Professor Mehdi Mobli
Professor

Mehdi Mobli

Email: 
Phone: 
+61 7 334 60352

Background

Professor Mobli is a structural biologist and a group leader at the University of Queensland's Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN). He is well known internationally for his contributions to the basic theory of multidimensional nuclear magnetic resonance and its applications to resolving the molecular structure of peptides and proteins, as well as studying their physiochemical properties and function. Mehdi's contributions to the field has been recognised by being appointed an Executive Editor of the AMPERE society's journal "Magnetic Resonance", and to the advisory board of the international Biological Magnetic Resonance Data Bank (BMRB) as well as serving on the board of directors of the Australia and New Zealand Society for Magnetic Resonance (ANZMAG). He is a former ARC Future Fellow and recipient of the ASBMB MERCK medal, the Australia Peptide Society's Tregear Award, the ANZMAG Sir Paul Callaghan medal and the Lorne Proteins Young Investigator Award (now Robin Anders Award).

Prof. Mobli's research group focuses on characterising the structure and function of receptors involved in neuronal signalling, with a particular focus on developing new approaches for the discovery and characterisation of modulators of these receptors through innovations in bioinformatics, biochemistry and and biophysics. This work has led to publication of more than 100 research articles attracting over 6,000 citations.

Availability

Professor Mehdi Mobli is:
Available for supervision
Media expert

Fields of research

Analytical biochemistry Analytical chemistry Bioinformatics and computational biology Biological Sciences Biomaterials Biomedical engineering Biomolecular modelling and design Characterisation of biological macromolecules Chemical Sciences Cheminformatics and quantitative structure-activity relationships Engineering Enzymes Information and Computing Sciences Macromolecular and materials chemistry Mathematical Sciences Medicinal and biomolecular chemistry Molecular medicine Numerical analysis Numerical and computational mathematics Optical properties of materials Organic chemistry Physical chemistry Physical organic chemistry Proteins and peptides Receptors and membrane biology Solution chemistry Structural biology (incl. macromolecular modelling) Theory of computation

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, University of Liverpool

Research interests

  • Structure, function and dynamics of biomolecules studied in solution by NMR spectroscopy

    Nuclear magnetic resonance is one of the most powerful atomic resolution techniques for probing the physicochemical properties of molecules. In biophysics and particularly in protein research NMR can uniquely be used to determine both high-resolution structures and conformational dynamics of proteins in their natural solution state environment. NMR can further be used to provide functional data and is routinely used as a screening tool to provide input to structure based drug design studies. The properties that make NMR such a versatile technique also require technical expertise in data acquisition, analysis and interpretation. Dr Mobli's research is focused on the application of NMR spectroscopy in molecular biology, with the aim of increasing the utility of the technique itself through automation and also to expand its current applications. His group are working on diverse biological problems including understanding the structure of disulfide stabilised peptides, how voltage-gated ion channels are modulated by natural and synthetic ligands and the mechanism of bacterial transcription pausing. All of these projects are being pursued with the ultimate goal of developing novel drugs and diagnostic tools.

Research impacts

Bioactive peptides have long been recognised as important messengers in cellular communication and are integral to our understanding of basic physiological processes. Their potential as natural substrates for biological receptors has been leveraged successfully in some of the most important therapeutics of our time, such as insulin and oxytocin. In recent years, increased attention has been given to this molecular class due to the ease of generating large libraries of these peptides under selection pressure. This can yield potent drug leads through mRNA and phage display technologies. The potency and selectivity of these molecules come from their well-defined three-dimensional structures, which are often constrained by side-chain and/or backbone linkages that stabilise their 3D shape. Prof. Mobli's research group has contributed significantly to the understanding of the structure, dynamics, and function of constrained peptides. Our basic understanding of the physicochemical properties of bioactive peptides comes from studies of their structural and chemical properties. His group has directly contributed over 40 high-resolution structures of constrained peptides to the PDB, including arguably the highest resolution solution structure of a disulfide-constrained peptide to date (6URP). Detailed dynamic and functional studies have offered novel insights ranging from the basic chemistry of peptide side chains to the structural basis of peptide-receptor interactions and the evolution of neofunctionalisation of stable structural scaffolds.

