Robert Vandenberg
University of Sydney

Editor, Channels, Transporters, and Receptors
Biophysical Journal

What are you currently working on that excites you?

I am part of a really exciting collaboration with colleagues in the United States, Denmark, and Australia to develop glycine transport inhibitors for the treatment of neuropathic pain. It is a project where we are using the structure of the transporter with various drugs bound to define what chemical modifications are possible to optimize the performance of the compounds in animal models of neuropathic pain. The project involves cryo-EM, medicinal chemistry, biophysical characterization of drug effects on the transporter, pharmacokinetics, and behavioral pharmacology. The compounds show particular promise and we are hopeful of taking the compounds to clinical trials in the next year or two.

Who would you like to sit next to at a dinner party (scientist or not)?

I am getting towards the end of my scientific career, which has prompted me to reflect on all the wonderful opportunities I have been privileged to have enjoyed. I would love to have dinner with the various scientists around the world who have made important contributions to the scientist, and person, that I am, so that I can thank them for all the small things they have done that are so important. This would include my postdoc supervisors, John Shine, Peter Schofield, and Susan Amara, as well as scientists that I have worked with such as Mike Kavanaugh, Chris Cioffi, Azadeh Shahsavar, Sarasa Mohammadi, Megan O’Mara, and Tristan Rawling. I am so very grateful for their interest in me and my work, and I would like to thank them for fostering a passion for science and the joy of working together on projects that matter.