Researchers
Background:
I came to the University of Queensland in 2005 to undertake my bachelor degree in biotechnology and I completed my Honours year in 2009 at IMB, where I am currently a PhD student. My interests are focused on chemistry, especially during undergraduate years, when I had some opportunities as a summer research student to be involved in research that focuses on inorganic chemistry and structural determination using NMR techniques. Since then I have become involved in medicinal and organic chemistry, using enzyme assays to evaluate my compounds.
The Fairlie Group works at the interface of chemistry and biology, with the aid of computer modelling to investigate molecular interactions and the mechanisms involved. This greatly interests me as I have always wanted to further develop my skills in synthetic chemistry and gain more insights and interdisciplinary skills in the biology area. My Hons research project was based on the development of ORL-1 ligands (agonist or antagonist), and this involved making peptides, small non-peptidic organic molecules, and ultimately testing the compounds in bioassays to determine their potency and efficacy. I was given opportunities to be involved in any one or all three stages of this project, and this taught me to appreciate the challenges of working at the interface of two very different yet closely-linked disciplines, chemistry and biology. I was successful in helping the team to generate the most potent known agonist (EC50 40 pM) and antagonist (IC50 10 nM) ligands for ORL-1 during my Hons year, and in helping the group to establish whether helix-constrained ligands were more avid binders to a GPCR than unconstrained ligands.
This research work has been published : Harrison RS; Ruiz-Gómez G; Hill TA; Chow SY; Shepherd NE; Lohman RJ; Abbenante G; Hoang HN; Fairlie DP. Novel Helix-Constrained Nociceptin Derivatives Are Potent Agonists and Antagonists of ERK Phosphorylation and Thermal Analgesia in Mice. J Med Chem. 2010 53, 8400–8408).
Being well-placed in IMB, which has extensive resources and wonderful facilities to support researches, and being in the Fairlie groups where immense support from any of the group member is always available, have made my journey in research so far, intellectually-stimulating, challenging, yet enjoyable.
