
Overview
Availability
- Professor Glenn King is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Science, University of Sydney
- Doctor of Philosophy, University of Sydney
Research interests
-
Bugs and drugs
Our research harnesses the chemistry of venoms from arthropod predators, such as spiders, scorpions and centipedes, to develop novel pharmaceuticals to treat chronic pain, epilepsy and stroke. Stroke is the second-leading cause of death worldwide. In addition, it causes an extremely high incidence of disability in surviving victims due to the brain damage suffered during stroke. Likewise, chronic pain is a huge medical problem that affects one in five adults. There are few drugs available for treating chronic pain, and many of these have limited efficacy and dose-limiting side effects. Animal venoms are a rich source of stable natural peptides that potently modulate the activity of a wide range of neuronal ion channels and receptors. We have the largest collection of arthropod venoms in the world, a high-throughput pipeline for venoms-based drug discovery, protocols for rapid protein expression and structure determination, and links to key laboratories for testing the efficacy of lead molecules in rodent models of pain, epilepsy and stroke. We are using these world-class resources to move us closer to achieving our aim of developing novel analgesics for pain relief, novel drugs for treating severe paediatric epilepsies, and novel neuroprotective agents for treating stroke victims. An equally important focus of our research is on helping to safeguard Australia’s agricultural crops and reduce the spread of disease from insect pests by discovering new environmentally friendly insecticides. Currently, arthropod pests destroy approximately 15 per cent of the world’s food supply and spread pernicious diseases such as dengue and malaria. Our work is finding better, safer ways to control disease-spreading pests and protect crops.
Works
Search Professor Glenn King’s works on UQ eSpace
2023
Journal Article
Evaluation of peptide ligation strategies for the synthesis of the bivalent acid-sensing ion channel inhibitor Hi1a
Tran, Hue N. T., Budusan, Elena, Saez, Natalie J., Norman, Alexander, Tucker, Isaac J., King, Glenn F., Payne, Richard J., Rash, Lachlan D., Vetter, Irina and Schroeder, Christina I. (2023). Evaluation of peptide ligation strategies for the synthesis of the bivalent acid-sensing ion channel inhibitor Hi1a. Organic Letters, 25 (24), 4439-4444. doi: 10.1021/acs.orglett.3c01346
2023
Journal Article
The β3‐subunit modulates the effect of venom peptides ProTx‐II and OD1 on NaV 1.7 gating
Salvage, Samantha C., Rahman, Taufiq, Eagles, David A., Rees, Johanna S., King, Glenn F., Huang, Christopher L‐H. and Jackson, Antony P. (2023). The β3‐subunit modulates the effect of venom peptides ProTx‐II and OD1 on NaV 1.7 gating. Journal of Cellular Physiology, 238 (6), 1354-1367. doi: 10.1002/jcp.31018
2023
Journal Article
Ant venoms contain vertebrate-selective pain-causing sodium channel toxins
Robinson, Samuel D., Deuis, Jennifer R., Touchard, Axel, Keramidas, Angelo, Mueller, Alexander, Schroeder, Christina I., Barassé, Valentine, Walker, Andrew A., Brinkwirth, Nina, Jami, Sina, Bonnafé, Elsa, Treilhou, Michel, Undheim, Eivind A. B., Schmidt, Justin O., King, Glenn F. and Vetter, Irina (2023). Ant venoms contain vertebrate-selective pain-causing sodium channel toxins. Nature Communications, 14 (1) 2977, 1-11. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-38839-1
2023
Journal Article
New drug targets and preclinical modelling recommendations for treating acute myocardial infarction
Cao, Yuanzhao, Redd, Meredith A., Fang, Chen, Mizikovsky, Dalia, Li, Xichun, Macdonald, Peter S., King, Glenn F. and Palpant, Nathan J. (2023). New drug targets and preclinical modelling recommendations for treating acute myocardial infarction. Heart, Lung and Circulation, 32 (7), 852-869. doi: 10.1016/j.hlc.2022.12.015
