ARC Fellowship success!

Congratulations to CIPPS CI Prof Lara Malins (ANU), research fellow Bhavesh Khatri (UQ) and AI Emma Watson (UoA) who were each awarded ARC funding to cover their salaries and associated project costs. 

Lara was recently awarded an ARC Future Fellowship. She will receive $1,208,152 over four years for her project Backbone Editing Strategies: Underutilised Tools for Peptide Drug Discovery. The aim of this project is to develop strategies to modify the polypeptide backbone—a critical modulator of peptide bioactivity and biophysical properties for which there are remarkably few existing strategies for chemical modification. 

The therapeutic capacity of peptides is currently reliant on the availability of synthetic chemistry tools to optimise their drug-like properties. Lara will work to develop novel reagents and methods for peptide synthesis with a key focus on sustainable electrochemical approaches, the synthesis of bioactive peptide-drug conjugates, and a greater understanding of the role of backbone structure in peptide drug discovery. 

Bhavesh and Emma each received an ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA).  

Bhavesh will receive $446,628 for his project Harnessing the potential of natural peptides through chemical design. This project aims to re-engineer bioactive disulfide-rich peptides, such as those found in the venom of cone snails, to improve their therapeutic potential. 

Emma will receive $483,591 for her project Nucleic Acid-Based Molecular Circuitry to Control Biological Processes. This project aims to use cutting-edge organic chemical synthesis to develop new molecular circuitries for use in biosensing and control.  

Congratulations Lara, Bhavesh and Emma on this outstanding outcome!