Dr Laychiluh Mekonnen

I am a passionate pharmacologist with over five years of experience teaching pharmacology to students in medicine, pharmacy, nursing, and midwifery. During my tenure at Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia, I served as Program Manager of the College of Medicine and Health Sciences and as Head of the Department of Pharmacology, gaining valuable academic leadership and curriculum development experience.

In pursuit of advancing my research career, I was awarded the prestigious Commonwealth RTP/IPRS scholarship and joined the University of South Australia to undertake a PhD in Pharmacology under the supervision of Professor Shudong Wang. My PhD research focused on the preclinical evaluation of novel CDK4/6 inhibitors for cancer treatment. Through this work, I developed broad technical and intellectual expertise in drug discovery, cancer cell biology, pharmacology, and toxicology, bridging both academic and industry research settings. My PhD led to the discovery of two promising drug candidates: AU2-94, a first-in-class CDK4 inhibitor and AU3-14, the most potent dual CDK4/6 inhibitor identified to date. AU3-14 is undergoing Phase I/IIa clinical trial targeting glioblastoma and other advanced solid tumors. I have published over 30 scientific articles and abstracts in reputable peer-reviewed journals. An internship at Aucentra Therapeutics further enriched my understanding of the pharmaceutical industry's expectations and regulatory environment.

Currently, I work as a Research fellow at University of South Australia, where I focus on in vivo combination therapy strategies to support current and future clinical studies. My research interests include drug development, cancer biology, mechanistic studies of drug action, and in vivo pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic modeling, with a strong emphasis on translating laboratory findings into clinical impact.

Qualifications

• Doctor of Philosophy University of South Australia

• Master of Science in Pharmacology Addis Ababa University

• Bachelor of Pharmacology Jimma University