Drug Discovery | Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disease |
The Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disease Research Group is co-led by Prof. Kerry-Anne Rye and A/Prof. Shane Thomas. The research group consists of post-doctoral scientists, PhD students and honours students. The group has two main research themes:
Heart disease
We are developing new anti-inflammatory therapies that prevent the development of atherosclerotic lesions, which can rupture and stop blood from getting to the heart, causing a heart attack. We are also asking whether these anti-inflammatory therapies can heal the tissue damage that is caused by a heart attack.
In particular, we are complexing a new class of nanoparticles with clinically viable peptides and small molecule drugs that inhibit inflammation and oxidative stress in the heart and blood vessels. We envisage that these new nanotherapeutics will reduce the risk of having a heart attack and prevent tissue damage if a heart attack does occur. The research uses biochemical and molecular biology techniques as well as novel pre-clinical models of cardiovascular disease as well as the very aggressive form of heart disease that occurs in people with diabetes. The work crosses the disciplines of pharmacology and vascular biology.
We are also studying the molecular mechanisms by which vascular endothelial cells transform into pro-inflammatory mesenchymal-like cells via the process of endothelial-to-mesenchymal (EndMT). EndMT promotes the development of rupture-prone atherosclerotic lesions and we have identified new molecular signaling events driving this process that will inform the discovery of new treatments for inhibiting EndMT in cardiovascular disease. This project involves biochemistry, as well as cell and molecular biology.
Type 1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which insulin-producing cells in the pancreas are destroyed by activated T-cells and glucose can no longer be removed from blood. There is no cure for this disease, with the only treatment being regulation of blood glucose levels by multiple insulin injections every day. However, these injections can reduce blood glucose levels to an extent that is potentially lethal. Moreover, they treat the symptoms, not the underlying cause of the disease.
We have identified a peptide with the capacity to regenerate new insulin-producing cells in the pancreas and stop T-cell expansion, thus decreasing, and possibly removing, the dependence of patients with type 1 diabetes on insulin injections. Further development of this project towards clinical translation using gold-standard pre-clinical models of type 1 diabetes involves multiple skill sets including molecular biology, cell biology and pharmacology. We are also developing strategies for preparing peptides that can be taken by mouth and delivered specifically to the pancreas.
Current projects
- Understanding the anti-diabetic properties of HDLs.
- Development of mimetic peptides as anti-atherosclerotic and anti-diabetic therapies.
- Identification of novel cardioprotective functions of HDLs.
- Treating diabetes-accelerated atherosclerosis with immune nanoparticles.
Our experts
Kerry Anne Rye (Co-Lead)
Kerry-Anne Rye obtained her PhD from Flinders University of South Australia in 1986 and gained her postdoctoral training at The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is a Research Professor, Head of the Cardiometabolic Disease Research Group and Deputy Head of the School of Biomedical Sciences, University of New South Wales. She is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Lipid Research, and a Senior Associate Editor of The Journal of the American Heart Association. Professor Rye is the Immediate-Past Chair of the American Heart Association ATVB Council Nominations Committee and an inaugural Fellow of the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. She is recognised internationally for her work on high density lipoprotein (HDL) structure and function and cardiometabolic disease and has published >300 peer reviewed papers in these areas. Her current research is focused on the development of novel, therapies for treatment of diabetes-accelerated atherosclerosis.
Shane Thomas (Co-Lead)
Associate Professor Shane Thomas is a biochemist and vascular biologist who has built an international reputation for his basic science and preclinical research into the roles of oxidative stress and inflammation in the development of cardiovascular disease and inflammatory disorders. He received a PhD in 1999 from the University of Sydney for his studies investigating the role of oxidative stress in atherosclerosis. A/Prof. Thomas was the awarded an NHMRC CJ Martin fellowship (2000-04) to perform his post-doctoral studies on oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction under the mentorship of Prof. John Keaney, Jr. at the Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute, Boston University (USA). He subsequently received an NHMRC RD Wright Career Development Award (CDA; 2006-10) that allowed to him establish an independent research group at the Centre for Vascular Research, UNSW. Since this time, he has successfully led an independent, externally funded cardiovascular disease-focused research program at UNSW within the School of Biomedical Sciences. He currently co-leads the Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disease Research Group and is Head of the Department of Pathology in the School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine & Health, UNSW.
Team members
Collaborators
- Dr Alan Remaley, NHLBI, Bethesda, MD, USA
Regulation of HDL function by mimetic peptides - A/Prof Veronique Angeli, National University of Singapore
- Dr Roshni Singaraja, National University of Singapore
ApoA-I and lymphatic biology - Professor Nick King, University of Sydney
- Professor Pall Thordarson, UNSW
- Professor Mark Hulett, La Trobe University
Postdoctoral members
- Elias Glaros
- Jacqueline Ku
- Carmen Zhang
- Nana Pham
- Blake Cochran
- Kevin Chemello
Students
- Thomas King
- Samson Ogumodede
- Iqra Haleem
Research Theme