Professor Vito Ferro
Professor

Vito Ferro

Email: 
Phone: 
+61 7 334 69598

Background

Carbohydrate chemistry, medicinal chemistry, drug discovery

Vito Ferro is a Professor in the School of Chemistry & Molecular Biosciences. His research interests are in the area of synthetic carbohydrate chemistry, and drug design and development.

Availability

Professor Vito Ferro is:
Available for supervision
Media expert

Fields of research

Medicinal and biomolecular chemistry Organic chemistry

Research interests

  • Glycosaminoglycans and their mimetics

    Carbohydrate and medicinal chemistry with a particular focus on glycosaminoglycans, especially heparan sulfate, and their mimetics as potential drugs for a range of diseases including cancer, inflammation, viral infections and lysosomal storage diseases such as Sanfilippo syndrome.

Research impacts

Vito Ferro completed his PhD at the University of WA. Following postdoctoral fellowships at the Carsberg Laboratory (Denmark) and the University of British Columbia (Canada) he spent 12 years with the Australian biotechnology company Progen Pharmaceuticals, serving in various positions including Director of Drug Discovery. He was a key player in the development of two of the only four heparanase inhibitors to have reached clinical trials: muparfostat (PI-88), and pixatimod (PG545). Following a brief period at Queensland University of Technology as a Principal Research Fellow he moved to his current position at the University of Queensland in 2010. His research interests are in carbohydrate and medicinal chemistry with a particular focus on glycosaminoglycans, especially heparan sulfate, and their mimetics as potential drugs for a range of diseases. He is also a member of the Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre (AID), has published >110 papers and has multiple granted patents.

Search Professor Vito Ferro’s works on UQ eSpace

143 works between 1988 and 2025
All (143) Journal Article (127) Book Chapter (4) Conference Publication (7) Other Outputs (5)

21 - 40 of 143 works

2023

Journal Article

Synthesis of uronic acid 1‐Azasugars as putative inhibitors of α‐Iduronidase, β‐glucuronidase and heparanase

Doherty, Gareth G., Ler, Geraldine Jia Ming, Wimmer, Norbert, Bernhardt, Paul V., Ashmus, Roger A., Vocadlo, David J., Armstrong, Zach W. B., Davies, Gideon J., Maccarana, Marco, Li, Jin-ping, Kayal, Yasmin and Ferro, Vito (2023). Synthesis of uronic acid 1‐Azasugars as putative inhibitors of α‐Iduronidase, β‐glucuronidase and heparanase. ChemBioChem, 24 (4) e202200619, 1-7. doi: 10.1002/cbic.202200619

Synthesis of uronic acid 1‐Azasugars as putative inhibitors of α‐Iduronidase, β‐glucuronidase and heparanase

2023

Conference Publication

A prohibitin-targeting drug modifies aspects of disease in a mouse model of Sanfilippo syndrome

Hemsley, Kim M., Beard, Helen, Doherty, Gareth G., Mubarokah, Siti, Nazri, Nazzmer and Ferro, Vito (2023). A prohibitin-targeting drug modifies aspects of disease in a mouse model of Sanfilippo syndrome. WORLDSymposiumTM 2023 19th Annual Research Meeting & Scientific Sessions, Orlando, FL United States, 22 - 26 February 2023. Waltham, MA United States: Academic Press. doi: 10.1016/j.ymgme.2022.107145

A prohibitin-targeting drug modifies aspects of disease in a mouse model of Sanfilippo syndrome

2023

Book Chapter

An enzymatic activity assay for heparanase that is useful for evaluating clinically relevant inhibitors and studying kinetics

Hammond, Edward and Ferro, Vito (2023). An enzymatic activity assay for heparanase that is useful for evaluating clinically relevant inhibitors and studying kinetics. Methods in molecular biology. (pp. 227-238) edited by Nikos K. Karamanos. New York, NY United States: Humana Press. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2946-8_16

An enzymatic activity assay for heparanase that is useful for evaluating clinically relevant inhibitors and studying kinetics

