Lab Heads

Greg is a Senior Research Fellow, the Better Medicines Program Manager in the Neuromedicines Discovery Centre and co-lab head of the Molecular & Translational Drug Discovery lab. Greg received his PhD from Monash University and subsequently received an FRM fellowship to undertake postdoctoral studies at the Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle, France. He has over 15 years of experience in GPCR pharmacology research and has been working with industry for the past 10 years. Greg is a molecular neuropharmacologist and neuronal cell biologist who focuses his research on targeting GPCRs to treat neurological and cognitive disorders, such as schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease and addiction.

Natalie Diepenhorst is co-lab head of the MTDD group and is passionate about translating and commercialising drug discovery research to meet patient needs. She has 11+ years’ experience working within industry partnered drug discovery projects where she has utilised her skills in GPCR recombinant and native cell pharmacology in addition to GPCR biochemistry and structural biology to help progress seven therapeutic targets along the drug discovery pipeline. She collaborates with the Monash Fragment Platform and the ARC Center for CryoEM for Membrane Proteins to help facilitate these drug discovery programs. Natalie is also passionate about incorporating lived experience advocacy into drug discovery research.

Scientific Advisor

Chris Langmead is Scientific Advisor to the MTDD group, having served as lab head from 2012-2024. He has >25 years’ experience in pharmacology and psychiatry drug discovery across pharma, biotech and academia. He led multiple neuroscience drug discovery programs from inception into clinical development and is currently Professor and Director of the Neuromedicines Discovery Centre at Monash University and CEO and co-founder of Phrenix Therapeutics, both ventures dedicated to the discovery, development and rollout of better medicines for the treatment of severe mental health conditions.

Lab Members

Aimée Freeburn

Aimée holds a BA in Psychology and an MSc in Neuropharmacology from the National University of Ireland Galway. She began her career at Ulysses Neuroscience, a biotech based at Trinity College Dublin, advancing from research assistant to leading the molecular biomarker team. Aimée has contributed to over 30 projects across academia and industry, fostering international collaborations for clinical observational and preclinical validation studies in neuropsychiatry, neurodevelopmental, and rare disorders.In 2023, Aimée completed a Professional Diploma in Project Management from IBAT College Dublin before moving to Melbourne, where she now works as a Project Coordinator, supporting research operations in the MTDD Lab, the Neuromedicines Discovery Centre, and Phrenix Therapeutics.

Sanja is a Research Fellow and a Project lead on the Servier collaboration, working on the Autophagy-Lysosomal Dysfunction in Neurodegenerative Disease. Since 2012, Sanja has been a part of Molecular & Translational Drug Discovery lab, working on an array of projects in GPCR-based drug discovery. With over 10 years’ experience in a laboratory, her research has included projects in the areas of molecular pharmacology, neuropharmacology and immunopharmacology. Her current work focuses on in vivo / ex vivo biology, with expertise in primary cell cultures as well whole animal chronic studies. Sanja received her PhD in 2011 from Monash University, with an emphasis on cardiovascular pharmacology

Sheng is a post-doctoral research fellow within the Servier Drug Discovery Program.  He uses his expertise in GPCR pharmacology and receptor signal transduction to facilitate drug discovery efforts across multiple therapeutic areas. His current research focuses on discovery of novel drug candidates for the treatment of metabolic disorders. Prior to joining MIPS, Sheng was a pharmacist in Penang General Hospital (Malaysia). Sheng received his Bachelor of Pharmacy from The University of Sydney, and PhD in Pharmacology from Monash University in 2017.

Rocío is a post-doctoral research fellow specialised in GPCR-based drug discovery and functional biology. The main focus of her research is to investigate the molecular mechanisms involved in the activation and subsequent transduction of the signal of orphan GPCRs implicated in Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia and metabolic disorders. She graduated from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Spain) with a degree in Cell Biology and Genetics, completing her studies with a Master in Developmental Biology and Genetics (Universitat de Barcelona, Spain). She finished her PhD in Molecular Pharmacology (Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Spain) before joining MIPS in 2017.

