Best Thesis Award for Wenyi Li

Dr Wenyi Li has been awarded the Graham Johnston Best Thesis Award from RACI Division of Medicinal Chemistry/Chemical Biology. As part of the award, he has been invited to present a lecture on his research at the upcoming RACI Centenary Congress (23-28 July 2017).

Dr Li found that the antibacterial activity of a proline-rich antimicrobial peptide against Gram-negative bacteria was extended by C-terminal functionalization and multimerization using different linker groups. The mechanism of action was investigated in E. coli and model membranes. The C-modified peptides had a broader spectrum and increased potency as potential antibiotics.

wenyi
Dr Wenyi Li

The Graham Johnston Best Thesis Award is an award for the best PhD thesis submitted in the previous two years in Medicinal Chemistry/Chemical Biology. This award, formerly known as the Bionomics Best Thesis Award, has been renamed in recognition of Professor Graham Johnston’s seminal contribution to the Division as well as pharmacology and medicinal chemistry in Australia. The award is designed to give recognition of outstanding achievement in research and to promote chemical communication.

The award is open to anyone working broadly in the design, synthesis, and development of bioactive agents.

Dr Li was supervised by Professor Frances Separovic and Professor John Wade.

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Julia Cleghorn

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