Professor Vicky Avery
Position:
- Chief Investigator & Head, Discovery Biology (Avery Lab), Griffith University
- Programme Leader, Bioactive Discovery, CRC-CTx
- Research Member, Eskitis Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University
Websites:
Biography:
Professor Avery is a research scientist specializing in high through-put and high content screening in an industry environment. During the last 14 years she has made significant contributions within the field of Drug Discovery, resulting in the identification of new lead compounds and techniques as well as necessitating the management of complex international research collaborations. At Active Biotech AB, Sweden (1998-2004), she lead a project to identify the molecular target of ‘Laquinimod’, a novel oral treatment for relapsing multiple sclerosis in clinical trials. She was responsible for the development of assays for FDA to assess efficacy of a cholera vaccine, plus designed and developed assays to identify immuno-modulatory compounds against CD80, which led to RhuDex®, an oral treatment for RA in clinical trials.
As Head of Lead Discovery Biology (AstraZeneca /Griffith University collaboration), she oversaw more than 50 HTS campaigns (2004-2007), spanning all disease areas and encompassing a diverse range of technologies. This number now exceeds more than a total of 75 HTS campaigns. In addition to commercial drug discovery activities, Discovery Biology has successfully designed & implemented HTS assays for Malaria (MMV) and Trypanosomiasis (DnDi). They were awarded MMV Project of the Year (2007) for their innovative use of technology to identify new anti-malarial compounds. Her laboratory is now recognised as the MMV Global Screening Centre for Malaria Drug Discovery.
Professor Avery is the Programme Leader for Bioactive Discovery within the CRC for Cancer Therapeutics, playing an integral role in the translation of basic science to the clinic. Her laboratory has developed automated / high through-put approaches for evaluating cells grown in 3D and imaged in both 2D and 3D. These systems play a valuable role in analysing the impact of compounds on a variety of parameters in the 3D environment. In 2009, Discovery Biology received the Griffith University Pro-Vice Chancellor’s Research Excellence Award for a Research Group .
Current areas of collaboration: Drug Discovery.
3D algorithms, 3D culture, 3D imaging, androgen receptor, cancer progression, cancer therapy, high throughput screening, imaging, localized therapies, metastases, model systems.