Search Professor Mehdi Mobli’s works on UQ eSpace

146 works between 2003 and 2024
All (146) Journal Article (123) Book Chapter (11) Conference Publication (8) Book (3) Other Outputs (1)

141 - 146 of 146 works

2006

Journal Article

Conformational analysis, Part 41. A modelling and LIS/NMR investigation of the conformations of ,alpa and beta -unsaturated carbonyl compounds

Abraham, Raymond J., Mobli, Mehdi, Ratti, Joyce, Sancassan, Fernando and Smith, Timothy A. D. (2006). Conformational analysis, Part 41. A modelling and LIS/NMR investigation of the conformations of ,alpa and beta -unsaturated carbonyl compounds. Journal of physical organic chemistry, 19 (6), 384-392. doi: 10.1002/poc.1092

Conformational analysis, Part 41. A modelling and LIS/NMR investigation of the conformations of ,alpa and beta -unsaturated carbonyl compounds

2005

Journal Article

Quantum vs. classical models of the nitro group for proton chemical shift calculations and conformational analysis

Mobli, Mehdi and Abraham, Raymond J. (2005). Quantum vs. classical models of the nitro group for proton chemical shift calculations and conformational analysis. Journal of Computational Chemistry, 26 (4), 389-398. doi: 10.1002/jcc.20177

Quantum vs. classical models of the nitro group for proton chemical shift calculations and conformational analysis

2005

Journal Article

H chemical shifts in NMR. Part 21 - Prediction of the 1H chemical shifts of molecules containing the ester group: a modelling and ab initio investigation

Abraham, Raymond J., Bardsley, Ben, Mobli, Mehdi and Smith, Richard J. (2005). H chemical shifts in NMR. Part 21 - Prediction of the 1H chemical shifts of molecules containing the ester group: a modelling and ab initio investigation. Magnetic Resonance in Chemistry, 43 (1), 3-15. doi: 10.1002/mrc.1491

H chemical shifts in NMR. Part 21 - Prediction of the 1H chemical shifts of molecules containing the ester group: a modelling and ab initio investigation

2004

Journal Article

The prediction of 1H NMR chemical shifts in organic compounds

Abraham, Raymond J. and Mobli, Mehdi (2004). The prediction of 1H NMR chemical shifts in organic compounds. Spectroscopy Europe, 16 (4)

The prediction of 1H NMR chemical shifts in organic compounds

2004

Journal Article

1H chemical shifts in NMR. Part 20 - Anisotropic and steric effects in halogen substituent chemical shifts (SCS), a modelling and ab initio investigation

Abraham, Raymond J., Mobli, Mehdi and Smith, Richard J. (2004). 1H chemical shifts in NMR. Part 20 - Anisotropic and steric effects in halogen substituent chemical shifts (SCS), a modelling and ab initio investigation. Magnetic resonance in chemistry, 42 (5), 436-444. doi: 10.1002/mrc.1369

1H chemical shifts in NMR. Part 20 - Anisotropic and steric effects in halogen substituent chemical shifts (SCS), a modelling and ab initio investigation

2003

Journal Article

1H chemical shifts in NMR: Part 19. Carbonyl anisotropies and steric effects in aromatic aldehydes and ketones

Abraham, Raymond J., Mobli, Medhi and Smith, Richard J. (2003). 1H chemical shifts in NMR: Part 19. Carbonyl anisotropies and steric effects in aromatic aldehydes and ketones. Magnetic Resonance in Chemistry, 41 (1), 26-36. doi: 10.1002/mrc.1125

1H chemical shifts in NMR: Part 19. Carbonyl anisotropies and steric effects in aromatic aldehydes and ketones

Current funding

  • 2024 - 2025
    A national network for magnetic resonance spectroscopy
    ARC Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities
    Open grant
  • 2024 - 2027
    Defining a new family of sodium channel accessory proteins
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant

