Michael Kassiou

Professor Michael Kassiou is Professor of Medicinal Chemistry in the Faculty of Science at the University of Sydney, where since 2006 he has also directed the Drug Discovery Institute. He obtained his PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of New South Wales in 1992. Postdoctoral positions followed at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, the CEA-Service Hospitalier Frédéric Joliot Life Sciences group in France, and Johns Hopkins Medical Institutes in the United States. In 1996, he held a Fogarty International Center Fellowship at the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health. He later served as Principal Hospital Scientist at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney before joining the University of Sydney.

Kassiou's research in synthetic and medicinal chemistry targets central nervous system disorders, including frontotemporal dementia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, autism spectrum disorder, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, depression, and neuroinflammation. His group develops novel ligands for TSPO as neuroprotective agents, P2X7 receptor antagonists, sigma receptor ligands, and PET imaging tracers for proteinopathies. He leads the Centre for Drug Discovery Innovation and the New South Wales Organoid Innovation Centre, and serves as a node leader for MedChem Australia. A pioneer in translating research to industry, he co-founded Kinoxis Therapeutics (targeting mental health with oxytocin agonists), Prokardia Therapeutics (cardiovascular), and Nexcan Laboratories (cannabinoids), holding over 20 patents. Achievements include Kinoxis' $273 million partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim. Awards encompass the 2024 Australian Financial Review Research Commercialisation Award, 2023 Eureka Prize for Leadership in Science and Innovation, Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (FTSE, 2025), and Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (FAHMS). Editorial roles include Editor of the Journal of Labelled Compounds and Radiopharmaceuticals, Chief Editor of Frontiers in Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmaceutics, and Associate Editor of ACS Chemical Neuroscience. With 446 publications and over 14,000 citations, his contributions profoundly impact drug discovery.

Professional Email: michael.kassiou@sydney.edu.au