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I am a medicinal chemist and postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Queensland, Australia, where I obtained my BSc (Hons) with a major in organic chemistry in 2011. Following this, I worked at the Institute for Future Environments and later the Centre for Tropical Crops and Biocommodities at QUT, where I gained experience in analytical chemistry, as well as molecular biology and genetics. In 2015, I returned to UQ to begin my PhD in the design and synthesis of novel antifungals targeting invasive infection under the supervision of Prof. Craig Williams and Prof. Luke Guddat, which I completed in 2019. My combined experience in synthetic chemistry - particularly in the synthesis of heterocyclic small molecules - and molecular biology has since led to my current position at UQ under the supervision of Prof. Avril Robertson, where my focus is once again on the design and synthesis of novel antifungals. Broadly, my research interests lie in the pursuit of drug design and development campaigns addressing difficult or under-researched clinical concerns, and in particular, the use of novel bioisosteric approaches to improve drugability and drug efficacy.

More recently, I have developed an interest in Australian mushroom species. Very little recorded knowledge on our endemic mushrooms species exists. My research in this space seeks to characterise the genetic and molecular features of Australian wood rot mushrooms, which are critical players in maintaining and restoring the health of our unique forests ecosystems. With this information we aim to better understand our fungal biodiversity and the ecological roles they play, and to explore their potential uses in several industries. We are also investigating the biological activity of extracts and molecules derived from these mushrooms against models of human diseases, such as Alzheimer's, cancer, and drug-resistant microbial infections.

Dr Marlize Bekker is a Senior Lecturer in Food Chemistry at The University of Queensland’s School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability. She has a PhD in Chemistry and has over 15 years of experience in flavour and aroma chemistry in food and beverage products. Her research interests include fermented food and beverages. Specifically, evaluating the formation, fate, and function of key aroma and flavour compounds in these food and beverage products and examining the impacts of processing on flavour. Marlize is also interested in the isolation and identification of important flavour and aroma compounds from natural Australian bush foods and the development of new products. Her expertise lies heavily in the application of chromatographic techniques.

Active projects:

• A Deadly Solution: Combining Traditional Knowledge and Western Science for an Indigenous-led Bushfood Industry (ARC Discovery-Indigenous)
• Identifying heirloom sugarcane varieties with high sugar and unique flavour profiles (UQ’s Agri-Food Innovation Alliance (AFIA) Industry Kickstarter Grant program)
• Identifying the desirable flavour, aroma, and sensory profiles of novel Australian native lime hybrids (UQ’s Agri-Food Innovation Alliance (AFIA) Industry Kickstarter Grant program)
• Maximising flavour throughout the vanilla production process (Faculty of Science BIRRST Partner 2024 funding scheme)
• Exploring the Flavour Potential of Australian Cocoa (Faculty of Science BIRRST Partner 2024 funding scheme)
• Unlocking Nature's Signals: Discovering the Semiochemicals for Effective Management of Australian Native Sugarcane Soldier Fly(Sugar Research Australia’s 2024 Sugar Industry Research Award Round)
• Optimising Cold Brew Tea Extraction and Concentration Processes (FaBA Industry Kickstarter)

Natural Products from Traditional Medicines and drug development.

My group focuses on isolating bioactive natural products from plants and organisms used in traditional and herbal medicines in cultures across the globe. We screen extracts and purified compounds for biological activity and for bioavailability using cell techniques. We are also involved in synthesising analogues of natural compounds and components of subunit vaccines. We also work with first responders to develop methods for detection and decompostion of dangerous chemicals.

My research group specializes in the detection, isolation, identification and evaluation of biologically active small molecules from Nature (natural products). We acquire valuable knowledge on how and why natural products are made, and apply this knowledge to better understand living systems, and solve important scientific and societal challenges.

To achieve these goals we have established specialist capabilities that extend across;

Microbiology – the isolation, characterization and cultivation of bacterial and fungal strains.

Chemistry – the extraction and fractionation of natural extracts, the purification, chemical and spectroscopic characterization, and structure elucidation of natural products, and the use of synthetic and medicinal chemistry to explore bioactive scaffolds.

