I completed my Bachelor of Science and Master of Biomedical Science at University of Melbourne. I am a student in the Molecular Imaging and Theranostics laboratory undertaking PhD research under the supervision of A/Prof Xiaowei Wang, Dr Laura Bienvenu and Prof Karlheinz Peter. My research focus on developing novel targeted drugs and treatments for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs).

Thrombosis-related cardiovascular diseases, such as myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke, are the leading causes of disability and mortality, producing immense health and economic burdens worldwide. In Australia, CVDs resulted in 42,300 deaths in 2019 alone with more than 80% of these deaths are caused by MI and stroke.

Fast and effective breakdown of these blood clots is crucial to reduce injury and improve recovery. When primary percutaneous coronary intervention is not able to be done in a timely fashion, a valuable alternative treatment is fibrinolysis. However, clinically used fibrinolytic drugs or combined anti-thrombotic therapies are only effective at high systemic concentrations, resulting in adverse effects, such as neurotoxicity and bleeding complications. The tendency toward these adverse events often undercuts their beneficial effects, hence the widespread use of these anti-thrombotic drugs is restricted, leaving many patients untreated.

My PhD project aims to overcome the current bleeding complications by genetically engineering long-circulating recombinant antibody-drug fusions and providing a targeted drug delivery system. I hypothesise that these fusion constructs will provide extended and complication-free protection for patients at high risk of thrombosis and prevent devastating thrombotic events from even happening. Ultimately, by breaking the fatal link between antithrombotic effects and bleeding adverse effects, I believe these recombinant antibody-drug fusions can increase patient survival rate and enhance the quality of life of the millions affected.