ASCEPT 2023
30 August-1 September 2023
Crowne Plaza, Queenstown
Please click here to see the programme
ASCEPT Plenary Speaker
Associate Professor Nicola J Smith
Nicola leads the Orphan Receptor Laboratory at UNSW Sydney, where her team takes a multidisciplinary approach to orphan G protein-coupled receptors as potential cardiovascular drug targets. She prides herself on mentoring the future generation of scientists, with many receiving accolades during their time in her laboratory. Nicola is internationally recognised as a champion for research integrity, advocating for reproducibility and rigour in scientific research, and has been recognised for her research and outreach with numerous awards and fellowships. She currently holds leadership positions as ASCEPT Scientific Advisory Committee Chair and is a member of the Australian Cardiovascular Alliance Disease Mechanisms Flagship.
Invited Speakers: Symposium
Professor Mike Dragunow
Mike is an internationally recognised neuropharmacologist, with research focuses on CNS drug discovery and development utilising human brain tissue microarray, human brain cell culture, high throughput devices and high-content analysis combined with molecular pharmacology methods. He was part of the team that first invented trofinetide for brain injuries (now FDA-approved for Rett’s syndrome), and co-founded Neurovalida - a human brain-based drug target validation service.
Professor Arduino Mangoni
Arduino trained in Clinical Pharmacology, Cardiology and Internal Medicine in Milan, Boston and London. In 2003 he was awarded a PhD at King's College London and was appointed as Senior Lecturer in the Department of Clinical Pharmacology at Flinders University. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2007 before taking up the Chair of Medicine of Old Age at the University of Aberdeen in 2010. In 2013 he returned to Flinders University as Professor of Clinical Pharmacology and Senior Consultant in Clinical Pharmacology and Internal Medicine. His research interests include repurposing of anti-inflammatory drugs for cardiovascular risk management and pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety in old age.
Dr Rachael Sumner
Rachael is a Research Fellow in the School of Pharmacy with a research focus on mechanism-informed rational drug selection and measuring brain-based pharmacodynamics in human clinical trials. Her current work includes a Phase 1 trial of microdosing LSD, and the follow-on Phase 2 trial determining if it is an effective treatment for depression. She has a particular passion for women’s health and leads research on menstrual cycle related disorders. Her work primarily involves using electroencephalography (EEG) with computational modelling, and blood analyte measurements.