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

106 works between 2001 and 2025
All (106) Journal Article (75) Book Chapter (11) Conference Publication (12) Book (1) Other Outputs (7)

61 - 80 of 106 works

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 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

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

2015

Book Chapter

Dendrimers

Tupally, Karnaker R., Kokil, Ganesh K., Thakur, Sachin S., Singh, Prachi and Parekh, Harendra S. (2015). Dendrimers. Controlled release systems: advances in nanobottles and active nanoparticles. (pp. 259-286) edited by Alexander van Herk, Jacqueline Forcada and Giorgia Pastorin. Boca Raton, FL, United States: Taylor & Francis. doi: 10.1201/b19860-15

Dendrimers

2015

Journal Article

Type 2 diabetes mellitus: limitations of conventional therapies and intervention with nucleic acid-based therapeutics

Kokil, Ganesh R., Veedu, Rakesh N., Ramm, Grant A., Prins, Johannes B. and Parekh, Harendra S. (2015). Type 2 diabetes mellitus: limitations of conventional therapies and intervention with nucleic acid-based therapeutics. Chemical Reviews, 115 (11), 4719-4743. doi: 10.1021/cr5002832

Type 2 diabetes mellitus: limitations of conventional therapies and intervention with nucleic acid-based therapeutics

2015

Book Chapter

Solubilization of poorly-soluble drugs: cyclodextrin-based formulations

Thakur, Sachin S., Parekh, Harendra S., Schwable, Carl H., Gan, Yong and Ouyang, Defang (2015). Solubilization of poorly-soluble drugs: cyclodextrin-based formulations. Computational pharmaceutics: application of molecular modeling in drug delivery. (pp. 31-51) edited by Defang Ouyang and Sean C. Smith. Chichester, United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons.

Solubilization of poorly-soluble drugs: cyclodextrin-based formulations

2015

Journal Article

Are caveolae a cellular entry route for non-viral therapeutic delivery systems?

Rewatkar, Prarthana V., Parton, Robert G., Parekh, Harendra S. and Parat, Marie-Odile (2015). Are caveolae a cellular entry route for non-viral therapeutic delivery systems?. Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, 91, 92-108. doi: 10.1016/j.addr.2015.01.003

Are caveolae a cellular entry route for non-viral therapeutic delivery systems?

2015

Journal Article

Particle size- and number-dependent delivery to cells by layered double hydroxide nanoparticles

Dong, Haiyan, Parekh, Harendra S. and Xu, Zhi Ping (2015). Particle size- and number-dependent delivery to cells by layered double hydroxide nanoparticles. Journal of Colloid And Interface Science, 437 (1), 10-16. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2014.09.010

Particle size- and number-dependent delivery to cells by layered double hydroxide nanoparticles

2014

Journal Article

Enhanced cellular delivery and biocompatibility of a small layered double hydroxide–liposome composite system

Dong, Haiyan, Parekh, Harendra S. and Xu, Zhi Ping (2014). Enhanced cellular delivery and biocompatibility of a small layered double hydroxide–liposome composite system. Pharmaceutics, 6 (4), 584-598. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics6040584

Enhanced cellular delivery and biocompatibility of a small layered double hydroxide–liposome composite system

2014

Journal Article

Biliary excretion of glycyrrhetinic acid: glucuronide-conjugate determination following a pharmacokinetic study of rat bile

Lu, Yang, Jing, Jing, Ren, Weichao, Zhu, Jing, Qiu, Zhixia, Li, Ning, Li, Xiaonan, Zhao, Di, Parekh, Harendra S. and Chen, Xijing (2014). Biliary excretion of glycyrrhetinic acid: glucuronide-conjugate determination following a pharmacokinetic study of rat bile. Phytotherapy Research, 28 (12), 1887-1889. doi: 10.1002/ptr.5170

Biliary excretion of glycyrrhetinic acid: glucuronide-conjugate determination following a pharmacokinetic study of rat bile

2014

Journal Article

Intravitreal drug delivery in retinal disease: are we out of our depth?

Thakur, Sachin S., Barnett, Nigel L., Donaldson, Mark J. and Parekh, Harendra S. (2014). Intravitreal drug delivery in retinal disease: are we out of our depth?. Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery, 11 (10), 1575-1590. doi: 10.1517/17425247.2014.927864

Intravitreal drug delivery in retinal disease: are we out of our depth?

2014

Journal Article

Engineering small MgAl-layered double hydroxide nanoparticles for enhanced gene delivery

Dong, Haiyan, Chen, Min, Rahman, Shafiur, Parekh, Harendra S., Cooper, Helen M. and Xu, Zhi Ping (2014). Engineering small MgAl-layered double hydroxide nanoparticles for enhanced gene delivery. Applied Clay Science, 100 (C), 66-75. doi: 10.1016/j.clay.2014.04.028

Engineering small MgAl-layered double hydroxide nanoparticles for enhanced gene delivery

2014

Journal Article

Asymmetric peptide dendrimers are effective linkers for antibody-mediated delivery of diverse payloads to B cells in vitro and in vivo

Shah, Neha D., Parekh, Harendra S. and Steptoe, Raymond J. (2014). Asymmetric peptide dendrimers are effective linkers for antibody-mediated delivery of diverse payloads to B cells in vitro and in vivo. Pharmaceutical Research, 31 (11), 3150-3160. doi: 10.1007/s11095-014-1408-1

Asymmetric peptide dendrimers are effective linkers for antibody-mediated delivery of diverse payloads to B cells in vitro and in vivo

2014

Journal Article

Enhancement in deposition and permeation of 5-fluorouracil through human epidermis assisted by peptide dendrimers.

Mutalik, Srinivas, Shetty, Pallavi K., Kumar, Aravind, Kalra, Rohit and Parekh, Harendra S. (2014). Enhancement in deposition and permeation of 5-fluorouracil through human epidermis assisted by peptide dendrimers.. Drug Delivery, 21 (1), 44-54. doi: 10.3109/10717544.2013.845861

Enhancement in deposition and permeation of 5-fluorouracil through human epidermis assisted by peptide dendrimers.

2014

Journal Article

The application of quantitative NMR for the facile, rapid and reliable determination of clindamycin phosphate in a conventional tablet formulation

Liang, Xianrui, Du, Liping, Su, Feng, Parekh, Harendra S. and Sua, Weike (2014). The application of quantitative NMR for the facile, rapid and reliable determination of clindamycin phosphate in a conventional tablet formulation. Magnetic Resonance in Chemistry, Early View (4), 1-5. doi: 10.1002/mrc.4048

The application of quantitative NMR for the facile, rapid and reliable determination of clindamycin phosphate in a conventional tablet formulation

2014

Book Chapter

A new dawn for the use of traditional Chinese medicine in cancer therapy

Parekh, Harendra S., Liu, Gang and Wei, Ming Q. (2014). A new dawn for the use of traditional Chinese medicine in cancer therapy. Recent advances in plant-based, traditional, and natural medicines. (pp. 131-150) edited by Subramayam Vemulpad and Joanne Jamie. Oakville, ON, Canada: Apple Academic Press.

A new dawn for the use of traditional Chinese medicine in cancer therapy

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

Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.

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

Need help?

For help with finding experts, story ideas and media enquiries, contact our Media team:

communications@uq.edu.au