Southern Highlands Branch Meeting 2024-9

“The Chemistry of Social Anxiety”

Professor Michael Kassiou FRACI FRSC FAFMC FSRS
Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and
Academic Director, Centre for Drug Discovery Innovation
University of Sydney

Date: Thursday, 17 October, 6.30–7.30 pm AEDT
Venue: RSL Mittagong, Carrington Room
All are welcome

Summary: The brain is an incredibly complex organ, and when it doesn’t function properly, it can cause various mental health challenges, including anxiety disorders. Recent research has shed light on how the brain controls social behaviour. This is exciting because it opens up new ways to help people who feel anxious or withdrawn in social situations.

Oxytocin (OT) is a hormone known for its involvement in social interactions and is considered a promising candidate for developing new treatments for severe mental health conditions. Often dubbed the “love hormone” due to its influence on social bonding and relationships, oxytocin has various positive effects. It’s important to note, however, that directly administering oxytocin may not be the most effective approach. Researchers are now focusing on creating new types of medications based on oxytocin that don’t involve using the hormone itself. These treatments could provide better options for people dealing with social anxiety disorder and other related mental health conditions, offering hope for improved well-being.

Michael Kassiou is Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and Academic Director of the Centre for Drug Discovery Innovation at the University of Sydney. He also serves as Sydney Node Leader of MedChem Australia and Academic Lead of the NSW Organoid Innovation Centre. With a focus on discovering small molecules for the study and treatment of brain disorders, he has authored more than 330 peer-reviewed publications and has been involved in several first-in-human studies. He has also founded spin-off companies, notably Kinoxis Therapeutics. His contributions have been recognised through several awards such as the Australian Museum Eureka Award for Leadership in Science and Innovation in 2023, the HG Smith Memorial Medal in 2023, the RACI Applied Research Award in 2020 and the Adrien Albert Award for Excellence in Medicinal Chemistry and Chemical Biology in 2017. He is a Fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI), Fellow of the Asian Federation of Medicinal Chemistry (AFMC), Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) and Fellow of the Society of Radiopharmaceutical Sciences (FSRS).

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