FOUNDER Harris Peptide Lab

Paul has 25+ years experience in the synthesis of peptides and proteins and was the lead chemist and co-inventor of the now FDA-approved peptide, Daybue used to treat Rett Syndrome.

He is passionate about using peptides to treat cancer, diabetes and infectious disease and learned the art of solid phase peptide synthesis and chemical protein synthesis in the lab of peptide and protein pioneer Stephen B. H. Kent. When not thinking about peptides he loves running, cycling and spending time with the family and 2 cavoodles.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Cancer is a major public health issue in New Zealand and worldwide. Cancer care of New Zealand patient, including Māori and Pacifica is constantly improving due to developing therapies, diagnostics and promoting nation-wide awareness of the issue. This progress is however slow.My interests are centred around using peptide-based ligands for highly specific malignancy targeting that in future could lead to more personalised approach towards cancer treatment. Synthesis of radiolabelled or boron-tagged peptides, that are highly selective and toxic towards malignant cells with minimal damage to healthy cells, to be used in boron neutron capture therapy, are also of my interest.I am currently involved in development of automated flow peptide synthesiser with the aim of accelerating peptide production with improved purity compared to standard solid phase-based techniques. I am also involved in investigations toward replacement of toxic solvents used during standard peptide synthesis, with more environmentally friendly ones.

My area of expertise covers design and synthesis of peptides, glycopeptides, phosphopeptides, radio- and fluorescently-labelled peptides for drug development. In particular, synthesis of peptidomimetics and disulfide bond surrogates using bridging reagents, Cu(I) “click chemistry”, Grubbs’ ring closing metathesis (RCM), Cysteine Lipidation on a Peptide or Amino acid (CLipPA), are the main experimental techniques I often use when working in the lab.

Postdoctoral fellow

Qualifications:

2019-24 Ph.D. - Chemistry, University of Alberta

2015-19 B.Sc. - Medicinal and Applied Chemistry, Kaohsiung Medical University

Research Focus:

Total synthesis of bioactive peptides and analogues

 Areas of Expertise:

Organic chemistry; peptide chemistry; solid phase synthesis.

Postdoctoral fellow

Sung is a massively experienced 17 year synthetic chemist in both peptide/protein and small molecule chemistry. He is our molecule making machine and is developing our on demand chemical synthesis platform to assist both UoA and NZ-based scientists to develop both therapeutics and molecular tools in their research aims.

Jessica completed her BSc (Honours) - Medicinal Chemistry in 2020 at the University of Auckland, followed by her PhD (Chemistry) in 2025 at the same institution. She is passionate about research and relishes exploring new ideas and proving theories wrong (or right!). In her spare time she enjoys playing football, being outdoors, and synthesising baked goods. She is undertaking both peptide and small molecule synthesis

Andrew is undertaking chemical synthesis of a peptide that targets an overexpressed integrin present in cancer cells with a goal of using this peptide as a Trojan horse to get payloads into cells with Dr Jiwon Hong as his co-supervisor and Dr Kowalczyk as advisor. He is generously supported by the Te Aka Mātauranga Matepukupuku (Centre for Cancer Research) with a PhD stipend.

Jinwei undertook Hons with A/P Harris in the chemical synthesis of a naturally occurring cyclic peptide. She is now jointly supervised by A/Prof Harris and Prof Loomes devising a chemical synthesis of complex, disulphide-rich venom peptide derived from the sea anemone H. crispa for use as a therapy for metabolic disorders

You'll find me in the lab concocting whimsical ideas, some of which actually have merit, others less so. If you get talking to me I'll usually have some abstract idea for your project, and will likely run my own abstract ideas about my project by you, whether you like it or not.

Currently I am attempting to brute-force a synthesis for the newly discovered antibiotic family, the Gausemycins, with the support of A/Prof Dan Furkert and A/Prof Jane Allison, which involves some relatively straightforward SPPS, and some relatively hardcore organic synthesis. Generally, my interests lie in creative ways to solve chemical problems and asking questions like "what happens to Y property of X peptide if we change this..." with a child-like curiosity.

 Outside of the lab I lift things repetitively and put them back down, and I pay for the privilege of doing so. I also like to read old books by guys who died 2000 years ago with big beards.

Also, I'm an Irish guy which means I am in fact a Leprechaun and I will defend my pot of gold, with force if necessary. 

Hello! I am Harsha Negi, a PhD student  under the guidance of A’Prof Paul Harris and Dr Daniel Conole. My research project focuses on utilising peptide-based affinity selection mass spectrometry technique for high-throughput screening of ligands targeting COP1, a protein currently lacking known small molecule or peptide modulators. We aim to create chemical probes that will serve as tools to enhance our understanding of COP1's role in both normal and diseased tissues.When I'm not immersed in the lab, you can find me soaking up the beauty of nature. I absolutely love going for long walks and exploring the stunning gardens around Auckland.

Catherine completed a BSc(Hons) with A/Prof Harris in the development of non-toxic polymyxins. She has now embarked on the total chemical synthesis of lipidated forms of TNF-α with A/Prof Lyn Wise and A/Prof Dan Furkert

Yuhang is developing biocatalysis to prepare new analogues of Daptomycin, a last resort Gram positive FDA-approved peptide antibiotic to mitigate antimicrobials résistance already seen in this class of antibiotics. He is supported by co-supervisor A/Prof Jane Allison and A/Prof Ghader Bashiri

Josh undertook a BSc(Hons) with A/Prof Harris and Prof Sarojini in the synthesis of new octapeptins. For his PhD he is studying complex peptides containing ozazoles and oxazolines co-supervised by Prof Brent Copp

I'm Jizi Cui, a PhD student from China. My project aims to investigate the application of a new method to undertake peptides stapling. Chemical synthesis will be used to prepare small molecules suitable for stapling, and their reactivity with amino acids and peptides will then be investigated.  After obtaining the stapling peptide, we will make additional modifications and explore its application in different fields. He is co-supervised by A/Prof Julie Spicer of Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre (ACSRC)

My name is Zhe Ren and I'm passionate about exploring organic synthesis and drug discovery, with a focus on designing bioactive molecules. Motivated to bridge chemical innovation with pharmaceutical applications. Zhe will be working on peptide-dye conjugates to treat brain cancers with Dr Kowalczyk, Dr Jiney Jose and Dr Peter Choi

Ziyi is undertaking a MSc in the field of modifying disulphide linked cyclic peptides to increased their activity with Dr Billy Sheppard and A/Prof Jane Allison