2023
Conference Publication
Improving asystolic warm ischemic time tolerance in donation after circulatory death donor hearts
Joshi, Y., Villanueva, J., Gao, L., Hwang, B., Wang, K., Kasavaraj, A., Doyle, A., Wu, J., Palpant, N., King, G., Iyer, A., Jansz, P. and MacDonald, P. (2023). Improving asystolic warm ischemic time tolerance in donation after circulatory death donor hearts. 43rd Annual Meeting of International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT), Denver, CO United States, 19-22 April 2023. Philadelphia, PA United States: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.healun.2023.02.878
2023
Journal Article
Genetic or pharmacological ablation of acid-sensing ion channel 1a (ASIC1a) is not neuroprotective in a mouse model of spinal cord injury
Foster, Victoria, Saez, Natalie, Gillespie, Ellen, Jogia, Trisha, Reid, Chantelle, Maljevic, Snezana, Jung, Woncheol, Lao, Hong W., Ruitenberg, Marc Jan and King, Glen (2023). Genetic or pharmacological ablation of acid-sensing ion channel 1a (ASIC1a) is not neuroprotective in a mouse model of spinal cord injury. Journal of Neurotrauma, 41 (9-10), 1007-1019. doi: 10.1089/neu.2022.0295
2023
Journal Article
The voltage‐gated sodium channel NaV 1 .7 underlies endometriosis‐associated chronic pelvic pain
Castro, Joel, Maddern, Jessica, Chow, Chun Yuen, Tran, Poanna, Vetter, Irina, King, Glenn F. and Brierley, Stuart M. (2023). The voltage‐gated sodium channel NaV 1 .7 underlies endometriosis‐associated chronic pelvic pain. Journal of Neurochemistry, 168 (11), 3760-3776. doi: 10.1111/jnc.15795
2023
Journal Article
Holistic profiling of the venom from the Brazilian wandering spider Phoneutria nigriventer by combining high-throughput ion channel screens with venomics
Cardoso, F. C., Walker, A. A., King, G. F. and Gomez, M. V. (2023). Holistic profiling of the venom from the Brazilian wandering spider Phoneutria nigriventer by combining high-throughput ion channel screens with venomics. Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences, 10 1069764, 1069764. doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2023.1069764
2023
Journal Article
Intra-colony venom diversity contributes to maintaining eusociality in a cooperatively breeding ant
Robinson, Samuel D., Schendel, Vanessa, Schroeder, Christina I., Moen, Sarah, Mueller, Alexander, Walker, Andrew A., McKinnon, Naomi, Neely, G. Gregory, Vetter, Irina, King, Glenn F. and Undheim, Eivind A. B. (2023). Intra-colony venom diversity contributes to maintaining eusociality in a cooperatively breeding ant. BMC Biology, 21 (1) 5, 5. doi: 10.1186/s12915-022-01507-9
2022
Journal Article
Composition and toxicity of venom produced by araneophagous white-tailed spiders (Lamponidae: Lampona sp.)
Michálek, Ondřej, Walker, Andrew A., Šedo, Ondrej, Zdráhal, Zbyněk, King, Glenn F. and Pekár, Stano (2022). Composition and toxicity of venom produced by araneophagous white-tailed spiders (Lamponidae: Lampona sp.). Scientific Reports, 12 (1) 21597, 1-13. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-24694-5
2022
Journal Article
Venom composition and pain-causing toxins of the Australian great carpenter bee Xylocopa aruana
Shi, Naiqi, Szanto, Tibor G., He, Jia, Schroeder, Christina I., Walker, Andrew A., Deuis, Jennifer R., Vetter, Irina, Panyi, György, King, Glenn F. and Robinson, Samuel D. (2022). Venom composition and pain-causing toxins of the Australian great carpenter bee Xylocopa aruana. Scientific Reports, 12 (1) 22168, 1-13. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-26867-8
2022
Journal Article
Holistic profiling of the venom from the lethal spider Phoneutria nigriventer by combining high-throughput ion channel screens with venomics
Cardoso, Fernanda C., Walker, Andrew A., King, Glenn F. and Gomez, Marcus V. (2022). Holistic profiling of the venom from the lethal spider Phoneutria nigriventer by combining high-throughput ion channel screens with venomics.
