Medicine Chemistry

Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Development

About

Medicinal chemistry is focused on the development of drugs, which could be either small molecules or peptides and proteins, for treatment of disease. Modern medicinal chemistry and drug development is highly interdisciplinary and encompasses synthetic organic chemistry, enzymology, biophysical techniques (including protein NMR, protein crystallography and the study of protein-ligand interactions), computational chemistry, protein engineering and pharmacology.

Groups

Molecule

Our research interests lie at the interface between biology, chemistry and physics where fundamental chemistry underlies biological function.

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Malins group

The Malins group develops synthetic tools for small molecule, peptide and protein synthesis, including for applications in chemical biology and drug discovery.

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Drug chemistry

The McLeod group employs a wide range of techniques to study drug metabolism.

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We develop chemical tools to target, manipulate and study peptides and proteins related to infectious diseases.

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Organic molecule

Our research program involves the design of sequences of cycloaddition reactions, free radical reactions and transition metal-mediated reactions

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Xu

In Xu group, our mission is to develop new electron crystallography methods for crystal structure characterisation, at the same time, improving the capability, robustness and availability of these methods. By doing so, we aim to equip chemists, biologists, and material scientists with innovative tools for ground breaking research.

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Facilities

Separation and Reaction Facility

Providing synthetic and separative solutions to the RSC

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Projects

This project will involve collaboration with the ANU Our Health in Our Hands Grand Challenge teams in the College of Engineering & Computer Science and the Research School of Physics.

Student intake

Open for Honours, Master, PhD, Summer scholar students

This project will explore phage display (Nobel prize 2018) as the most robust approach and establish this technique at the Research School of Chemistry.

Student intake

Open for Honours, Master, PhD, Summer scholar students

This project will design, synthesise and evaluate a series of small molecules as new lead compounds against SARS-CoV-2. You will explore “warheads” such as alpha-ketoamides and Michael acceptors to inactivate the SARS-CoV-2 main protease by covalent modification of its active site.

Student intake

Open for Honours, Master, PhD, Summer scholar students

This project will involve collaboration with partners within the Centre of Excellence in Peptide and Protein Science.

Student intake

Open for Honours, Master, PhD, Summer scholar students

The Malins group is interested in several anti-cancer, antimalarial, and antibiotic peptides. 2023-2024 projects in this space will involve the chemical synthesis, structural modification, and biological evaluation of peptide leads as next-generation therapies.

Student intake

Open for Honours, Master, PhD, Summer scholar students

Members

Academic staff

Professor
Westpac Research Fellow

Associate Professor

Associate Professor Christoph Nitsche

Associate Professor
ARC Future Fellow

Associate Director (Education)
Professor

Emeritus and Honorary

Honorary Professor

Articles

Fighting antibiotic resistance takes guts. Dr Lara Malins discusses her research into antibiotic resistance.

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