The Australian Academy of Science has notified the winners of the J G Russell Award, which seeks to support talented early career researchers in the physical and biological sciences. Funded through the generosity of the late Miss J Russell, the award provides top-up funding for research expenses, including equipment and travel costs, for selected Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) recipients each year.

As one of this year’s awardees, Dr Malins will receive $6,000 to put toward her research which focuses on the development of new tools for the synthesis of peptide therapeutics. Dr Malins joined the ANU in November 2017 and is the leader of the Organic Synthesis and Chemical Biology group at the Research School of Chemistry. Her research aims to develop new strategies for the direct modification of complex biomolecules in order to understand their role in mediating biological processes and to enhance their therapeutic potential. The group focuses in particular on the development of novel anti-parasitic and anti-bacterial agents, with the ultimate goal of unlocking the potential of bioactive peptides for drug discovery.

For more information on research underway in the Malins lab, please visit www.malinslab.com.