Professor Shudong Wang

Professor of Medicinal Chemistry UniSA Clinical & Health Sciences

City West Campus (HB7-29)
tel +61 8 830 22372

email Shudong.Wang@unisa.edu.au

Research Degree Supervisor

About me

www.unisa.edu.au/sansominstitute/drugdiscovery

Professor Shudong Wang’s research focuses on drug discovery in several therapeutic areas, especially cancer. She is particularly interested in forging multidisciplinary approaches for drug discovery translational research.

After received her Ph.D. in 1998 Shudong spent seven years in a British pharmaceutical company (Cyclacel Inc., NASDAQGM:CYCC). As head of Chemistry and programme manager (2000-2005) she helped to establish medicinal chemistry and drug discovery capability of the company. She played a leading role in several projects that reached preclinical and clinical stages.

In 2005, Shudong joined the University of Nottingham as Reader in Medicinal Chemistry at School of Pharmacy, the top pharmacy school in the United... Read more

UniSA Clinical & Health Sciences

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About me

In 2005, Shudong joined the University of Nottingham as Reader in Medicinal Chemistry at School of Pharmacy, the top pharmacy school in the United Kingdom. During the six years (2005-2011) she has built up a strong multi-disciplinary team, composed of medicinal chemistry, biology and pharmacology, which has enabled her team to conduct world-class drug discovery research. Several kinase inhibitor drug leads reached the late preclinical development stage.

In December 2011 Professor Wang relocated to the University of South Australia. As Chair of Medicinal Chemistry at School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, she has now established the drug discovery and cancer research capabilities. Her research activities are directed towards development of new drug candidates for kinases-targeted cancer therapies. These involve structure- and target-guided design and synthesis of compound libraries that are used to characterise the cellular consequences associated with the diseases. The strategy holds promise for rapid advancement of drug discovery in an effort to identify both drug candidates and novel therapeutic targets.

With major interests in original and innovative drug discovery, Professor Wang has demonstrated sustained translational research that is highlighted by a portfolio of over 85 patent applications, and has achieved extensive success in commercialisation from her research. Her research profile has led to a number of collaborations with world-class research teams in Australian, China, Germany, Hong Kong, Netherlands, UK, and USA. She has been an advisor for several biotech and pharma drug discovery programmes and has established strong links with drug industry.

Research

Highlights

Professor Wang current research is focussed on the discovery and development of novel protein kinase inhibitor drugs for treatment of cancers. The current ongoing research programmes include:

Discovery and development of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors as anti-cancer agents. Hartwell, Nurse and Hunt discovered cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) as key regulators of the cell cycle, which earnt them the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology & Medicine. CDKs catalyze the phosphorylation of substrate proteins by transferring phosphate from ATP via their serine or threonine residues. Tumour-associated cell-cycle defects are mediated by alterations in CDK activity. Although many CDK inhibitors have been identified, little progress has... Read more

Research

Projects

Excludes commercial-in-confidence projects.

Development of a novel and highly selective CDK4/6 inhibitor for treating cancer, NHMRC - Development Grant, 01/01/2018 - 30/04/2022
Discovery and development of CDK 4/6 inhibitors as anti-cancer agents, Changzhou Qianhong Bio-pharma Co Ltd, 12/12/2016 - 11/12/2021
Targeting cyclin-dependent kinase 4 in glioblastoma, Neurosurgical Research Foundation, 24/08/2020 - 21/08/2021
Development of CDK9 inhibitors for treatment of acute myeloid leukaemia, Bio Innovation SA, 01/06/2016 - 30/09/2018
Development of a new and effective therapeutic agent to treat childhood leukemia, Tour de Cure Ltd, 14/10/2016 - 30/06/2018
Novel inhibitors of map kinase-interacting kinase for cancer treatment, Cancer Council SA - Beat Cancer Fellowship, 03/01/2013 - 31/03/2017
New treatment for childhood leukaemia, Channel 7 Children's Research Foundation of SA, 01/01/2016 - 31/12/2016
Discovery of CDK6 inhibitors for treatment of childhood medulloblastoma, Channel 7 Children's Research Foundation of SA, 01/01/2015 - 31/12/2016
Pharmacological inhibitors of Mnk for the treatment of cancer, NHMRC - Project Grant, 01/01/2013 - 31/08/2016
Independent Validation and Investor Readiness for Cyclin-Dependent Kinase (CDK9), Bio Innovation SA, 01/01/2016 - 30/08/2016
CDK9 Inhibitors for the treatment of castration resistant prostate cancer, Cancer Council SA - Beat Cancer, 01/01/2015 - 31/12/2015

Research

Outputs

Research outputs for the last seven years are shown below. Some long-standing staff members may have older outputs included. To see earlier years visit ORCID or Scopus

Open access indicates that an output is open access.

