Dr Harendra Parekh
Dr

Harendra Parekh

Email: 
Phone: 
+61 7 334 61887

Background

Harendra's research interests span pharmaceutical medicinal chemistry and pharmaceutics as applied to innovative formulation & device co-development, and advanced non-viral, bioresponsive drug/gene delivery system design, synthesis and evaluation. His team at the School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences have been instrumental in developing highly innovative and versatile platform delivery systems: for direct, nose-to-brain delivery of therapeutics with their Sol-Gel platform; a US-patented bioresponsive linker technology for stabilisation of peptide therapeutics in their natural conformation, transforming endogenous molecules into safe & effective medicines; engineering bioresponsive lipid nanoparticles (bLNPs) with tissue targeting and a unique gene 'catch-&-release' feature; micro- & nanobubble formulations, which when used in-conjuction with ultrasound, pave the way for improved rates of 'on-demand' drug delivery and release in target tissue e.g. for ocular indications. Harendra actively engages with pharma industry executives, and investors, globally, to showcase his array of disruptive platforms designed with clinical translation front and centre of all research endeavours.

BScPharm(Hon I), PhD (Nottingham)

Harendra completed his BSc in pharmacy (UK) and registered as a Pharmacist in 1998. He went onto undertake his PhD in Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Nottingham in the same year. Under the supervision of Dr B. Kellam and Dr. S. R. Chhabra he investigated the development of novel linkers for solid phase peptide and glycopeptide synthesis. Harendra was awarded his PhD in 2002, and after a short time working in community pharmacy in the UK relocated to Australia and took up a position as research officer in the School of Chemistry at UQ. He continues to be a member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of GB and is also registered with the AHPRA (pharmacist) in QLD.

Dr Parekh was appointed to a teaching and research role in the School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2005. He is Scientific Founder & Chief Research Officer of two start-up companies that hold his platform technologies at their core (www.preveceutical.com; www.biogenetherapeutics.com). He also holds an adjunct-Faculty position at Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Manipal University (India).

Availability

Dr Harendra Parekh is:
Available for supervision
Media expert

Fields of research

Chemical Sciences Medicinal and biomolecular chemistry Pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences

Qualifications

  • Bachelor (Honours) of Science (Advanced), University of Portsmouth
  • Doctor of Philosophy, University of Nottingham

Research impacts

Dr Parekh is engaged directly with leading clinicians/physicians across the fields of ophthalomology, ENT, cancer and endocrinology. In addition Dr Parekh engages with pharma industry partners, globally, to translate his platforms from the bench-to-bedside, through a highly multi-disciplinary team approach.

Dr Parekh's Nanobubble platform has received media attention, having been aired across Australia.

Search Professor Harendra Parekh’s works on UQ eSpace

99 works between 2001 and 2025
All (99) Journal Article (72) Book Chapter (11) Conference Publication (12) Book (1) Other Outputs (3)

41 - 60 of 99 works

2019

Journal Article

Toxicity evaluation and nasal mucosal tissue deposition of dexamethasone-infused mucoadhesive in situ nasal gelling systems

Pandey, Preeti, Pandey, Saurabh, Cabot, Peter J., Wallwork, Benjamin, Panizza, Benedict J. and Parekh, Harendra S. (2019). Toxicity evaluation and nasal mucosal tissue deposition of dexamethasone-infused mucoadhesive in situ nasal gelling systems. Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal, 27 (7), 914-919. doi: 10.1016/j.jsps.2019.06.005

Toxicity evaluation and nasal mucosal tissue deposition of dexamethasone-infused mucoadhesive in situ nasal gelling systems

2019

Journal Article

Ultrasound-responsive nanobubbles for enhanced intravitreal drug migration: An ex vivo evaluation

Thakur, Sachin S., Chen, Ying-Shan, Houston, Zachary H., Fletcher, Nicholas, Barnett, Nigel L., Thurecht, Kristofer J., Rupenthal, Ilva D. and Parekh, Harendra S. (2019). Ultrasound-responsive nanobubbles for enhanced intravitreal drug migration: An ex vivo evaluation. European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, 136, 102-107. doi: 10.1016/j.ejpb.2019.01.014

Ultrasound-responsive nanobubbles for enhanced intravitreal drug migration: An ex vivo evaluation

2019

Journal Article

Development of a hybrid peptide dendrimer micellar carrier system and its application in the reformulation of a hydrophobic therapeutic agent derived from traditional Chinese medicine

Jing, Jing, Tupally, Karnaker R., Kokil, Ganesh R., Qu, Zhi, Chen, Sibao and Parekh, Harendra S. (2019). Development of a hybrid peptide dendrimer micellar carrier system and its application in the reformulation of a hydrophobic therapeutic agent derived from traditional Chinese medicine. RSC Advances, 9 (5), 2458-2463. doi: 10.1039/c8ra09606f

Development of a hybrid peptide dendrimer micellar carrier system and its application in the reformulation of a hydrophobic therapeutic agent derived from traditional Chinese medicine

2019

Conference Publication

Concentration stability of monolayer and bilayer lipid microbubbles–a precursor for new drug delivery applications

Alsadiq, H., Tupally, K. R., Kokil, G. R., Vogel, R., Parekh, H. S. and Veidt, M. (2019). Concentration stability of monolayer and bilayer lipid microbubbles–a precursor for new drug delivery applications. Drug Delivery Australia 2019 Conference, Brisbane, QLD Australia, 18-19 November 2019.

