Diana Shu Hsuan Lin

B.Science (Honours)

Contact Details

Room: N261
Telephone: +61 2 9351 2704
Email:

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy
Supervisor: Dr Mary Collins
Associate Supervisor: Dr Malcolm Mcleod (School of Chemistry)

Areas of Research Interest: Pharmaceutical Chemistry

Methyllycaconitine Analogues: Effect on the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors.

This research project combines pharmacology, molecular biology, electrophysiology and chemistry to develop structure-activity relationship (SAR) profiles for neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subtypes. Methyllycaconitine (MLA) is a neurotoxin that kills more cattle in North America than any other plant. The toxicity of MLA arises from its action at the neuromuscular junction where it inhibits neurotransmission and induces paralysis. More recently however, research has focused on the design of analogues of MLA as potential therapeutic leads into the treatment of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's, Schizophrenia and epilepsy.