Journal Articles

Year	Output
2023	Chen, R, Hassankhani, R, Long, Y, Basnet, SK, Teo, T, Yang, Y, Mekonnen, L, Yu, M & Wang, S 2023, 'Discovery of potent Inhibitors of cyclin-dependent kinases 7 and 9: design, synthesis, structure-activity relationship analysis and biological evaluation', ChemMedChem: chemistry enabling drug discovery, vol. 18, no. 3, article no. e202200582. 2 2 11
2023	Fanta, BS, Mekonnen, L, Basnet, SK, Teo, T, Lenjisa, J, Khair, NZ, Kou, L, Tadesse, S, Sykes, MJ, Yu, M & Wang, S 2023, '2-Anilino-4-(1-methyl-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)pyrimidine-derived CDK2 inhibitors as anticancer agents: design, synthesis & evaluation', Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 80, article no. 117158, pp. 1-15. 1 1 1
2023	Islam, S, Rahaman, MH, Yu, M, Noll, B, Martin, JH, Wang, S & Head, R 2023, 'Anti-Leukaemic activity of Rilpivirine Is mediated by Aurora A Kinase Inhibition', Cancers, vol. 15, no. 4, article no. 1044, pp. 1-21. Open access 3
2023	Safaroghli-Azar, A, Emadi, F, Lenjisa, J, Mekonnen, L & Wang, S 2023, 'Kinase inhibitors: opportunities for small molecule anticancer immunotherapies', Drug Discovery Today, vol. 28, no. 5, pp. 1-12. 1
2023	Sintayehu Fanta, B, Lenjisa, J, Teo, T, Kou, L, Mekonnen, L, Yang, Y, Basnet, SK, Hassankhani, R, Sykes, MJ, Yu, M & Wang, S 2023, 'Discovery of N,4-Di(1H-pyrazol-4-yl)pyrimidin-2-amine-derived CDK2 inhibitors as potential anticancer agents: design, synthesis, and evaluation', Molecules, vol. 28, no. 7, article no. 2951, pp. 1-21. Open access
2022	Anshabo, AT, Bantie, L, Diab, S, Lenjisa, J, Kebede, A, Long, Y, Heinemann, G, Karanjia, J, Noll, B, Basnet, SK, Li, M, Milne, R, Albrecht, H & Wang, S 2022, 'An orally bioavailable and highly efficacious inhibitor of CDK9/FLT3 for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia', Cancers, vol. 14, no. 5, article no. 1113, pp. 1-19. Open access 3 2 2
2022	Islam, S, Teo, T, Kumarasiri, M, Slater, M, Martin, JH, Wang, S & Head, R 2022, 'Combined In silico and In vitro evidence supporting an aurora a kinase inhibitory role of the anti-viral drug rilpivirine and an anti-proliferative influence on cancer cells', Pharmaceuticals, vol. 15, no. 10, article no. 1186, pp. 1-16. Open access 2 2 9
2022	Islam, S, Wang, S, Bowden, N, Martin, J & Head, R 2022, 'Repurposing existing therapeutics, its importance in oncology drug development: kinases as a potential target', British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, vol. 88, no. 1, pp. 64-74. 12 12 100
2022	Teo, T, Kasirzadeh, S, Albrecht, H, Sykes, MJ, Yang, Y & Wang, S 2022, 'An overview of CDK3 in cancer: clinical significance and pharmacological implications', Pharmacological Research, vol. 180, pp. 1-15. 3 2 2
2022	Yu, M, Yang, Y, Sykes, M & Wang, S 2022, 'Small-molecule inhibitors of tankyrases as prospective therapeutics for cancer', Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 65, no. 7, pp. 5244-5273. Open access 12 11 2
2021	Abdelaziz, AM, Yu, M & Wang, S 2021, 'Mnk inhibitors: a patent review', Pharmaceutical Patent Analyst, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 25-35. Open access 7 8
2021	Anshabo, AT, Milne, R, Wang, S & Albrecht, H 2021, 'CDK9: A comprehensive review of its biology, and its role as a potential target for anti-cancer agents', Frontiers in Oncology, vol. 11, article no. 678559, pp. 1-24. Open access 46 34 2