Biology – to evaluate extracts and natural products against an array of bioassays, leading to new human pharmaceuticals that target such indications as infectious and neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, pain and epilepsy, as well as new animal health products and new crop protection agents.

James De Voss received a B. Sc (Hons) in Chemistry and a University Medal from the University of Queensland in 1984. He was a Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 scholar at Cambridge University, where he worked on the biosynthesis of Vitamin B12 with Prof. Sir Alan Battersby. A postdoctoral fellowship, again from the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, allowed him to work with Prof. Craig Townsend at Johns Hopkins University on the mechanism of DNA cleavage caused by the enediyne antibiotic calicheamicin. He was then introduced to the cytochromes P450 by Prof. Paul Ortiz de Montellano with whom he worked while at the University of California, San Francisco. Since returning to the University of Queensland to take up an academic appointment, initially as a Senior lecturer and subsequently as a Reader and then a Professor, he has continued his interest in problems at the interface of chemistry and biology and currently works with a range of bacterial, insect and mammalian P450s, as well as on the biogenesis of insect pheromones and phytochemistry of herbal medicines.

Professor Fairlie is an NHMRC Research Investigator Fellow (Level 3) (2022-present), a Node Leader of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide Protein Science, one of four Centre Directors and former Head of the Division of Chemistry of Structural Biology at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience (since 2009), and an Affiliate Professor of the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences. He was previously an NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow (2012-2021), a Node Leader at the ARC Centre of Excellence in Advanced Molecular Imaging (2014-2021), an ARC Federation Fellow (2006-2011), an ARC Professorial Fellow (2002-2006), and Scientific Director and Chief Scientific Officer of a startup company. He undertook postdoctoral studies at Stanford University and University of Toronto, postgraduate studies at Australian National University and University of New South Wales, and undergraduate studies at University of Adelaide.

His research group works across the disciplines of chemistry (synthesis, structure, reaction mechanisms), biochemistry (enzyme inhibitors, protein-protein interactions, GPCRs, transcription factors), immunology (innate immune cells in health and disease, mucosal T cells), and pharmacology (molecular pharmacology and human cell signalling, experimental pharmacology in rodent models of human diseases). He has published over 480 scientific journal articles in high impact chemistry journals (e.g. Chem Rev, Acc Chem Res, J Am Chem Soc, Angew Chem Int Edit, Chem Sci, J Med Chem, Org Lett, J Org Chem) and biology journals (e.g. Nature, Science, Nat Rev Endocrinol, Mol Cancer, Immunity, Nature Immunology, Science Immunology, Am J Resp Crit Care Med, J Hepatol, Trends Immunol, Mol Neurodegen, Adv Drug Deliv Rev, Nature Communications, Trends Pharmacol Sci, J Exp Med, J Clin Invest, Kidney Int, Arthritis & Rheum, Science Advances, Pharmacol Ther, Cancer Res, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, Dev Cell, Curr Biol, J Cell Biol, Cell Reports, PloS Biol, Br J Pharmacol, JCI Insight, Diabetes, Mucosal Immunol, etc). He has been a Highly Cited Researcher (Clarivate Analytics), with over 37,000 citations and 113 publications with over 100 citations (Google Scholar), and has collaborated with many of the world’s largest pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

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.

Professor Mary Fletcher is a natural product organic chemist, and led the Natural Toxin group within the Centre for Animal Science, Queensland Alliance for Agricultural and Food Innovation (QAAFI) 2010-2024,before being appointed Emeritus Professor in 2024. She previously worked as a research chemist at both The University Queensland and Queensland Primary Industries (Biosecurity Queensland), before joining the Queensland Alliance for Agricultural and Food Innovation in 2010. Prof Fletcher's current interest focuses on bioactives that reduce enteric methane and the application of slow release delivery systems appropriate to rangeland grazing systems. Prof Fletcher has an industry recognised expertise as an applied organic chemist with a specialist interest in the identification and analysis of natural toxins and other bioactives in a range of plants, fungi and agricultural products. Such toxins and bioactives can affect both human and animal health posing risks to livestock production, food safety and market access.