2022

Journal Article

Synthesis of a Gal-β-(1→4)-Gal disaccharide as a ligand for the fimbrial adhesin UcaD

Boittier, Eric D., Wimmer, Norbert, Harris, Alexandria K., Schembri, Mark A. and Ferro, Vito (2022). Synthesis of a Gal-β-(1→4)-Gal disaccharide as a ligand for the fimbrial adhesin UcaD. Australian Journal of Chemistry, 76 (1), 30-36. doi: 10.1071/ch22158

Synthesis of a Gal-β-(1→4)-Gal disaccharide as a ligand for the fimbrial adhesin UcaD

2022

Journal Article

Evidence for multiple binding modes in the initial contact between SARS‐CoV‐2 spike S1 protein and cell surface glycans**

Parafioriti, Michela, Ni, Minghong, Petitou, Maurice, Mycroft‐West, Courtney J., Rudd, Timothy R., Gandhi, Neha S., Ferro, Vito, Turnbull, Jeremy E., Lima, Marcelo A., Skidmore, Mark A., Fernig, David G., Yates, Edwin A., Bisio, Antonella, Guerrini, Marco and Elli, Stefano (2022). Evidence for multiple binding modes in the initial contact between SARS‐CoV‐2 spike S1 protein and cell surface glycans**. Chemistry – A European Journal, 29 (1) e202202599, e202202599. doi: 10.1002/chem.202202599

Evidence for multiple binding modes in the initial contact between SARS‐CoV‐2 spike S1 protein and cell surface glycans**

2022

Journal Article

An improved protocol for the stereoselective synthesis of β-D-glycosyl fluorides from 2-O-acyl thioglycosides

See, Nicholas W, Xu, Xiaowen and Ferro, Vito (2022). An improved protocol for the stereoselective synthesis of β-D-glycosyl fluorides from 2-O-acyl thioglycosides. The Journal of Organic Chemistry, 87 (21), 14230-14240. doi: 10.1021/acs.joc.2c01748

An improved protocol for the stereoselective synthesis of β-D-glycosyl fluorides from 2-O-acyl thioglycosides

2022

Journal Article

SARS-CoV-2 triggers complement activation through interactions with heparan sulfate

Lo, Martin W., Amarilla, Alberto A., Lee, John D., Albornoz, Eduardo A., Modhiran, Naphak, Clark, Richard J., Ferro, Vito, Chhabra, Mohit, Khromykh, Alexander A., Watterson, Daniel and Woodruff, Trent M. (2022). SARS-CoV-2 triggers complement activation through interactions with heparan sulfate. Clinical and Translational Immunology, 11 (8) e1413, e1413. doi: 10.1002/cti2.1413

SARS-CoV-2 triggers complement activation through interactions with heparan sulfate

2022

Journal Article

Tumour cell-activated platelets modulate the immunological activity of CD4+, CD8+, and NK cells, which is efficiently antagonized by heparin

Gockel, Lukas M., Nekipelov, Katrin, Ferro, Vito, Bendas, Gerd and Schlesinger, Martin (2022). Tumour cell-activated platelets modulate the immunological activity of CD4+, CD8+, and NK cells, which is efficiently antagonized by heparin. Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy, 71 (10), 2523-2533. doi: 10.1007/s00262-022-03186-5

Tumour cell-activated platelets modulate the immunological activity of CD4+, CD8+, and NK cells, which is efficiently antagonized by heparin

2022

Journal Article

Au‐NHC complexes with thiocarboxylate ligands: synthesis, structure, stability, thiol exchange and in vitro anti‐cancer activity

Al‐Buthabhak, Hawraa S., Falasca, Valerio, Yu, Yu, Sobolev, Alexandre N., Skelton, Brian W., Moggach, Stephen A., Ferro, Vito, Al‐Salami, Hani and Baker, Murray V. (2022). Au‐NHC complexes with thiocarboxylate ligands: synthesis, structure, stability, thiol exchange and in vitro anti‐cancer activity. Applied Organometallic Chemistry, 38 (10) e6645. doi: 10.1002/aoc.6645

