Rate My Professor Andrea Vernall

Dr Andrea Vernall serves as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Otago, within the Sciences Division. She holds a BSc (Honours) and PhD from the University of Canterbury. Her career began as a Research Officer at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience in Brisbane from 2006 to 2009. She then worked as a Research Fellow in the School of Pharmacy at the University of Nottingham, UK, from 2009 to 2013. In 2013, she joined the School of Pharmacy at the University of Otago as a Lecturer, was promoted to Senior Lecturer, and subsequently transitioned to her current position in the Department of Chemistry.

The Vernall research group develops heterocyclic small molecules, peptidomimetics, and fluorescent tools targeting receptors in the human body to better understand disease processes and cell signalling. Key efforts concentrate on G protein-coupled receptors, particularly adenosine and cannabinoid receptors. The group also pursues small molecule ligands for modulating immune responses and new methods to study antibiotic resistance. Dr Vernall has co-authored several significant publications, including Wedlock, L. E., Lamichhane, R., Webley, M. C., Gilmer, S. C. L., Vernall, A. J., & Ussher, J. E. (2026). IL-21 selectively augments cytotoxic potential of antigen-activated MAIT cells. European Journal of Immunology, 56(2), e70154; Gilmer, S. C. L., & Vernall, A. J. (2025). Bioorthogonal fluorogenic chemistry using a light-activated tetrazine. Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry (advance online); Tyndall, J. D. A., Putha, L., Kok, L. K., Fellner, M., Rutledge, M. T., Gamble, A. B., Wilbanks, S. M., & Vernall, A. J. (2024). Covalent inhibition of macrophage migration inhibitory factor by isothiocyanates as potential colorectal cancer leads. Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry Conference, p. 67; and Gilmer, S. C. L., Tyndall, J. D. A., & Vernall, A. J. (2024). Development of bifunctional chemical tools for the adenosine A1 Receptor. Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry Conference, p. 51. She has supervised doctoral research on bifunctional chemical tools for adenosine A1 receptors, fluorescent ligands for CB2 receptors, and related topics. Dr Vernall contributes to teaching CHEM 202, CHEM 205, CHEM 305, and CHEM 461.