Past funding

  • 2023 - 2024
    High-Resolution Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy
    ARC Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities
    Open grant
  • 2022 - 2025
    Autocyclases: A new class of self-cyclising proteins
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2021 - 2023
    Bivalent analgesics: rational design of selective ion channel inhibitors with optimised mechanism of action
    NHMRC IDEAS Grants
    Open grant
  • 2019 - 2022
    A new source of bivalent molecules from nature
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2019 - 2022
    Accessing structurally elusive states of sodium channels as novel analgesic targets
    NHMRC Project Grant
    Open grant
  • 2019
    Chemical Purification Network
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2019
    Imaging Mass Spectrometry at Higher Mass Resolution
    UQ Research Facilities Infrastructure Grants
    Open grant
  • 2019 - 2021
    Molecular basis and inhibition of TIR-domain function in Toll-like receptor and neuronal cell-death pathways
    NHMRC Project Grant
    Open grant
  • 2018
    High-throughput ion channel pharmacology
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2018
    In vivo optical imaging into the next generation
    UQ Research Facilities Infrastructure Grants
    Open grant
  • 2018
    Multichannel peptide synthesiser to accelerate UQ's biodiscovery pipeline and peptide drug development programs
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2017 - 2019
    Targeting voltage sensing for drug development
    UQ Development Fellowships
    Open grant
  • 2016 - 2017
    A nuclear magnetic resonance facility for modern molecular analysis
    ARC Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities
    Open grant
  • 2016 - 2018
    A pharmacological approach to define the contribution of Nav1.7 to pain pathways
    NHMRC Project Grant
    Open grant
  • 2016 - 2018
    Characterization and inhibition of higher-order assembly signalling in Toll-like receptor pathways
    NHMRC Project Grant
    Open grant
  • 2016
    Patch-clamp electrophysiology platform for drug and insecticide discovery
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2015
    Protein Analysis Facility
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2018
    Understanding how toxins interact with lipid membranes and ion channels
    NHMRC Project Grant
    Open grant
  • 2014 - 2017
    Unravelling the structural complexity of ancient Australian arthropod venoms
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2012 - 2016
    ASAP-NMR: A leap forward in structural studies of proteins using NMR spectroscopy
    ARC Future Fellowships
    Open grant
  • 2012 - 2014
    Rational development of novel analgesics for the treatment of chronic pain
    NHMRC Project Grant
    Open grant
  • 2010
    High-throughput identification and structural characterization of selective Nav1.7 channel ligands; a prime target in the treatment of pain
    UQ Early Career Researcher
    Open grant

Availability

Professor Mehdi Mobli is:
Available for supervision

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Supervision history

Current supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Studies of complex biomolecular systems using advanced biochemical and biophysical techniques

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Associate Professor Jeffrey Harmer

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Structural and functional characterisation of an orphan family of opioid peptides

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Associate Professor Jody Peters

  • Doctor Philosophy

    The ASIC thumb domain as a channel proxy for identification of drug leads for the treatment of ischemic conditions

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Lachlan Rash

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Fast Acquisition Methods in Multidimensional NMR

    Principal Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Characterisation of the lipid dependent gating of voltage gated ion channels

    Principal Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Accessing structurally elusive states of sodium channels as novel analgesic targets

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Irina Vetter, Dr Thomas Durek

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Fast Acquisition Methods in Multidimensional NMR

    Principal Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Modulation of opioid catabolism by endogenous neuropeptides

    Principal Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Analysis of Complex Metabolomic Data

    Associate Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Understanding the function of sodium channel accessory proteins to develop new treatments for chronic pain

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Jennifer Deuis, Professor Irina Vetter

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Complex Data Analysis Problems in NMR-based Metabolomics

    Associate Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Structural and biochemical characterization of dual enzymatic activity of TIR domains from plant innate immune receptors

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Natsumi Maruta, Professor Bostjan Kobe

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Characterization of bivalency in disulfide-rich peptides

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Irina Vetter

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Discovery and characterisation of multi-valent peptides

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Irina Vetter

Completed supervision

Enquiries

Contact Professor Mehdi Mobli directly for media enquiries about:

  • Mechanism of voltage gating by voltage-gated ion channels
  • Structure guided drug design
  • Structure guided evolution of venom peptides

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