Concentration stability of monolayer and bilayer lipid microbubbles–a precursor for new drug delivery applications

2018

Conference Publication

Influence of acoustofluidic parameters on velocity streaming of sonicated medical microbubbles

Alsadiq, Hussain, Reddy, Karnaker, Parekh, Harendra and Veidt, Martin (2018). Influence of acoustofluidic parameters on velocity streaming of sonicated medical microbubbles. AAS2018: Acoustics 2018: Hear to Listen, Adelaide, SA Australia, 6-9 November 2018. Adelaide, SA Australia: Australian Acoustical Society.

Influence of acoustofluidic parameters on velocity streaming of sonicated medical microbubbles

2018

Journal Article

Self-assembling asymmetric peptide-dendrimer micelles - a platform for effective and versatile in vitro nucleic acid delivery

Kokil, Ganesh R., Veedu, Rakesh N., Le, Bao Tri, Ramm, Grant A. and Parekh, Harendra S. (2018). Self-assembling asymmetric peptide-dendrimer micelles - a platform for effective and versatile in vitro nucleic acid delivery. Scientific Reports, 8 (1) 4832, 4832. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-22902-9

Self-assembling asymmetric peptide-dendrimer micelles - a platform for effective and versatile in vitro nucleic acid delivery

2018

Journal Article

Development and Evaluation of Lipid Nanoparticles Containing Natural Botanical Oil for Sun Protection: Characterization and in vitro and in vivo Human Skin Permeation and Toxicity

Andréo-Filho, Newton, Bim, Antonio Vinicius Kosiski, Kaneko, Telma Mary, Kitice, Nidia Ayumi, Haridass, Isha N., Abd, Eman, Santos Lopes, Patricia, Thakur, Sachin S., Parekh, Harendra S., Roberts, Michael S., Grice, Jeffrey E., Benson, Heather A.E. and Leite-Silva, Vânia Rodrigues (2018). Development and Evaluation of Lipid Nanoparticles Containing Natural Botanical Oil for Sun Protection: Characterization and in vitro and in vivo Human Skin Permeation and Toxicity. Skin Pharmacology and Physiology, 31 (1), 1-9. doi: 10.1159/000481691

Development and Evaluation of Lipid Nanoparticles Containing Natural Botanical Oil for Sun Protection: Characterization and in vitro and in vivo Human Skin Permeation and Toxicity

2017

Journal Article

High-Resolution Single Particle Zeta Potential Characterisation of Biological Nanoparticles using Tunable Resistive Pulse Sensing

Vogel, Robert, Pal, Anoop K, Jambhrunkar, Siddharth, Patel, Pragnesh, Thakur, Sachin S, Reátegui, Eduardo, Parekh, Harendra S, Saá, Paula, Stassinopoulos, Adonis and Broom, Murray F (2017). High-Resolution Single Particle Zeta Potential Characterisation of Biological Nanoparticles using Tunable Resistive Pulse Sensing. Scientific reports, 7 (1) 17479, 17479. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-14981-x

High-Resolution Single Particle Zeta Potential Characterisation of Biological Nanoparticles using Tunable Resistive Pulse Sensing

2017

Journal Article

Skin delivery of EGCG and silibinin: potential of peptide dendrimers for enhanced skin permeation and deposition

Shetty, Pallavi Krishna, Manikkath, Jyothsna, Tupally, Karnaker, Kokil, Ganesh, Hegde, Aswathi R., Raut, Sushil Y., Parekh, Harendra S. and Mutalik, Srinivas (2017). Skin delivery of EGCG and silibinin: potential of peptide dendrimers for enhanced skin permeation and deposition. AAPS PharmSciTech, 18 (6), 2346-2357. doi: 10.1208/s12249-017-0718-0

Skin delivery of EGCG and silibinin: potential of peptide dendrimers for enhanced skin permeation and deposition

2017

Journal Article

Peptide dendrimer-conjugates of ketoprofen: synthesis and ex vivo and in vivo evaluations of passive diffusion, sonophoresis and iontophoresis for skin delivery

