About
We tackle a broad range of applied chemistry problems related to issues including our health and wellbeing and the sustainability of our environment. Our scientists have deep experience in synthetic carbohydrate and medicinal chemistry, synthetic and chemical biology, plant natural products and polysaccharide analysis.
We are a close-knit team with a strong family feel—several of us have worked together for nearly 30 years. Visitors, new staff and students can expect a warm and friendly welcome from us.
We are encouraged to be independent, curious and creative—to share our successes and discuss our chemistry problems. We strive for excellence in every aspect of our research, collaboration and communication.
You can find out more about the individual members of our team below and on our staff page.
Professor Gary Evans - Director
Institute Director, Gary, enjoys organic synthesis, medicinal and process chemistry. Creating new enzyme inhibitors, like the potent DADMe-Immucillins, are career highlights. Check out Gary's research profile.
Science Team Leaders
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Dr Phillip Rendle - Analytical & applied chemistry
Phill, manages the custom synthesis, scale-up and process development work, linking to GlycoSyn’s cGMP facility. His diverse team looks after the NMR facility, builds bespoke equipment and software, runs online sales and specialises in natural product isolation and identification.
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Professor Emily Parker – Synthetic and chemical biology
Emily’s team focuses on the chemistry and biochemistry of enzyme-catalysed reactions to aid the development of new treatments for diseases and using the natural biosynthetic machinery for the efficient generation of valuable products. Using computational and experimental approaches her team also studies the molecular details of communication networks in proteins.
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Dr Lawrence Harris - Synthetic chemistry
Lawrence’s team focuses on the synthesis of novel nucleoside based antivirals and antibacterials and bile acid derivatives.
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Associate Professor Simon Hinkley - Natural Products
Simon’s team has expertise in the isolation, characterization, and modification of complex polysaccharides. This expertise has found application in health to direct tissue repair as a human therapeutic and also to make new biopolymers suitable for use as commodity chemicals.
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Dr Farah Lamiable-Oulaidi – Carbohydrate Chemistry
Farah’s team has a rare disease research program focusing on lysosomal storage disorders and also designs and synthesises potent enzyme inhibitors based on enzyme/substrate transition state analysis.
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Professor Gavin Painter – mRNA and lipid nanoparticles
Gavin’s team looks at the design and synthesis of vaccine adjuvants and ionisable lipids and subsequent use in vaccines and immunotherapeutics.
Teams page
Partners
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GlycoSyn
GlycoSyn is an un-incorporated joint venture partner between us and Callaghan Innovation. GlycoSyn helps take client’s drug candidates to the clinic through their experience in process and analytical development and current good manufacturing practice (cGMP). The joint venture allows us to provide chemical route development and lab scale preparation as an additional offering to clients.
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GlycoFineChem
GlycoFineChem is an online fine chemical store that operates as part of the un-incorporated joint venture between us and GlycoSyn. It allows us and GlycoSyn to sell a range of high-quality speciality chemicals and natural products online and demonstrate our capability.
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UniVentures
Wellington UniVentures is the technical transfer office of Victoria University of Wellington. Not only do they look after our intellectual property and commercialisation, but they are also the contracting entity for our commercial fee -for-service work.
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Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine has a long, successful relationship with us that has led to ground-breaking research with potential to treat diseases that affect humankind, including cancer, gastric ulcers, antivirals and more.
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Malaghan Institute
The Malaghan Institute of Medical Research focuses on research in immunology and immunotherapy. We collaborate with them on the development of RNA vaccines and improved vaccine adjuvants.
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Whiore
Whiore’s focus is the marine flora & fauna and extraordinary growing environments along the coastline of Ngāi Tahu’s takiwa, which captures most of Te Waipounamu (the South Island), Rakiura (Stewart Island) and the sub-Antarctic islands. We collaborate with them on deriving value from seaweeds.
More about us
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History
Find out more about our origins from being part of Industrial Research Limited to joining Victoria University of Wellington in 2014.
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Ferrier lecture
Our annual lecture is given each year in honour of the late Professor Robin Ferrier, and sees leading chemistry researchers visit our institute.
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Our Māori name
Te kāuru, which translates as ‘the source’ has two important meanings which relate to our institute.