Nedlands Scientist Takes to International Stage

March 5th, 2009 - Media Statement

During March, a young Nedlands scientist will head to Spain to share his groundbreaking research with international peers.

Upon invitation, Dr Kevin Pfleger from the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research (WAIMR) will present his research on drug targeting at the G Protein-Coupled Receptors in Drug Discovery 7^th Annual Congress in Barcelona from March 3 to 4.

Dr Pfleger said he was looking forward to sharing his discoveries, which included a new form of technology that placed special light-emitting labels on proteins of interest as drug targets - allowing interactions between the proteins to be observed and enabling screening for important new drug leads.

"As the only Australian symposium speaker, I am honoured to be a part of such an important gathering and very excited about sharing my work with my international peers and colleagues," Dr Pfleger said.

"My role at the conference will be to give a presentation on my research into drug targeting as well as co-chair a roundtable discussion on the possible outcomes of this area of research and drugs in the future."

"My work has implications for a huge range of diseases including heart disease, metabolic disorders and addiction and I hope we can all work together to improve therapies in the future."

The convention, a premier gathering in this field of science, features presentations by the world's leading experts including representatives from Duke University in the United States of America, the University of Glasgow in the United Kingdom and the University of Montpellier in France.

WAIMR Director Professor Peter Klinken said it was a great opportunity for Dr Pfleger to share his revolutionary invention to an international audience.

"We are very proud of Dr Pfleger and his invitation to present his discoveries on a global stage," he said.

"Dr Pfleger is a great demonstration of how WA medical researchers are making an impact both locally and internationally, and we're thrilled to have him as part of our WAIMR team."

Last year, Dr Pfleger was named a finalist in the Young Scientist of the Year category of the Premier's Science Awards for his contribution to medical research in identifying and developing improved drug targeting technologies for a range of conditions.

For more information please contact:
Carolyn Monaghan
Communications Manager
Mobile: 0448 021 932 (media enquiries only)
Office: (08) 9224 0377