2021	Emran, AA, Tseng, HY, Gunatilake, D, Cook, SJ, Ahmed, F, Wang, S, Hersey, P, Gallagher, SJ & Tiffen, JC 2021, 'A combination of epigenetic BET and CDK9 inhibitors for treatment of human melanoma', Journal of Investigative Dermatology, In press. 5 5 37
2021	Long, Y, Yu, M, Ochnik, AM, Karanjia, JD, KC Basnet, S, Kebede, AA, Kou, L & Wang, S 2021, 'Discovery of novel 4-azaaryl-N-phenylpyrimidin-2-amine derivatives as potent and selective FLT3 inhibitors for acute myeloid leukaemia with FLT3 mutations', European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 213, article no. 113215, pp. 1-18. Open access 6 6 1
2021	Shao, H, Foley, DW, Huang, S, Abbas, AY, Lam, F, Gershkovich, P, Bradshaw, TD, Pepper, C, Fischer, PM & Wang, S 2021, 'Structure-based design of highly selective 2,4,5-trisubstituted pyrimidine CDK9 inhibitors as anti-cancer agents', European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 214, article no. 113244, pp. 1-15. 8 8 1
2021	Yu, M, Long, Y, Yang, Y, Li, M, Teo, T, Noll, B, Philip, S & Wang, S 2021, 'Discovery of a potent, highly selective, and orally bioavailable inhibitor of CDK8 through a structure-based optimisation', European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 218, article no. 113391. Open access 4 3
2021	Yu, M, Teo, T, Yang, Y, Li, M, Long, Y, Philip, S, Noll, B, Heinemann, GK, Diab, S, Eldi, P, Mekonnen, L, Anshabo, AT, Rahaman, MH, Milne, R, Hayball, JD & Wang, S 2021, 'Potent and orally bioavailable CDK8 inhibitors: design, synthesis, structure-activity relationship analysis and biological evaluation', European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 214, pp. 1-22. Open access 10 7 1
2020	Bantie, L, Tadesse, S, Likisa, J, Yu, M, Noll, B, Heinemann, G, Lokman, NA, Ricciardelli, C, Oehler, MK, Beck, A, Pradhan, R, Milne, R, Albrecht, H & Wang, S 2020, 'A first-in-class CDK4 inhibitor demonstrates in vitro, ex-vivo and in vivo efficacy against ovarian cancer', Gynecologic Oncology, vol. 159, no. 3, pp. 827-838. 8 10 1
2020	Diab, S, Yu, M & Wang, S 2020, 'CDK7 inhibitors in cancer therapy: the sweet smell of success?', Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 63, no. 14, pp. 7458-7474. 37 32 7
2020	McCalmont, H, Li, KL, Jones, L, Toubia, J, Bray, SC, Casolari, DA, Mayoh, C, Samaraweera, SE, Lewis, ID, Prinjha, RK, Smithers, N, Wang, S & Lock, RB 2020, 'Efficacy of combined CDK9/BET inhibition in preclinical models of MLL-rearranged acute leukemia', Blood Advances, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 296-300. Open access 17 17
2020	Richter, GH, Hensel, T, Schmidt, O, Saratov, V, von Heyking, K, Becker-Dettling, F, Prexler, C, Yen, H-Y, Steiger, K, Fulda, S, Dirksen, U, Weichert, W, Wang, S, Burdach, S & Schäfer, BW 2020, 'Combined inhibition of epigenetic readers and transcription initiation targets the EWS-ETS transcriptional program in Ewing sarcoma', Cancers, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 1-17. Open access 11 8 1
2020	Sorvina, A, Shandala, T, Wang, S, Sharkey, DJ, Parkinson-Lawrence, E, Selemidis, S & Brooks, DA 2020, 'CDKI-73 Is a novel pharmacological inhibitor of Rab11 cargo delivery and innate immune secretion', Cells, vol. 9, no. 2, article no. 372, pp. 1-17. Open access 6 5 1