2022
Journal Article
The deadly toxin arsenal of the tree-dwelling Australian funnel-web spiders
Cardoso, Fernanda C., Pineda, Sandy S., Herzig, Volker, Sunagar, Kartik, Shaikh, Naeem Yusuf, Jin, Ai-Hua, King, Glenn F., Alewood, Paul F., Lewis, Richard J. and Dutertre, Sébastien (2022). The deadly toxin arsenal of the tree-dwelling Australian funnel-web spiders. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23 (21) 13077, 13077. doi: 10.3390/ijms232113077
2022
Journal Article
The structural conformation of the tachykinin domain drives the anti‐tumoral activity of an octopus peptide in melanoma BRAF <sup>V600E</sup>
Moral‐Sanz, Javier, Fernandez‐Rojo, Manuel A., Colmenarejo, Gonzalo, Kurdyukov, Sergey, Brust, Andreas, Ragnarsson, Lotten, Andersson, Åsa, Vila, Sabela F., Cabezas‐Sainz, Pablo, Wilhelm, Patrick, Vela‐Sebastian, Ana, Fernández‐Carrasco, Isabel, Chin, Yanni K. Y., López‐ Mancheño, Yaiza, Smallwood, Taylor B., Clark, Richard J., Fry, Bryan G., King, Glenn F., Ramm, Grant A., Alewood, Paul F., Lewis, Richard J., Mulvenna, Jason P., Boyle, Glen M., Sanchez, Laura E., Neely, G. Gregory, Miles, John J. and Ikonomopoulou, Maria P. (2022). The structural conformation of the tachykinin domain drives the anti‐tumoral activity of an octopus peptide in melanoma BRAF V600E. British Journal of Pharmacology, 179 (20), 4878-4896. doi: 10.1111/bph.15923
2022
Conference Publication
Structure, function, and evolution of nettle caterpillar venom toxins
Goudarzi, Mohaddeseh H., Robinson, Samuel D., Cardoso, Fernanda C., Lawrence, Nicole, Chin, Yanni, King, Glenn F. and Walker, Andrew A. (2022). Structure, function, and evolution of nettle caterpillar venom toxins. Pathogens and Natural Toxins e-Conference, Brisbane, QLD Australia, 1 July - 31 August 2022.
2022
Journal Article
The tarantula toxin ω-Avsp1a specifically inhibits human CaV3.1 and CaV3.3 via the extracellular S3-S4 loop of the domain 1 voltage-sensor
Herzig, Volker, Chen, Yong-Cyuan, Chin, Yanni K.-Y., Dekan, Zoltan, Chang, Yu-Wang, Yu, Hui-Ming, Alewood, Paul F., Chen, Chien-Chang and King, Glenn F. (2022). The tarantula toxin ω-Avsp1a specifically inhibits human CaV3.1 and CaV3.3 via the extracellular S3-S4 loop of the domain 1 voltage-sensor. Biomedicines, 10 (5) 1066, 1066. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines10051066
2022
Journal Article
Proteotranscriptomics reveals the secretory dynamics of teratocytes, regulators of parasitization by an endoparasitoid wasp
Pinto, Ciro P.G., Walker, Andrew A., Robinson, Samuel D., King, Glenn F. and Rossi, Guilherme D. (2022). Proteotranscriptomics reveals the secretory dynamics of teratocytes, regulators of parasitization by an endoparasitoid wasp. Journal of Insect Physiology, 139 104395, 104395. doi: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2022.104395
2022
Journal Article
Cysteine-rich α-conotoxin SII displays novel interactions at the muscle nicotinic acetylcholine receptor
Wilhelm, Patrick, Luna-Ramirez, Karen, Chin, Yanni K.-Y., Dekan, Zoltan, Abraham, Nikita, Tae, Han-Shen, Chow, Chun Yuen, Eagles, David A., King, Glenn F., Lewis, Richard J., Adams, David J. and Alewood, Paul F. (2022). Cysteine-rich α-conotoxin SII displays novel interactions at the muscle nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. ACS Chemical Neuroscience, 13 (8), 1245-1250. doi: 10.1021/acschemneuro.1c00857
2022
Journal Article
A peptide toxin in ant venom mimics vertebrate EGF-like hormones to cause long-lasting hypersensitivity in mammals
Eagles, David A., Saez, Natalie J., Krishnarjuna, Bankala, Bradford, Julia J., Chin, Yanni K.-Y., Starobova, Hana, Mueller, Alexander, Reichelt, Melissa E., Undheim, Eivind A. B., Norton, Raymond S., Thomas, Walter G., Vetter, Irina, King, Glenn F. and Robinson, Samuel D. (2022). A peptide toxin in ant venom mimics vertebrate EGF-like hormones to cause long-lasting hypersensitivity in mammals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119 (7) e2112630119. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2112630119
2022
Journal Article
Multitarget nociceptor sensitization by a promiscuous peptide from the venom of the King Baboon spider