Hegde, Aswathi R., Rewatkar, Prarthana V., Manikkath, Jyothsna, Tupally, Karnaker, Parekh, Harendra S. and Mutalik, Srinivas (2017). Peptide dendrimer-conjugates of ketoprofen: synthesis and ex vivo and in vivo evaluations of passive diffusion, sonophoresis and iontophoresis for skin delivery. European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 102, 237-249. doi: 10.1016/j.ejps.2017.03.009

Peptide dendrimer-conjugates of ketoprofen: synthesis and ex vivo and in vivo evaluations of passive diffusion, sonophoresis and iontophoresis for skin delivery

2017

Journal Article

Stably engineered nanobubbles and ultrasound - An effective platform for enhanced macromolecular delivery to representative cells of the retina

Thakur, Sachin S., Ward, Micheal S., Popat, Amirali, Flemming, Nicole B., Parat, Marie-Odile, Barnett, Nigel L. and Parekh, Harendra S. (2017). Stably engineered nanobubbles and ultrasound - An effective platform for enhanced macromolecular delivery to representative cells of the retina. Plos One, 12 (5) e0178305, e0178305. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0178305

Stably engineered nanobubbles and ultrasound - An effective platform for enhanced macromolecular delivery to representative cells of the retina

2017

Journal Article

Influence of peptide dendrimers and sonophoresis on the transdermal delivery of ketoprofen

Manikkath, Jyothsna, Hegde, Aswathi R., Kalthur, Guruprasad, Parekh, Harendra S. and Mutalik, Srinivas (2017). Influence of peptide dendrimers and sonophoresis on the transdermal delivery of ketoprofen. International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 521 (1-2), 110-119. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2017.02.002

Influence of peptide dendrimers and sonophoresis on the transdermal delivery of ketoprofen

2017

Journal Article

Formulation, functional evaluation and ex vivo performance of thermoresponsive soluble gels - a platform for therapeutic delivery to mucosal sinus tissue

Pandey, Preeti, Cabot, Peter J., Wallwork, Benjamin, Panizza, Benedict J. and Parekh, Harendra S. (2017). Formulation, functional evaluation and ex vivo performance of thermoresponsive soluble gels - a platform for therapeutic delivery to mucosal sinus tissue. European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 96, 499-507. doi: 10.1016/j.ejps.2016.10.017

Formulation, functional evaluation and ex vivo performance of thermoresponsive soluble gels - a platform for therapeutic delivery to mucosal sinus tissue

2016

Journal Article

Dynamical interactions of 5-fluorouracil drug with dendritic peptide vectors: the impact of dendrimer generation, charge, counterions, and structured water

De Luca, Sergio, Seal, Prasenjit, Ouyang, Defang, Parekh, Harendra S., Kannam, Sridhar Kumar and Smith, Sean C. (2016). Dynamical interactions of 5-fluorouracil drug with dendritic peptide vectors: the impact of dendrimer generation, charge, counterions, and structured water. Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 120 (25), 5732-5743. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.6b00533

Dynamical interactions of 5-fluorouracil drug with dendritic peptide vectors: the impact of dendrimer generation, charge, counterions, and structured water

2016

Journal Article

Express in vitro plasmid transfection achieved with 16+ asymmetric peptide dendrimers

Rewatkar, Prartana V., Sester, David P., Parekh, Harendra S. and Parat, Marie-Odile (2016). Express in vitro plasmid transfection achieved with 16+ asymmetric peptide dendrimers. ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering, 2 (3), 438-445. doi: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.6b00033

Express in vitro plasmid transfection achieved with 16+ asymmetric peptide dendrimers

2016

Journal Article

Molecular determinants of the cellular entry of asymmetric peptide dendrimers and role of caveolae

Rewatkar, Prartana V., Parekh, Harendra S. and Parat, Marie-Odile (2016). Molecular determinants of the cellular entry of asymmetric peptide dendrimers and role of caveolae. PLoS One, 11 (1) e0147491, e0147491.1-e0147491.15. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0147491

Molecular determinants of the cellular entry of asymmetric peptide dendrimers and role of caveolae

2016

Journal Article

Enhancing delivery and cytotoxicity of resveratrol through a dual nanoencapsulation approach

Soo, Ernest, Thakur, Sachin, Qu, Zhi, Jambhrunkar, Siddharth, Parekh, Harebdra S. and Popat, Amirali (2016). Enhancing delivery and cytotoxicity of resveratrol through a dual nanoencapsulation approach. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 462, 368-374. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2015.10.022

Enhancing delivery and cytotoxicity of resveratrol through a dual nanoencapsulation approach

2016

Book

Therapeutic perspectives in Type-1 Diabetes

Singh, Prachi, Kokil, Ganesh R., Tupally, Karnaker R., Poddar, Kingshuk, Tan, Aaron, Venkatesan, Venky, Parekh, Harendra S. and Pastorin, Giorgia (2016). Therapeutic perspectives in Type-1 Diabetes. Singapore: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-981-10-0602-9