Prof Fletcher is also an Affiliate Professor in the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences (http://www.scmb.uq.edu.au/index.html), and an Affiliated Scientist at the Biosciences eastern & central Africa-International Livestock Research Institute (BecA-ILRI) Hub in Nairobi, Kenya (http://hub.africabiosciences.org/).

Prof Fletcher is a Fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute and in 2016 was elected President of the Queensland Branch of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (http://www.raci.org.au/branches/qld-branch).

Present Position

I am an ARC Future Fellow at the Centre for Advanced Imaging and associated with the University of Oxford as a Senior Visiting Research Fellow.

Previous Positions

• August 2007 to March 2013: Scientific Coordinator and Applications manager of the Centre of Advanced Electron Spin Resonance (CAESR) at the Oxford University, UK.
• 2002-July 2007: Project leader (“Ober-assistent”) in the Physical Chemistry Department at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zürich. I was a project leader in the electron paramagnetic resonance group of Prof. Arthur Schweiger.
• 1999-2002: Postdoctoral position at ETH, Zurich. In the group of Prof. Arthur Schweiger I used CW and pulse EPR as a tool to investigate the geometric and electronic properties of transition metal complexes.
• 1996-1999: Doctor of Philosophy from the Chemistry Department of the University of Newcastle, Australia, Advanced Coal Characterization by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. The project was funded by the Collaborative Research Centre for Black Coal Utilization and I was supervised by the University of Newcastle (Prof. Marcel Maeder), BHP Research Melbourne (Dr. Brian Smith) and Callcott Coal Consulting (Dr. Tom Callcott).
• 1995: Researcher at BHP Central Research Laboratories, Newcastle, Australia. I developed experimental techniques to measure the conductivity and the permeability of coal as it pertains to coke ovens.
• 1992-1995: Researcher at Oakbridge Research Center, Newcastle, Australia. I worked on high temperature Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) for coal characterization (for my Bachelor of Science Honors thesis). This was a collaboration between the CSIRO Coal and Energy Division (North Ryde, Sydney), Oakbridge Research Centre and the University of Newcastle.

Keywords

structural biology · protein interactions · metalloenzymes · metal complexes · electron transfer · Iron sulphur clusters · pulse EPR · CW EPR · DEER · PELDOR ·HYSCORE · ENDOR · ESEEM · density functional theory · molecular dynamics

Dr Natasha Hungerford is an organic chemist and has extensive experience in natural products chemistry. She is a Senior Research Fellow leading the Natural Toxin group within the Centre for Animal Science, Queensland Alliance for Agricultural and Food Innovation (QAAFI) and is based at the Health and Food Sciences Precinct (Cooper's Plains). She joined QAAFI in 2016 and specialises in natural plant toxins and their impacts on livestock and human health, including food safety and regulations. Collaborative projects with government/industry have spanned mitigation of toxin impacts on cattle, to evaluation of toxins in honey (and health impacts). Subsequent examinations of stingless bee honey serendipitously led to the ground-breaking discovery of the rare sugar trehalulose as a major component of these honeys. Dr Hungerford continues to lead and manage projects to address agricultural industry challenges, including reducing methane gas emissions for a carbon neutral beef industry and international stingless bee honey development.

Dr Hungerford achieved her PhD in 1998, through the UQ School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, and subsequently conducted postdoctoral research in natural products chemistry and in synthetic organic chemistry, at the University of Oxford, Australian National University, The University of Sydney, Griffith University and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Professor Elizabeth Krenske leads a computational chemistry laboratory that specialises in understanding molecular behaviour. Her laboratory has a particular focus on the study of chemical reaction mechanisms, including the computational prediction of reaction outcomes. Prof. Krenske obtained her PhD in synthetic main-group chemistry at The Australian National University's Research School of Chemistry, where she worked with Professor Bruce Wild. After two years of postdoctoral research at the ANU she was awarded a Fulbright Postdoctoral Scholarship and spent two years at the University of California, Los Angeles, working in the field of theoretical and computational chemistry with Professor Kendall Houk. She returned to Australia in 2009 as an ARC Australian Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Melbourne, and moved to The University of Queensland in 2012 as an ARC Future Fellow. She is currently a Professor in the UQ School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences.