Jon received his PhD from Monash University, studying the metabolic adaptability of adipose tissue and skeletal muscle. Joining MTDD as a research fellow in 2017, he has worked across a number of projects within the Servier Drug Discovery Program, investigating G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) control of inflammatory diseases, cardiac failure, obesity/diabetes and CNS disorders. He has over a decade of experience investigating molecular and analytical pharmacology of GPCRs, using cell-based pathway analysis in recombinant cell systems, primary cells and in vivo animal models. He currently leads all activities in primary cell isolation and analysis of hemopoietic cells for inflammatory projects.

Holly is a research fellow developing novel assays and approaches using neuronal cell biology for autophagy and cognition drug targets in the cortex. She recently submitted her PhD at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health

Aakanksha Abrol completed her BSc (Hons) in Biotechnology in 2018 from Panjab University, India. She was a recipient of an International Study Grant from Monash University to pursue Master of Biotechnology. During her master’s research project she focused on understanding the role of oligodendrocytes in learning and memory consolidation in the mouse brain. After that she worked as an Research Assistant in a CRO - vivoPharm, where she gained an extensive experience in pre-clinical and clinical analysis and optimisation of various drug candidates. Her desire to combine her passion for neuroscience and drug discovery led her to join the MTDD group in 2022 as a Research Officer. She has been assisting with neuronal cell biology for autophagy and cognition drug targets in the cortex.

Ania is a 3rd year PhD student at the Monash node of the CCeMMP centre. Her research focus aims to utilise Cryo-EM to solve the structure and understand the pharmacology of CXCR3 chemokine receptor, which is a GPCR, implicated in several diseases, including cancer and auto-immunity. She has received her Master’s degree in Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Glasgow, where she utilised computational methods, for docking and SAR studies, which is when she became fascinated by the structure-directed drug discovery process.

Jack graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Pharmaceutical science and continued his study, commencing a PhD at MIPS in 2022. Jack is researching GPCR signalling involved in remyelination. His research employs a variety of techniques, including cellular signalling assays in recombinant and native cell lines and microscopy in mouse and human stem cells. He is hopeful this work will contribute to development of remyelinating therapies to help better treat diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis.

Maleesha is a PhD student studying the structure and molecular and cellular pharmacology of the 5-HT2C receptor in the context of substance use disorders.

Ishara is a second-year PhD candidate under the supervision of Drs Rocio de la Fuente Gonzales, Natalie Diepenhorst, and Gregory Stewart. She completed her Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science (Adv. Hons) in 2022. Her current research focuses on GPR52-mediated modulation of ionotropic glutamatergic receptors in brain regions responsible for cognitive impairment in schizophrenia.

Hugh Cornish is a fourth-year Pharmaceutical Science student at Monash University, having earned his Bachelor of Science with a major in Neuroscience from the University of Tasmania. He is undertaking his Honours research in the Molecular and Translational Drug Discovery Laboratory, focusing on the neuroplasticity effects and mechanisms of psychedelics in primary neuronal cell cultures. By employing advanced techniques in neuroscience and pharmacology, Hugh aims to contribute to the development of improved treatments for neuropsychiatric disorders. Passionate about advancing medical therapies and committed to ongoing research, he aspires to make a meaningful impact in the field of neuropharmacology. His work is supervised by Drs. Holly Melland, Sheng Yu Ang, and Gregory Stewart.

Mathias is a fourth year undergraduate pharmaceutical science student at Monash University and is currently undertaking an honours project at the Molecular Translational Drug Discovery (MTDD) laboratory from the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS). His honours project consists of looking at an orphan GPCR known as GPR17 and aims to unveil key structural and pharmacological insights into the receptor, which holds promising potential as a therapeutic target for the treatment of various neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Natalie Diepenhorst, Dr. Sheng Yu Ang and Dr. Gregory Stewart are the main supervisors overseeing the completion of his project

Matt is a Pharmaceutical Science Honours student, working on a project centered around looking at how the expression of serotonin receptors commonly targeted by psychedelics changes over time in cultured neurons derived from different brains regions. The project is supervised by Drs Sanja Bosnyak-Gladovic and Gregory Stewart. He has previously completed a Bachelor of Science in 2023.