Finol-Urdaneta, Rocio K., Ziegman, Rebekah, Dekan, Zoltan, McArthur, Jeffrey R., Heitmann, Stewart, Luna-Ramirez, Karen, Tae, Han-Shen, Mueller, Alexander, Starobova, Hana, Chin, Yanni K.-Y., Wingerd, Joshua S., Undheim, Eivind A. B., Cristofori-Armstrong, Ben, Hill, Adam P., Herzig, Volker, King, Glenn F., Vetter, Irina, Rash, Lachlan D., Adams, David J. and Alewood, Paul F. (2022). Multitarget nociceptor sensitization by a promiscuous peptide from the venom of the King Baboon spider. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119 (5) e2110932119. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2110932119
Funding
Current funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Professor Glenn King is:
- Available for supervision
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Supervision history
Current supervision
-
Doctor Philosophy
Development of a first-in-class biologic drug for stroke
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Natalie Saez
-
Doctor Philosophy
Identifying the structure, function, and mechanism of action of cardiotoxic components in the venoms of box (Chironex fleckeri) and Irukandji (Carukia barnesi) jellyfish
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Nathan Palpant, Dr Andrew Walker
-
Doctor Philosophy
Understanding the production, composition, and function of venom produced by the box jellyfish Chironex fleckeri and the Irukandji jellyfish Carukia barnesi
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Nathan Palpant, Dr Andrew Walker
-
Doctor Philosophy
Understanding the production, composition, and function of venom produced by the box jellyfish Chironex fleckeri and the Irukandji jellyfish Carukia barnesi
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Nathan Palpant, Dr Andrew Walker
-
Doctor Philosophy
Venom-derived drugs for targeting ion channels involved in genetic epilepsies
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Lata Vadlamudi
-
Master Philosophy
Pharmacological screening of Columbian scorpion venoms
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Andrew Walker
-
Doctor Philosophy
Using genetics to predict drug efficacy and on-target side effects of pharmacological agents
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Sonia Shah, Professor David Evans
-
Doctor Philosophy
Evaluation of Phylogenetic Patterns of Scorpion Pathophysiological Effects and Effectiveness of Next-Generation Antivenoms
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Sam Robinson, Professor Bryan Fry
-
Doctor Philosophy
Selective modulation voltage gated sodium channels to investigate pathophysiology and treatment for motor neuron disease
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Fernanda Cardoso
-
Doctor Philosophy
Evaluation of Phylogenetic Patterns of Scorpion Pathophysiological Effects and Effectiveness of Next-Generation Antivenoms
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Sam Robinson, Professor Bryan Fry
-
Doctor Philosophy
Utilising invertebrates to identify novel coagulotoxins
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Bryan Fry, Dr Andrew Walker
-
Doctor Philosophy
Evolution and function of nettle caterpillar venom toxins
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Andrew Walker
-
Doctor Philosophy
Characterising the Structure and Function of Caterpillar Venom Toxins
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Andrew Walker
Completed supervision
-
2024
Doctor Philosophy
Enhancing the efficacy of venom-derived peptide therapeutics for the treatment of ion channel diseases
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Natalie Saez
-
2024
Doctor Philosophy
Cyclic peptides as therapeutics for ischemic heart disease and heart failure
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Nathan Palpant
-
2024
Doctor Philosophy
Venomous Mechanisms: Structural Studies of Venom Modalities
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Michael Landsberg
-
2023
Doctor Philosophy
Identification and Evaluation of Macrocyclic hASIC1a Inhibitors for Neuroprotective Applications
Principal Advisor
-
2023
Doctor Philosophy
Venom Components as Analgesics and Pharmacological Tools to Elucidate Mammalian Pain Signalling Pathways
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Markus Muttenthaler, Dr Fernanda Cardoso
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
Discovery and characterisation of two orally active insecticidal spider-venom peptides and elucidation of the molecular basis of their oral activity
Principal Advisor
-
2021
Doctor Philosophy
Is acid sensing ion channel 1a a viable therapeutic for spinal cord injury?