Au‐NHC complexes with thiocarboxylate ligands: synthesis, structure, stability, thiol exchange and in vitro anti‐cancer activity

2022

Journal Article

Structural insights into pixatimod (PG545) inhibition of heparanase, a key enzyme in cancer and viral infections

Chhabra, Mohit, Wilson, Jennifer C., Wu, Liang, Davies, Gideon J., Gandhi, Neha S. and Ferro, Vito (2022). Structural insights into pixatimod (PG545) inhibition of heparanase, a key enzyme in cancer and viral infections. Chemistry – A European Journal, 28 (11) e202104222, e202104222. doi: 10.1002/chem.202104222

Structural insights into pixatimod (PG545) inhibition of heparanase, a key enzyme in cancer and viral infections

2021

Journal Article

Development of improved synthetic routes to pixatimod (PG545), a sulfated oligosaccharide-steroid conjugate

Chhabra, Mohit, Wimmer, Norbert, He, Qi Qi and Ferro, Vito (2021). Development of improved synthetic routes to pixatimod (PG545), a sulfated oligosaccharide-steroid conjugate. Bioconjugate Chemistry, 32 (11) acs.bioconjchem.1c00453, 2420-2431. doi: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.1c00453

Development of improved synthetic routes to pixatimod (PG545), a sulfated oligosaccharide-steroid conjugate

2021

Journal Article

Corrigendum: Heparanase Promotes Syndecan-1 Expression to Mediate Fibrillar Collagen and Mammographic Density in Human Breast Tissue Cultured ex vivo (Front. Cell Dev. Biol., (2020), 8, 599, 10.3389/fcell.2020.00599)

Huang, Xuan, Reye, Gina, Momot, Konstantin I., Blick, Tony, Lloyd, Thomas, Tilley, Wayne D., Hickey, Theresa E., Snell, Cameron E., Okolicsanyi, Rachel K., Haupt, Larisa M., Ferro, Vito, Thompson, Erik W. and Hugo, Honor J. (2021). Corrigendum: Heparanase Promotes Syndecan-1 Expression to Mediate Fibrillar Collagen and Mammographic Density in Human Breast Tissue Cultured ex vivo (Front. Cell Dev. Biol., (2020), 8, 599, 10.3389/fcell.2020.00599). Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, 9 678589. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2021.678589

Corrigendum: Heparanase Promotes Syndecan-1 Expression to Mediate Fibrillar Collagen and Mammographic Density in Human Breast Tissue Cultured ex vivo (Front. Cell Dev. Biol., (2020), 8, 599, 10.3389/fcell.2020.00599)

2021

Journal Article

A substituent‐directed strategy for the selective synthesis of L‐hexoses: an expeditious route to L‐idose

See, Nicholas W., Wimmer, Norbert, Krenske, Elizabeth H. and Ferro, Vito (2021). A substituent‐directed strategy for the selective synthesis of L‐hexoses: an expeditious route to L‐idose. European Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2021 (10), 1575-1584. doi: 10.1002/ejoc.202100042

A substituent‐directed strategy for the selective synthesis of L‐hexoses: an expeditious route to L‐idose

2021

Journal Article

Inhibition of tumor-host cell interactions using synthetic heparin mimetics

Gockel, Lukas M., Heyes, Martin, Li, Honglian, Al Nahain, Abdullah, Gorzelanny, Christian, Schlesinger, Martin, Holdenrieder, Stefan, Li, Jin-Ping, Ferro, Vito and Bendas, Gerd (2021). Inhibition of tumor-host cell interactions using synthetic heparin mimetics. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 13 (6), 7080-7093. doi: 10.1021/acsami.0c20744

Inhibition of tumor-host cell interactions using synthetic heparin mimetics

2021

Journal Article

Evidence of a putative glycosaminoglycan binding site on the glycosylated SARS-CoV-2 spike protein N-terminal domain

