Potential 2008 Honours/Masters and PhD Research Projects

More projects will be added to this list as the information becomes available.

• A new look at serotonin (5-HT) regulation of human uterine smooth muscle contraction
• A1AR allosteric enhancers as cardioprotective agents
• Attenuated bacteria for oral delivery of DNA vaccines
• Biologic therapies for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis
• Biologically active peptides generated by protein digestion
• Can active transport be used to improve the efficiency of gene delivery to the nucleus?
• Characterization of 5-HT receptors in the mouse bladder.
• Characterization of neurons derived from human embryonic stem (hES) cells.
• Chemical Biology of PI3 Kinase – Probing inhibitors against mutant enzymes.
• Comparison of functional characteristics of neurons derived from mouse embryonic stem cells with brain cells
• Computer modeling of potential anticancer agents and biological probes for sialyltransferases
• Combinatorial approaches to cancer immunotherapy
• Coupling immune regulating drugs to ferromagnetic beads for probing, isolating and identifying drug-binding proteins from cell homogenisates
• Crystallisation of Dipeptidyl Peptidase IV
• Desensitisation rates of 5-HT4 and 5-HT7 receptor isoforms
• Determination of the mechanisms that contribute to an overactive bladder using the mouse bladder as a model
• Directed differentiation of neurons derived from mouse embryonic stem cells
• Do plant natriuretic peptides mimic atrial natriuretic peptide?
• Drug metabolising enzymes
• Dry powder inhalers – problems with combination products.
• Effects of acute administration of natural products on contractility in the prostate gland
• Effects of acute sex steroid administration on contractility in the prostate gland
• Effects of angiotensin receptor interference experiments on blood pressure and responses to vasoactive agents in vivo
• Effects of cannabinoids on contractility in the prostate gland
• Effects of the herbal supplement - saw palmetto in the prostate gland
• Effects of protein kinase C upon the proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis of human cultured keratinocytes
• Endogenous cannabinoids and appetite. Does cannabis give you the munchies?
• Evaluation of antioxidant activity in food and food supplements.
• Facility for Anti-Infective Drug Development and Innovation (FADDI) - 2 projects
• 5-HT, Receptors, and irritable bowel syndrome (2 projects)
• FADDI Honours student research projects
• Formation of thioether cyclic peptides
• Fractionation of commercially available saw palmetto extracts and bioassay of fractions in rat prostate
• Gene therapy for the skin: delivery of antisense oligonucleotides
• Genetically Encoded Fluorescent Protein Phosphorylation Biosensors
• Glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK-3) inhibitors for maintenance of embryonic stem cell pluripotency (with Prof. Peter Scammells)
• Identification of small molecule inhibitors of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase
• Influence of different lactoses on the dispersibility of a model drug from powder mixtures for inhalation.
• Influence of micronised excipients on the dissolution of a model drug, indomethacin.
• Investigating the role of neuronal interactions between dopamine, adenosine and glutamate receptors in the expression of reward-related behaviours.
• Investigation of pharmacological activity of a novel series of potential antipsychotic agents
• Is there a link between cannabis use and psychosis?
• Low molecular weight drug-like compounds which induce embryonic stem cells to differentiate and form cardiomyocytes (with Prof. Peter Scammells)
• Mechanisms underlying K+ efflux and Ca2+ influx in human cultured prostatic stromal cells
• Medicine use and safety
• Membrane-translocating peptides for delivery of macromolecular drugs
• Molecular biology of the human colonic 5-HT4 serotonin receptor
• Molecular Fragment binding to NADPH utilising enzymes by NMR screening.
• Neurons derived from mouse embryonic stem cells: what are they?
• New drugs for diabetes: Peptidomimetic inhibitors of starch-degrading enzymes.
• New syntheses of pharmaceutical opiates
• Novel inhibitors of phosphodiesterase isozymes involved in prostate cancer
• Opioid receptors of the intestine
• Pharmacological modification of morphine preference
• Phosphonate inhibitors of pantothenate synthetase
• Plant natriuretic peptide homologues?
• Protein kinase C and Ca²⁺ channel activity in the human cultured prostatic stromal cells
• Quantification of 5-HT receptor isoforms in the human colon
• Regulation of renal medullary nitric oxide (NO) production in response to adenosine receptor activation
• Screening snake venoms using the oesophagus as a novel preparation
• Signal transduction processes
• Structural and thermodynamic properties of the complexes between enzyme and inhibitor
• Structural basis for substrate specificity in bacterial oxidoreductase enzymes
• Structure-based design of peptides as inhibitors of collagen-induced arthritis
• Studies of the effects of oestrogen on neuropeptide receptor populations in uterine smooth muscle of mice
• Substituent effects on the Schmidt reaction and the application to the synthesis of potential CNS acting compounds
• Synthesis and application of substituted phenylethylpiperazines to the synthesis of potential CNS acting compounds
• Synthesis and biological evaluation of folate-PEG-fluorescein conjugate as a folate-receptor targeting agent.
• Synthesis and screening of novel NK2 receptor antagonists
• Synthesis and testing of novel 5-HT7 receptor agonists
• Synthesis of bioactive marine derived alkylpiperidine metabolites
• Synthesis of dual acting antioxidants
• Synthesis of triazole peptidomimetics
• Tachykinin antagonists as novel antidiarrhoeal drugs
• Targeting substrate binding of the Nudix enzyme in the folate synthesis pathway using multidimensional NMR screening and structural methods.
• The cAMP Response Element Binding (CREB) protein family in glioblastoma cells
• The effects of neuropeptides on the smooth muscle of the muscularis mucosae of the guinea-pig isolated oesophagus
• The effects of cannabis on the intestine
• The effect of drugs on the morphine withdrawal response
• The effects of neuropeptides on the smooth muscle of the muscularis mucosae of the guinea-pig isolated oesophagus
• The effects of neurotransmitters and neuromodulators on the contractile responses of the smooth muscle of the guinea-pig prostate
• The effects of various neurotransmitters, autacoids and hormones on nerve-stimulated contractions of the mouse bladder
• The interaction of lipophilic drugs with intracellular lipid binding proteins
• The life and times of human cultured prostatic epithelial and prostate cancer cells: regulation by intracellular kinases
• The role of CREB in Embryonic Stem Cell Growth and Differentiation
• The use of cells to study the effect of drugs and toxicants on receptors
• Therapeutic horizons for rheumatoid arthritis
• Tissue localisation of 5-HT4 and 5-HT7 receptors in human colon
• The synthesis and molecular modelling of novel antipsychotic agents
• The development of inhibitors of 11 b-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase as potential therapeutic agents for diabetes, cancer and obesity
• The use of cells to study the effect of drugs and toxicants on receptors
• Uptake of gene therapy agents into cardiovascular tissues
• Wound management