Ronald J Quinn & Miaomiao Liu research group

2023 News

New Publication: anti-virus drug discovery

Award: Professor Ron Quinn was awarded the 2023 ATSE Traditional Knowledge Innovation Award

By combining the direct native mass spectrometry and indirect collision-induced affinity selection mass spectrometry (CIAS-MS), we identified a series ligands that interact with the viral nucleocapsid protein Nsp9, which is a key player in viral RNA replication and an attractive drug target. This work was published by Journal of Natural Products (doi.org/10.1021/acs.jnatprod.3c00636).

Award: Professor Ron Quinn was awarded the 2023 ATSE Traditional Knowledge Innovation Award

Congratulations to Professor Ron Quinn AM FTSE, who along with Mr John Watson, who were awarded the Traditional Knowledge Innovation Award. This Award acknowledges and recognises Professor Quinn's continuous contribution to the Australian indigenous drug discovery through modern innovation.

Conference: Dr Miaomiao Liu attended the XIII ECMNP & XVII MaNaPro joint conference

Award: Professor Ron Quinn was awarded the 2023 ATSE Traditional Knowledge Innovation Award

Conference: Dr Miaomiao Liu attended the XIII ECMNP & XVII MaNaPro joint conference

Dr Miaomiao Liu attended the XIII European Congress on Marine Natural Products and XVII International Symposium on Marine Natural Products joint meeting in Granada, Spain, 3 - 8 September. Her lecture was entitled "Antiviral drug discovery from
natural products by native mass spectrometry".

Conference: Dr Miaomiao Liu attended the 14th HOPE Meeting with Nobel Laureates

Conference: Dr Miaomiao Liu attended the XIII ECMNP & XVII MaNaPro joint conference

Dr Miaomiao Liu attended the 14th HOPE Meeting with Nobel Laureates in Tsukuba-city, Japan, 27 February - 3 March. Her presentation was entitled "Rapid Response to Pandemics: Identification of Novel Antivirals Using Native Mass Spectrometry ".

Student milestone: Tin Mak completed confirmation

Tin Mak has successfully completed his confirmation milestone on 3 March 2023. His thesis is entitled "Label-Free Target Identification". Congratulations, Tin!

New publication: Drug-repurposing against SARS-CoV-2

We have conducted a screening using native MS to facilitate drug repurposing against the SARS-CoV-2 non-structural protein 7 (nsp7), which is one of the essential components of the SARS-CoV-2 replication/transcription complex. From an FDA-approved drug library containing 2400 compounds, gallic acid was identified as a compound that bound tightly to nsp7, with an estimated Kd of 15 μM. We have also identified the ligand-binding surface of gallic acid on nsp7 by NMR chemical shift perturbation experiments. This work has been published on ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science.

New student: Matilda Houston started her PhD candidature

Matilda Houston has officially started her PhD candidature on 27 February 2023! Her project is focused on developing an indigenous medicine for the treatment of pain.

Congratulations: Dr Miaomiao Liu started the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Fellowship

Dr Miaomiao Liu was awarded a 1-year fellowship by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science to conduct research in Hokkaido University, Japan (host: Prof Toshiyuki Wakimoto). Started in late December 2022, she is currently working under this fellowship on identification of novel natural products produced by Japanese microorganisms.