Bulletin

Issue: January/February 2006

News

US visitors to La Trobe Chemistry

Two American students recently spent two months in a La Trobe University chemistry laboratory on research into new and more efficient anti-fungal drugs for HIV-AIDS patients.

Crystal Sanchez and Emily Parry, final year students at San Diego State University, were supervised by Dr Andrew Hughes on research into a peptide called Aureobasidin G.

The compound, synthesised in Dr Hughes’ laboratory, is similar to Petriellin A (see main story). Other peptides in the series are Cyclosporine, Aureobasidin I and Clavariopsin A.

Dr Hughes said the students were financed by the American Federal Government Minorities International Research Training program which helps people in minority groups go on to PhD studies in biomedicine.

Dr Hughes collaborates with Dr Shelli McAlpine from San Diego State University who lectured at La Trobe last year and arranged for the students to work in Dr Hughes’ laboratory.

Dr Hughes says anti-fungals on which he and Dr McAlpine are working offer a new mode of action. ‘Our compounds are generally of low toxicity and provide strong leads as potential drugs.’

Ms Parry said: ‘At home we work as one of a group in a structured environment, but at La Trobe we each conducted our own experiments. This taught us to think “outside the box”.

‘We were also surprised that there is no assigned time for laboratories here. We worked 40 hours a week, while at home we are assigned specific lab times.’