Therapeutic perspectives in Type-1 Diabetes

2016

Book Chapter

Peptide dendrimers in delivery of bioactive molecules to skin

Manikkath, J., Hegde, A. R., Parekh, H. S. and Mutalik, S. (2016). Peptide dendrimers in delivery of bioactive molecules to skin. Nanoscience in dermatology. (pp. 89-97) edited by Michael R. Hamblin, Pinar Avci and Tarl W. Prow. London, United Kingdom: Academic Press. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-802926-8.00007-0

Peptide dendrimers in delivery of bioactive molecules to skin

2016

Book Chapter

Introduction to diabetes and type 1 diabetes

Singh, Prachi, Kokil, Ganesh R., Tupally, Karnaker R., Poddar, Kingshuk, Tan, Aaron, Venkatesan, Venky, Parekh, Harendra S. and Pastorin, Giorgia (2016). Introduction to diabetes and type 1 diabetes. Therapeutic perspectives in type-1 diabetes. (pp. 1-6) edited by Prachi Singh, Ganesh R. Kokil, Karnaker R. Tupally, Kingshuk Poddar, Aaron Tan, Venky Venkatesan, Harendra S. Parekh and Giorgia Pastorin. Singapore, Singapore: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-981-10-0602-9_1

Introduction to diabetes and type 1 diabetes

Current funding

  • 2024 - 2028
    Developing a universal direct acting antiviral nasal spray against multiple respiratory viruses (NHMRC Ideas Grant administered via QUT)
    Queensland University of Technology
    Open grant
  • 2024 - 2026
    Intranasal delivery of clozapine to reduce side-effects: The preclinical evidence
    NHMRC IDEAS Grants
    Open grant
  • 2023 - 2028
    ARC Training Centre for Environmental and Agricultural Solutions to Antimicrobial Resistance (ARC CEA-StAR)
    ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centres
    Open grant

Past funding

  • 2022 - 2024
    Formulation of emtricitabine-infused sol-gel and in vivo evaluation of brain distribution a novel therapeutic strategy to improve antiretroviral drug delivery to the brain
    Australian Centre for HIV and Hepatitis Virology Research (ACH4)
    Open grant
  • 2021 - 2023
    Development, optimisation and evaluation of sol-gel formulations for nose-to-brain delivery
    UniQuest Pty Ltd
    Open grant
  • 2020 - 2021
    Sol-Gels for nasal CBD delivery for COVID
    UniQuest Pty Ltd
    Open grant
  • 2016 - 2018
    Disulfide bond containing amino acids
    UniQuest Pty Ltd
    Open grant
  • 2016
    Establishing a High-Throughput, Microwave-Assisted Automated Peptide Synthesis Facility at PACE
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2015
    The assessment of mitochondrial oxygen consumption and cytoplasmic glycolysis in cells to identify and characterize new therapeutic targets for diseases
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2011 - 2012
    Development of nanoparticle mucosal delivery systems for siRNA-based cancer therapies
    Cancer Council Queensland
    Open grant
  • 2010
    UQ Travel Awards Category 2 - Dr Harendra PAREKH
    UQ Travel Grants Scheme
    Open grant
  • 2010
    Analytical instrumentation enabling rapid compound separation and chemical structure analysis via mass fingerprinting
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2010 - 2011
    Complexation and Cellular Uptake of Genes with Novel Peptide-Based Dendrimers: A Fundamental Joint Study involving Synthesis, Optical Single-Molecule Spectroscopy and Simulations
    Go8 Australia - Germany Joint Research Co-operation Scheme
    Open grant
  • 2008
    Localisation of sortilin in the developing retina: background for our model system for antibody targeted drug delivery to CNS tissue
    Pharmaceutical Society of Australia
    Open grant
  • 2007 - 2009
    Non-viral vectors for targeted delivery of RNAi nucleotides to cervical cancers
    NHMRC Project Grant
    Open grant
  • 2007
    Shimadzu Prominence Gradient HPLC System
    Cancer Bequest Fund
    Open grant
  • 2005 - 2006
    Cholesterol-based Dendrimers in Non-viral Gene Therapy
    UQ New Staff Research Start-Up Fund
    Open grant

Availability

Dr Harendra Parekh is:
Available for supervision

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Available projects

Supervision history

Current supervision

Completed supervision

Enquiries

Contact Dr Harendra Parekh directly for media enquiries about:

  • Bubble liposomes
  • Cancer - prostate
  • Dendrimers
  • Dendrosomes
  • Diabetes
  • Gene delivery systems - in pharmacy
  • Liposomes - bubble
  • Non-viral gene delivery systems in pharmacy
  • Pharmacy
  • Prostate cancer
  • siRNA delivery - pharmacy

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