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Marc Ruitenberg
-
2021
Doctor Philosophy
Arthropod venoms in antiparasitic drug discovery: isolation and biological characterisation of venom-derived anthelmintic compounds
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Adjunct Professor Andrew Kotze
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
Discovery of novel cyclic peptide acid sensing ion channel-1a inhibitors to protect heart from ischemia-reperfusion injury
Principal Advisor
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
Rational development of analgesics for the treatment of chronic pain: dissecting the molecular details of the interaction between gating modifier peptide modulators and human voltage-gated sodium channels
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Mehdi Mobli
-
2019
Doctor Philosophy
Development of NaV1.1-selective agonists with potential for treatment of Dravet syndrome epilepsy
Principal Advisor
-
2019
Doctor Philosophy
Discovery and characterisation of novel spider venom peptides targeting the human NaV1.7 channel
Principal Advisor
-
2018
Doctor Philosophy
A combined proteomic and transcriptomic investigation of venom from Australian sea anemones
Principal Advisor
-
2017
Doctor Philosophy
Peptide modulators of ASIC1a: a putative drug target for the treatment of stroke
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Lachlan Rash
-
2017
Doctor Philosophy
Biotechnological applications of spider venom peptides
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Lachlan Rash
-
2016
Master Philosophy
Venoms-based discovery of novel modulators of human neuronal ¿7 and ¿3* nicotinic acetylcholine receptors
Principal Advisor
-
2015
Doctor Philosophy
Understanding the molecular basis of the interaction between spider toxins and the voltage sensor domain of voltage-gated ion channels
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Mehdi Mobli
-
2015
Doctor Philosophy
Engineering Insect-Resistant Plants by Transgenic Expression of an Insecticidal Spider-Venom Peptide
Principal Advisor
-
2015
Doctor Philosophy
Bioinsecticides for the control of human disease vectors
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Mehdi Mobli
-
2015
Doctor Philosophy
Developing Novel Analgesics To Treat Chronic Pain: Inhibiting Voltage Gated Sodium Channel 1.7 With Spider-Venom Peptides
Principal Advisor
-
2014
Doctor Philosophy
Structural and mechanistic studies of a bacterial histidine kinase
Principal Advisor
-
2014
Doctor Philosophy
Centipede Venom Evolution: Casting light on a neglected group of venomous animals
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Bryan Fry
-
2013
Doctor Philosophy
Characterisation of spider-venom peptides that target voltage-gated sodium channels: pharmacological tools and potential therapeutic leads for the treatment of chronic pain
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Mehdi Mobli
-
2013
Doctor Philosophy
The Bio-logic of Venom Complexity: A Chemical and Evolutionary Investigation into the Role of Venom Complexity in Two Orders of Venomous Animals
Principal Advisor
-
2013
Doctor Philosophy
Characterising the molecular basis of the interaction between the putative drug target ASIC1a and pi-TRTX-Pc1a
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Lachlan Rash
-
2013
Doctor Philosophy
Dissecting the interaction between the sea anemone toxin APETx2 and its analgesic target, acid-sensing ion channel 3
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Lachlan Rash
-
2012
Doctor Philosophy
Probing the chemical diversity of venom from the Australian funnel-web spider Hadronyche infensa
Principal Advisor
-
2011
Doctor Philosophy
Isolation and characterization of orally active insecticidal peptides from spider venoms
Principal Advisor
-
2009
Doctor Philosophy
Unraveling the role of the bacterial cell division protein DivIB
Principal Advisor
-
2019
Doctor Philosophy
Discovery and modulation of acid-sensing ion channel modulating venom peptides
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Lachlan Rash
-
2019
Doctor Philosophy
Structural studies of the Yersinia entomophaga ABC toxin complex YenTc using cryo-EM
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Michael Landsberg
-
2019
Doctor Philosophy
Tarantulas of Australia: phylogenetics and venomics
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Lyn Cook, Professor Bryan Fry
-
2018
Doctor Philosophy
In vivo protein splicing of secreted cysteine-rich repeat proteins and their structural characterization by NMR spectroscopy
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Mehdi Mobli
-
2016
Doctor Philosophy
A philosophical and empirical investigation of the evolution of the toxicoferan reptile venom system
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Irina Vetter, Professor Bryan Fry
-
-
2013
Doctor Philosophy
The impact of parasitism on the host transcriptome and microRNA profile in Diadegma semiclausum - Plutella xylostella system
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Sassan Asgari
-
2012
Doctor Philosophy
Investigation of novel bioactive peptides from Australian venomous animals
Associate Advisor
Media
Enquiries
Contact Professor Glenn King directly for media enquiries about:
- Chronic pain
- Dravet syndrome
- drug discovery
- epilepsy
- Insecticides
- Ion channel drugs
- NMR spectroscopy
- pain drugs
- painkillers
- peptide drugs
- Protein structure
- Stroke
- Venomous animals
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