The Kinoxis research team is comprised of a multidisciplinary team guided by seasoned industry experts. The team work together to develop novel small molecule therapeutics, with the goal of enhancing social function by targeting neural targets involved in social behavior.
The chemistry team at Kinoxis Therapeutics is dedicated to developing innovative treatments for substance use disorders and social dysfunction in mental illnesses. The team consists of skilled and experienced medicinal chemists who use innovative techniques to design novel compounds that feed into Kinoxis’ drug development pipeline.
Professor Michael Kassiou
Professor Michael Kassiou is co-inventor of Kinoxis’ lead compound KNX100 and their oxytocin receptor targeting compounds. Michael is an active consultant for Kinoxis, providing strategic and scientific advice to the Kinoxis chemistry and pharmacology team. He is currently Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and Academic Director of the Drug Discovery Initiative at the University of Sydney.
Dr Wendy Tran
Wendy was awarded a PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Sydney in 2021. Her research was focused on the design and synthesis of bioactive natural products and derivatives as novel anti infectives. At Kinoxis, Wendy strives to develop the first selective small molecule PET tracer for the oxytocin receptor which will be instrumental for further development of the Kinoxis pipeline.
Dr Tim Callis
Tim completed his PhD in 2021 at the University of Sydney, his PhD focused on synthetic organic chemistry for the synthesis and exploration of compounds targeting protein aggregates in neurodegenerative disease states. Tim is currently working as part of the Kinoxis medicinal chemistry team, where he has been involved with the synthesis of various Kinoxis compounds, used to support our clinical study as well as generating new compounds to advance the Kinoxis pipeline.
Dr Rajesh Kuppusamy
Rajesh completed his doctoral studies in 2020 at the University of New South Wales (UNSW)he reseached short-cationic peptidomimetic antibacterials, in combating bacterial infections. Following his PhD, Rajesh embarked on a significant effort by contributing to the NHRMC project in the design and development of peptidomimetic compounds for the treatment of hospital-acquired bacterial infections. Presently, Rajesh is an integral part of the Kinoxis medicinal chemistry team and is involved in the synthesis of a wide array of novel compounds to progress the Kinoxis pipeline.
Our behavioral team utilize the latest in preclinical models, cutting edge neuroscience techniques, and machine learning to discover and develop novel pharmacological treatments for disorders of the brain and mind.
Dr Nick Everett
Nick completed his PhD at Macquarie University, studying oxytocin as a potential treatment for methamphetamine addiction. Nick is leading preclinical projects that formed key components of the KNX100 FDA IND Application for mitigation of opioid withdrawal symptoms and that have substantially furthered our understanding of the neural mechanism of action of KNX100. Nick is also leading the preclinical projects for the treatment of stimulant use disorders and developing Kinoxis’ social motivation and in vivo neural recording pipeline.
Dr Stela Petkova
Stela completed her PhD at the University of California, Davis in 2021 studying motor disability in rodent models of rare genetic neurodevelopmental disorders. Currently, Stela leads preclinical projects exploring the potential of novel oxytocin receptor targeting compounds for treating neurodevelopmental disorders, conducting translational behavioural phenotyping in various rodent models.
Kinoxis’ pharmacology comprises of highly skilled and collaborative scientists that work closely with our behavioral neuroscience and chemistry team to development novel therapeutics for substance use disorders and social dysfunction in mental illnesses.
Dr Eryn Werry
Dr Eryn Werry is co-inventor of Kinoxis’ oxytocin receptor-targeting compounds and has brought her background in pre-clinical drug discovery and neuropharmacology to act as a consultant on their development. She has also consulted for Kinoxis Therapeutics on the mechanism of action of their lead molecule KNX100. Eryn is a Senior Lecturer in Brain and Mind Sciences and a Senior Research Associate at the University of Sydney.
Dr Alison Cheng
Alison completed her PhD in 2022 in pharmacology at the University of Sydney. Her research was focused on designing in vitro models of neurodegeneration. Alison is currently working as part of the Kinoxis’ pharmacology team, where she is involved in testing and characterising various ligands of the oxytocin receptor.
Mr Beau Allen
Beau completed his
Bachelors with honours in 2021 within the University of Sydney’s School of
Medical Sciences. His thesis investigated structure-activity relationships of
oxytocin receptor ligands for the development of pro-social
therapeutics. As a member of the Kinoxis in vitro pharmacology team, Beau is involved in
the screening of several compound series being developed to target the
oxytocin receptor.