Schuurs, Zachariah P., Hammond, Edward, Elli, Stefano, Rudd, Timothy R., Mycroft-West, Courtney J., Lima, Marcelo A., Skidmore, Mark A., Karlsson, Richard, Chen, Yen-Hsi, Bagdonaite, Ieva, Yang, Zhang, Ahmed, Yassir A., Richard, Derek J., Turnbull, Jeremy, Ferro, Vito, Coombe, Deirdre R. and Gandhi, Neha S. (2021). Evidence of a putative glycosaminoglycan binding site on the glycosylated SARS-CoV-2 spike protein N-terminal domain. Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal, 19, 2806-2818. doi: 10.1016/j.csbj.2021.05.002

Evidence of a putative glycosaminoglycan binding site on the glycosylated SARS-CoV-2 spike protein N-terminal domain

2020

Journal Article

GlycoTorch Vina: docking designed and tested for glycosaminoglycans

Boittier, Eric D., Burns, Jed M., Gandhi, Neha S. and Ferro, Vito (2020). GlycoTorch Vina: docking designed and tested for glycosaminoglycans. Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling, 60 (12), 6328-6343. doi: 10.1021/acs.jcim.0c00373

GlycoTorch Vina: docking designed and tested for glycosaminoglycans

2020

Journal Article

Sulfonated RAFT copolymers as heparin mimetics: synthesis, reactivity ratios, and anticoagulant activity

Nahain, Abdullah Al, Ignjatovic, Vera, Monagle, Paul, Tsanaktsidis, John, Vamvounis, George and Ferro, Vito (2020). Sulfonated RAFT copolymers as heparin mimetics: synthesis, reactivity ratios, and anticoagulant activity. Macromolecular Bioscience, 20 (9) 2000110, e2000110. doi: 10.1002/mabi.202000110

Sulfonated RAFT copolymers as heparin mimetics: synthesis, reactivity ratios, and anticoagulant activity

2020

Journal Article

Heparanase promotes syndecan-1 expression to mediate fibrillar collagen and mammographic density in human breast tissue cultured ex vivo

Huang, Xuan, Reye, Gina, Momot, Konstantin I., Blick, Tony, Lloyd, Thomas, Tilley, Wayne D., Hickey, Theresa E., Snell, Cameron E., Okolicsanyi, Rachel K., Haupt, Larisa M., Ferro, Vito, Thompson, Erik W. and Hugo, Honor J. (2020). Heparanase promotes syndecan-1 expression to mediate fibrillar collagen and mammographic density in human breast tissue cultured ex vivo. Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, 8 599, 599. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2020.00599

Heparanase promotes syndecan-1 expression to mediate fibrillar collagen and mammographic density in human breast tissue cultured ex vivo

2020

Other Outputs

Synthetic Heparan Sulfate Mimetic Pixatimod (PG545) Potently Inhibits SARS-CoV-2 By Disrupting The Spike-ACE2 interaction

Guimond, Scott E., Mycroft-West, Courtney J., Gandhi, Neha S., Tree, Julia A., Le, Thuy T, Spalluto, C. Mirella, Humbert, Maria V., Buttigieg, Karen R., Coombes, Naomi, Elmore, Michael J., Nyström, Kristina, Said, Joanna, Setoh, Yin Xiang, Amarilla, Alberto A., Modhiran, Naphak, Sng, Julian D.J., Chhabra, Mohit, Young, Paul R., Lima, Marcelo A., A.Yates, Edwin, Karlsson, Richard, Miller, Rebecca L., Chen, Yen-Hsi, Bagdonaite, Ieva, Yang, Zhang, Stewart, James, Hammond, Edward, Dredge, Keith, Wilkinson, Tom M.A. ... Turnbull, Jeremy E. (2020). Synthetic Heparan Sulfate Mimetic Pixatimod (PG545) Potently Inhibits SARS-CoV-2 By Disrupting The Spike-ACE2 interaction. doi: 10.1101/2020.06.24.169334

Synthetic Heparan Sulfate Mimetic Pixatimod (PG545) Potently Inhibits SARS-CoV-2 By Disrupting The Spike-ACE2 interaction

