under CIPPS director Professor David Craik explain how circular peptides called cyclotides were initially discovered, why their peculiar circularity makes them special (circular peptides are rare compared to linear ones) and how it gives them one of a kind properties…