2020	Tadesse, S, Anshabo, AT, Portman, N, Lim, E, Tilley, W, Caldon, CE & Wang, S 2020, 'Targeting CDK2 in cancer: challenges and opportunities for therapy', Drug Discovery Today, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 406-413. Open access 121 98 14
2020	Xie, S, Wei, F, Sun, YM, Gao, YL, Pan, LL, Tan, MJ, Wang, SD, Ding, J & Chen, Y 2020, 'EZH2 inhibitors abrogate upregulation of trimethylation of H3K27 by CDK9 inhibitors and potentiate its activity against diffuse large B-cell lymphoma', Haematologica: The Hematology Journal, vol. 105, no. 4, pp. 1021-1031. Open access 7 4 5
2019	Abdelaziz, AM, Diab, S, Islam, S, KC Basnet, S, Noll, B, Li, P, Mekonnen, LB, Lu, J, Albrecht, H, Milne, RW, Gerber, C, Yu, M & Wang, S 2019, 'Discovery of n-phenyl-4-(1h-pyrrol-3-yl)pyrimidin-2-amine derivatives as potent mnk2 inhibitors: design, synthesis, sar analysis, and evaluation of in vitro anti-leukaemic activity', Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 15, no. 6, pp. 600-621. 6 5
2019	Abdelaziz, AM, MC Basnet, S, Islam, S, Li, M, Tadesse, S, Albrecht, H, Gerber, C, Yu, M & Wang, S 2019, 'Synthesis and evaluation of 2'H-spiro[cyclohexane-1,3'-imidazo[1,5-a]pyridine]-1',5'-dione derivatives as Mnk inhibitors', Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters, vol. 29, no. 18, pp. 2650-2654. Open access 9 7 3
2019	Khair, NZ, Lenjisa, JL, Tadesse, S, Kumarasiri, M, Basnet, SK, Mekonnen, LB, Li, M, Diab, S, Sykes, MJ, Albrecht, H, Milne, R & Wang, S 2019, 'Discovery of CDK5 inhibitors through structure-guided approach', ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters, vol. 10, no. 5, pp. 786-791. Open access 16 16 1
2019	Portman, N, Alexandrou, S, Carson, E, Wang, S, Lim, E & Caldon, CE 2019, 'Overcoming CDK4/6 inhibitor resistance in ER-positive breast cancer', Endocrine-Related Cancer, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. R15-R30. Open access 96 83 8
2019	Rahaman, MH, Lam, F, Zhong, L, Teo, T, Adams, J, Yu, M, Milne, RW, Pepper, C, Lokman, NA, Ricciardelli, C, Oehler, MK & Wang, S 2019, 'Targeting CDK9 for treatment of colorectal cancer', Molecular Oncology, vol. 13, no. 10, pp. 2178-2193. Open access 34 30
2019	Rahaman, MH, Yu, Y, Zhong, L, Adams, J, Lam, F, Li, P, Noll, B, Milne, R, Peng, J & Wang, S 2019, 'CDKI-73: an orally bioavailable and highly efficacious CDK9 inhibitor against acute myeloid leukemia', Investigational New Drugs, vol. 37, no. 4, pp. 625-635. 24 20 3
2019	Tadesse, S, Caldon, E, Tilley, W & Wang, S 2019, 'Cyclin-dependent kinase 2 inhibitors in cancer therapy: an update', Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 62, no 9, pp. 4233-4251. 143 133 10
2018	Philip, S, Kumarasiri, M, Teo, T, Yu, M & Wang, S 2018, 'Cyclin-dependent kinase 8: a new hope in targeted cancer therapy?', Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 61, no. 12, pp. 5073-5092. 73 67 8
2018	Tadesse, S, Bantie, L, Tomusange, K, Yu, M, Islam, S, Bykovska, N, Noll, B, Zhu, G, Li, P, Lam, F, Kumarasiri, M, Milne, R & Wang, S 2018, 'Discovery and pharmacological characterisation of a novel series of highly selective inhibitors of cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6 as anticancer agents', British Journal of Pharmacology, vol. 175, no. 12, pp. 2399-2413. Open access 16 16 3
2017	Cao, S, Yu, Y, Chen, S, