Overview
Background
Dr. Richard Gordon leads a multi-disciplinary, industry-partnered research program in Translational Neuroscience which integrates immunology, drug development, pharmacology, metabolomics and microbial metagenomics. His group aims to understand and therapeutically target key pathological mechanisms which drive the onset and progression of neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Their work combines target validation studies in human patients with mechanistic insights from disease models to develop and test novel therapeutic strategies that can be translated towards clinical trials.
Key research themes within this program include:
- Understanding how chronic immune and inflammasome activation contribute to neurodegeneration in the CNS
- The role of gut dysbiosis and gastrointestinal dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease pathophysiology
- Therapeutic targeting of the gut-brain axis for neuroprotection
- Drug discovery, development and repositioning for novel therapeutic targets
- Discovery and validation of clinical biomarkers for PD and ALS
- Clinical trials for disease-modifying therapeutic strategies
Availability
- Dr Richard Gordon is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, University of Iowa
- Australasian Society of Clinical & Experimental Pharmacologists & Toxicologists, Australasian Society of Clinical & Experimental Pharmacologists & Toxicologists
Research interests
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Understanding and targeting the gut-brain axis in neurodegeneration
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Targeting immune and inflammatory mechanisms for neuroprotection
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Novel therapeutic approaches for regeneration of the central nervous system
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Clinical bio-markers for early detection of Parkinson's disease
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In silico approaches for therapeutic development
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Drug repositioning to accelerate new treatments for progressive neurodegenerative disorders
Research impacts
Dr. Gordon’s research has contributed to ground-breaking advances in the field of neuroinflammation and Parkinson’s disease, including discovery of a novel signalling paradigm for prokineticin signalling during neurodegeneration, and inflammasome activation as a driver of synuclein pathology and disease progression in PD. He established the Queensland Drug Repurposing Initiative (QDRI) which aims to accelerate new treatments for neurological diseases through drug repositioning. He is the Research Lead for the COMBO-PD clinical trial at UQ which is evaluating the therapeutic potential of restoring beneficial gut microbiota which are depleted in people with PD.
Dr. Gordon is a Board-certified toxicologist with the American Board of Toxicology (DABT) and has served as a member of the Gene Technology Technical Advisory Committee for the Australian Federal Government. He is also a Science Ambassador for the World Parkinson Coalition (WPC) for Australia and the Asia Pacific Region.
Works
Search Professor Richard Gordon’s works on UQ eSpace
Featured
2018
Journal Article
Inflammasome inhibition prevents α-synuclein pathology and dopaminergic neurodegeneration in mice
Gordon, Richard, Albornoz, Eduardo A., Christie, Daniel C., Langley, Monica R., Kumar, Vinod, Mantovani, Susanna, Robertson, Avril A. B., Butler, Mark S., Rowe, Dominic B., O'Neill, Luke A., Kanthasamy, Anumantha G., Schroder, Kate, Cooper, Matthew A. and Woodruff, Trent M. (2018). Inflammasome inhibition prevents α-synuclein pathology and dopaminergic neurodegeneration in mice. Science Translational Medicine, 10 (465) aah4066, eaah4066. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aah4066
Featured
2017
Journal Article
Specific inhibition of NLRP3 in chikungunya disease reveals a role for inflammasomes in alphavirus-induced inflammation
Chen, Weiqiang, Foo, Suan-Sin, Zaid, Ali, Teng, Terk-Shin, Herrero, Lara J., Wolf, Stefan, Tharmarajah, Kothila, Vu, Luan D., van Vreden, Caryn, Taylor, Adam, Freitas, Joseph R., Li, Rachel W., Woodruff, Trent M., Gordon, Richard, Ojcius, David M., Nakaya, Helder I., Kanneganti, Thirumala-Devi, O’Neill, Luke A. J., Robertson, Avril A. B., King, Nicholas J., Suhrbier, Andreas, Cooper, Matthew A., Ng, Lisa F. P. and Mahalingam, Suresh (2017). Specific inhibition of NLRP3 in chikungunya disease reveals a role for inflammasomes in alphavirus-induced inflammation. Nature Microbiology, 2 (10), 1-11. doi: 10.1038/s41564-017-0015-4
Featured
2016
Journal Article
Prokineticin-2 upregulation during neuronal injury mediates a compensatory protective response against dopaminergic neuronal degeneration
Gordon, Richard, Neal, Matthew L., Luo, Jie, Langley, Monica R., Harischandra, Dilshan S., Panicker, Nikhil, Charli, Adhithiya, Jin, Huajun, Anantharam, Vellareddy, Woodruff, Trent M., Zhou, Qun-Yong, Kanthasamy, Anumantha G. and Kanthasamy, Arthi (2016). Prokineticin-2 upregulation during neuronal injury mediates a compensatory protective response against dopaminergic neuronal degeneration. Nature Communications, 7 (1) 12932, 12932.1-12932.18. doi: 10.1038/ncomms12932
Featured
2016
Journal Article
Protein kinase Cδ upregulation in microglia drives neuroinflammatory responses and dopaminergic neurodegeneration in experimental models of Parkinson's disease
Gordon, Richard, Singh, Neeraj, Lawana, Vivek, Ghosh, Anamitra, Harischandra, Dilshan S., Jin, Huajun, Hogan, Colleen, Sarkar, Souvarish, Rokad, Dharmin, Panicker, Nikhil, Anantharam, Vellareddy, Kanthasamy, Anumantha G. and Kanthasamy, Arthi (2016). Protein kinase Cδ upregulation in microglia drives neuroinflammatory responses and dopaminergic neurodegeneration in experimental models of Parkinson's disease. Neurobiology of Disease, 93, 96-114. doi: 10.1016/j.nbd.2016.04.008
Featured
2016
Journal Article
Motor deficits associated with Huntington's disease occur in the absence of striatal degeneration in BACHD transgenic mice
Mantovani, Susanna, Gordon, Richard, Li, Rui, Christie, Daniel C., Kumar, Vinod and Woodruff, Trent M. (2016). Motor deficits associated with Huntington's disease occur in the absence of striatal degeneration in BACHD transgenic mice. Human Molecular Genetics, 25 (9) ddw050, 1780-1791. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddw050
Featured
2015
Journal Article
The complement receptor C5aR controls acute inflammation and astrogliosis following spinal cord injury
Brennan, Faith H., Gordon, Richard, Lao, Hong W., Biggins, Patrick J., Taylor, Stephen M., Franklin, Robin J. M., Woodruff, Trent M. and Ruitenberg, Marc J. (2015). The complement receptor C5aR controls acute inflammation and astrogliosis following spinal cord injury. Journal of Neuroscience, 35 (16), 6517-6531. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5218-14.2015
2023
Journal Article
Pharmacological inhibition of PTEN rescues dopaminergic neurons by attenuating apoptotic and neuroinflammatory signaling events
Johnson, Aishwarya Mary, Jose, Sara, Palakkott, Abdul Rasheed, Khan, Farheen Badrealam, Jayabalan, Nanthini, Kizhakkayil, Jaleel, AlNaqbi, Shamma Abdulla Ali, Scott, Mark GH, Ayoub, Mohammed Akli, Gordon, Richard and Saminathan, Hariharan (2023). Pharmacological inhibition of PTEN rescues dopaminergic neurons by attenuating apoptotic and neuroinflammatory signaling events. Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology, 18 (3), 462-475. doi: 10.1007/s11481-023-10077-8
2023
Journal Article
Response to comment on “Inflammasome inhibition prevents α-synuclein pathology and dopaminergic neurodegeneration in mice”
Albornoz, Eduardo A., Gordon, Richard, Kumar, Vinod, Robertson, Avril A. B., Schroder, Kate and Woodruff, Trent M. (2023). Response to comment on “Inflammasome inhibition prevents α-synuclein pathology and dopaminergic neurodegeneration in mice”. Science Translational Medicine, 15 (696) adh0604, 1-4. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adh0604
2023
Journal Article
A review of RRx-001: a late-stage multi-indication inhibitor of NLRP3 activation and chronic inflammation
Jayabalan, Nanthini, Oronsky, Bryan, Cabrales, Pedro, Reid, Tony, Caroen, Scott, Johnson, Aishwarya M., Birch, Natalia A., O’Sullivan, John D. and Gordon, Richard (2023). A review of RRx-001: a late-stage multi-indication inhibitor of NLRP3 activation and chronic inflammation. Drugs, 83 (5), 389-402. doi: 10.1007/s40265-023-01838-z
2023
Journal Article
RRx-001: a chimeric triple action NLRP3 inhibitor, Nrf2 inducer, and nitric oxide superagonist
Oronsky, Bryan, Takahashi, Lori, Gordon, Richard, Cabrales, Pedro, Caroen, Scott and Reid, Tony (2023). RRx-001: a chimeric triple action NLRP3 inhibitor, Nrf2 inducer, and nitric oxide superagonist. Frontiers in Oncology, 13 1204143, 1-8. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1204143
2022
Journal Article
Inflammasome activation in Parkinson's disease
Jewell, Shannon, Herath, Ashane M. and Gordon, Richard (2022). Inflammasome activation in Parkinson's disease. Journal of Parkinson's Disease, 12 (s1), S113-S128. doi: 10.3233/JPD-223338
2022
Journal Article
Mechanisms of NLRP3 activation and pathology during neurodegeneration
Jose, Sara, Groves, Natalie J., Roper, Kathrein E. and Gordon, Richard (2022). Mechanisms of NLRP3 activation and pathology during neurodegeneration. The International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology, 151 106273, 106273. doi: 10.1016/j.biocel.2022.106273
2022
Journal Article
LC-MS based urine metabolomic profiling indicate altered gut microbiome and host lipid metabolites in Parkinson's disease
Jewell, Shannon, Roper, Kerry, Woodhouse, Helen, Adam, Robert, O'Sullivan, John and Gordon, Richard (2022). LC-MS based urine metabolomic profiling indicate altered gut microbiome and host lipid metabolites in Parkinson's disease. The FASEB Journal, 36 (S1). doi: 10.1096/fasebj.2022.36.S1.R2928
2022
Conference Publication
A Novel Role for Glucocerebrosidase 1 (GBA1) in Parkinson's Disease
Jayabalan, Nanthini, Roper, Katherine Kerry, Woodhouse, Helen M., Adam, Robert J., O'Sullivan, John D. and Gordon, Richard (2022). A Novel Role for Glucocerebrosidase 1 (GBA1) in Parkinson's Disease. Experimental Biology Meeting 2022, Philadelphia, PA United States, 2-5 April 2022. Hoboken, NJ United States: John Wiley and Sons. doi: 10.1096/fasebj.2022.36.S1.R5391
2022
Journal Article
Environmental neurotoxicants and inflammasome activation in Parkinson’s disease – a focus on the gut-brain axis
Johnson, Aishwarya M., Ou, Zhen-Yi Andy, Gordon, Richard and Saminathan, Hariharan (2022). Environmental neurotoxicants and inflammasome activation in Parkinson’s disease – a focus on the gut-brain axis. The International Journal of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, 142 106113, 106113. doi: 10.1016/j.biocel.2021.106113
2020
Journal Article
Fyn kinase mediates pro-inflammatory response in a mouse model of endotoxemia: Relevance to translational research
Saminathan, Hariharan, Charli, Adhithiya, Luo, Jie, Panicker, Nikhil, Gordon, Richard, Hostetter, Jesse M, Jin, Huajun, Anantharam, Vellareddy, Kanthasamy, Anumantha G and Kanthasamy, Arthi (2020). Fyn kinase mediates pro-inflammatory response in a mouse model of endotoxemia: Relevance to translational research. European journal of pharmacology, 881 173259, 173259. doi: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2020.173259
2020
Journal Article
Tumor necrosis factor-like weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK) enhances activation of STAT3/NLRC4 inflammasome signaling axis through PKCδ in astrocytes: implications for Parkinson's disease
Samidurai, Manikandan, Tarale, Prashant, Janarthanam, Chelva, Estrada, Crystal Gomez, Gordon, Richard, Zenitsky, Gary, Jin, Huajun, Anantharam, Vellareddy, Kanthasamy, Anumantha G. and Kanthasamy, Arthi (2020). Tumor necrosis factor-like weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK) enhances activation of STAT3/NLRC4 inflammasome signaling axis through PKCδ in astrocytes: implications for Parkinson's disease. Cells, 9 (8) 1831, 1831-35. doi: 10.3390/cells9081831
2020
Journal Article
Interaction of the brain-selective sulfotransferase SULT4A1 with other cytosolic sulfotransferases: effects on protein expression and function
Idris, Misgana, Mitchell, Deanne J., Gordon, Richard, Sidharthan, Neelima P., Butcher, Neville J. and Minchin, Rodney F. (2020). Interaction of the brain-selective sulfotransferase SULT4A1 with other cytosolic sulfotransferases: effects on protein expression and function. Drug Metabolism and Disposition, 48 (5), 337-344. doi: 10.1124/dmd.119.089714
2020
Journal Article
The microglial NLRP3 inflammasome is activated by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis proteins
Deora, Vandana, Lee, John D., Albornoz, Eduardo A., McAlary, Luke, Jagaraj, Cyril J., Robertson, Avril A. B., Atkin, Julie D, Cooper, Matthew A., Schroder, Kate, Yerbury, Justin J., Gordon, Richard and Woodruff, Trent M. (2020). The microglial NLRP3 inflammasome is activated by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis proteins. Glia, 68 (2) glia.23728, 407-421. doi: 10.1002/glia.23728
2018
Journal Article
Prokineticin-2 promotes chemotaxis and alternative A2 reactivity of astrocytes
Neal, Matthew, Luo, Jie, Harischandra, Dilshan S., Gordon, Richard, Sarkar, Souvarish, Jin, Huajun, Anantharam, Vellareddy, Désaubry, Laurent, Kanthasamy, Anumantha and Kanthasamy, Arthi (2018). Prokineticin-2 promotes chemotaxis and alternative A2 reactivity of astrocytes. Glia, 66 (10), 2137-2157. doi: 10.1002/glia.23467
Funding
Current funding
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Richard Gordon is:
- Available for supervision
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Available projects
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Novel therapeutic strategies targeting the microbiota and gut-brain axis in Parkinson's disease
Gastrointestinal pathology and alterations in the gut microbiota are often early pathogenic changes seen in Parkinson's disease (PD) and other neurological disorders. Clinical studies suggest that gastrointestinal deficits in people with PD, can often precede cardinal motor symptoms, based on which clinical diagnosis is confirmed. Emerging evidence suggests that specific alternations in the gut microbiota and gastrointestinal deficits are associated with neuronal dysfunction, chronic immune activation and progressive neurodegeneration seen in PD. Our translational research program on the gut-brain axis combines innovative preclinical mechanistic studies in model systems, with powerful big-data analytics on our clinical cohorts to understand the role of gut dysbiosis and gastrointestinal dysfunction in PD, with a focus on therapeutically tractable mechanisms that are involved. We use these insights to develop and test novel and clinically relevant neuroprotective strategies by which to slow, stop or even reverse neurodegeneration in PD.
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Pharmacological targeting of immune and inflammatory mechanisms for neuroprotection
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Clinical biomarkers for Parkinson's disease
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Novel therapeutic approaches for regeneration of the central nervous system
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AI-based approaches for therapeutic development and drug repositioning
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Drug discovery, development and repurposing to accelerate therapies for neurodegeneration
Supervision history
Completed supervision
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2023
Doctor Philosophy
Novel disease-modifying therapeutic targets for neuroinflammation and progressive neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease and motor neuron disease.
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Trent Woodruff
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2024
Doctor Philosophy
Unravelling the role of Parkinson's disease pathology in sleep and circadian disruption
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Oliver Rawashdeh
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2019
Doctor Philosophy
Pharmacological targeting of the inflammasome: towards novel therapeutics for Parkinson's disease
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Avril Robertson, Professor Trent Woodruff
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2019
Doctor Philosophy
The role of GPR43 in neuroinflammation and the hSOD1G93A mouse model of motor neuron disease
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr John Lee, Professor Trent Woodruff
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2018
Doctor Philosophy
Contribution of innate immune signalling to microglial activation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Peter Noakes, Professor Trent Woodruff
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2017
Doctor Philosophy
The Role of the C5a Receptor, C5aR2, in Neurodegenerative Disease
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Trent Woodruff
Media
Enquiries
Contact Dr Richard Gordon directly for media enquiries about:
- Drug Repurposing
- Neuroinflamamtion
- Parkinson's disease
- Risk Assessments
- Toxicology
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