2020

Journal Article

PI-88 and related heparan sulfate mimetics

Chhabra, Mohit and Ferro, Vito (2020). PI-88 and related heparan sulfate mimetics. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, 1221, 473-491. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-34521-1_19

PI-88 and related heparan sulfate mimetics

Current funding

  • 2025 - 2026
    Pharmacological chaperone therapy in a mouse model of MPS IIIA (Sanfilippo syndrome), a childhood dementia
    National Foundation for Medical Research and Innovation
    Open grant
  • 2020 - 2025
    Sanfilippo IIIB Syndrome Research
    Research Donation Generic
    Open grant

Past funding

  • 2022 - 2025
    Opening Up Access to L-Sugars through a Synergy of Experiment and Theory
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2021 - 2022
    Small molecule drug therapy for MPS IIIA (Sanfilippo Children's Foundation grant administered by Flinders University)
    Flinders University
    Open grant
  • 2021 - 2022
    Development of pharmacological chaperones for MPS IIIB
    Sanfilippo Children's Foundation Incubator Grant
    Open grant
  • 2021 - 2023
    Antibiotic Conjugates: Joining Together to Fight Antimicrobial Resistance
    NHMRC IDEAS Grants
    Open grant
  • 2021 - 2023
    Towards pharmacological chaperone therapy for MPS II
    National MPS Society
    Open grant
  • 2020 - 2022
    Small molecule drug therapy for MPS IIIA
    Sanfilippo Children's Foundation
    Open grant
  • 2019
    A versatile accurate mass, high resolution QTOF mass spectrometer for chemistry and proteomic applications
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2018 - 2019
    Pharmacological chaperones for MPS IIIA
    Sanfilippo Children's Foundation
    Open grant
  • 2017 - 2020
    Heparan sulfate mimetics: versatile tools for chemical biology
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2015
    A sensitive, high resolution QTOF mass spectrometer with nanoUPLC system for qualitative and quantitative biomolecule analysis.
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2016
    Improving Anticancer Activity of Gold Compounds
    UWA-UQ Bilateral Research Collaboration Award
    Open grant
  • 2013 - 2016
    Development of Pharmacological Chaperone Therapy for MPS II.
    National MPS Society
    Open grant
  • 2013 - 2015
    Targeting Tumour Angiogenesis in Breast Cancer by Altering MicroRNA Signalling (NHMRC project led by Deakin University)
    Deakin University
    Open grant
  • 2011 - 2014
    Small molecule chaperones for enzyme enhancement therapy for MPS II
    National MPS Society
    Open grant
  • 2011
    Synthesis of novel inhibitors of heparan sulfate-degrading enzymes as potential anticancer therapeutics
    UQ Early Career Researcher
    Open grant
  • 2010 - 2011
    Expression, purification and characterization of recombinant human heparanase
    UQ New Staff Research Start-Up Fund
    Open grant

Availability

Professor Vito Ferro is:
Available for supervision

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

Supervision history

Current supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Synthesis and applications of glycosaminoglycan mimetics

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Craig Williams

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Synthesis of novel probes and inhibitors of carbohydrate-binding proteins

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor James De Voss

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Synthesis of inhibitors and probes for heparan sulfate degrading enzymes

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Craig Williams

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Development of new chemical tools for probing glycosaminoglycan-dependent cellular processes

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Craig Williams

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Synthesis of L-sugars via radical chemistry

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Elizabeth Krenske

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Antibiotic Conjugates: Joining Together to Fight Antimicrobial Resistance

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Anthony Verderosa, Professor Mark Blaskovich

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Antibiotic Conjugates: Joining Together to Fight Antimicrobial Resistance

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Mark Blaskovich

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Development of new computational techniques for carbohydrate and agricultural chemistry

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Elizabeth Krenske

Completed supervision

Enquiries

Contact Professor Vito Ferro directly for media enquiries about:

  • Carbohydrate chemistry
  • heparan sulfate
  • heparin
  • Medicinal chemistry
  • Mucopolysaccharidosis
  • Sanfilippo syndrome

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