Prof. Krenske is a Fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and former Associate Editor of the RSC journal Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry.

Organic functional materials development (design, synthesis & characterisation) for optoelectronics

Associate Professor Shih-Chun Lo (Lawrence)

Lawrence held a prestigious Swire Scholarship while carrying out his PhD study on semiconductor material development for organic solar cells and light emitting diodes (LEDs) at Oxford University, UK (1996-2000). His post-doctoral research at Oxford University focused on the design, synthesis and characterisation of fluorescent and phosphorescent dendrimers for higly efficient LEDs. Dendrimers have been recognised internationally as the third main class of LED materials, alongside small molecules and polymers, in which he played a key role. In December 2007, he joined the University of Queensland as a Lecturer in Chemistry of Materials. His research work has focused on the development of new functional semicondcutor materials for quantum based opto-electronic applications (e.g. solar cells, LEDs, photodetectors, sensors, superconductors & organic lasers) as well as clean energy generation.

Biography

Jeffrey Mak (PhD) is an organic chemist at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience. His publications cover a range of disciplines such as biological and medicinal chemistry, total synthesis, and physical organic chemistry. Dr Mak was selected as a Rising Star of Chemistry by the Australian Journal of Chemistry (2022).

Jeffrey Mak was awarded the Harriett Marks Bursary and a UQ University Medal before undertaking doctorate studies in natural product total synthesis with Prof. Craig Williams. This culminated in the first total synthesis of two caged diterpenes, (−)-neovibsanin G and (−)-14-epi-neovibsanin G. Next, he joined Prof. David Fairlie's group at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience. He is currently active in the fields of chemical biology and drug development. He is recognised for his development of ligands that modulate mucosal associated invariant T (MAIT) cells, which are a newly characterised subset of immune cells important in antibacterial defence (Accounts of Chemical Research, 2021). In 2014, he was part of an Australian team that discovered the identity of the ligands that activate MAIT cells, as published in Nature, playing a key role in the chemical synthesis and characterisation of the unstable and structurally unprecedented ligands (Nature Communications, 2017). He was selected as a CAS SciFinder Future Leader by the Chemical Abstract Service (a division of the American Chemical Society, 2017). In 2018, Dr Mak was chief investigator on a UQ Early Career Researcher Grant for developing new drug leads that target MAIT cells. Other recent awards include RSC Twitter Poster Conference (Chemical Biology) 1st Prize (2018), and a CASS Travel Award (2018).

Dr Mak has lectured in the undergraduate course Advanced Organic Chemistry (CHEM3001, 2017-2023). He has also served as a member of the UQ Cultural Inclusion Council, and as an ACS Wikipedia Fellow to systematically improve the chemistry and scientific content on Wikipedia (2018).

Student projects

Projects in medicinal chemistry, synthesis, and chemical biology are available (depending on lab space) for enthusiastic organic chemistry students at all levels (PhD, Masters, Honours, Undergraduate). These include the design and synthesis of:

1. Stable analogues of immunostimulating bacterial ligands towards vaccines and anti-cancer immunotherapies
2. Chemical biology tools for exploring MAIT cell activation
3. Highly selective histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors as new drug leads

Previous student publications:

1. Mak JYW* et al. (2024) Potent Immunomodulators Developed from an Unstable Bacterial Metabolite of Vitamin B2 Biosynthesis. Angewandte Chemie, e202400632.
2. Mak JYW et al. (2021) HDAC7 inhibition by phenacetyl and phenylbenzoyl hydroxamates. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 64 (4), 2186-2204.
3. Awad W, Ler GJM et al. (2020) The molecular basis underpinning the potency and specificity of MAIT cell antigens. Nature Immunology, 21 (4), 400-411.
4. Ler GJM, Xu W, Mak JYW, Liu L et al. (2019) Computer modelling and synthesis of deoxy and monohydroxy analogues of a ribitylaminouracil bacterial metabolite that potently activates human T cells. Chemistry – A European Journal, 25 (68), 15594-15608.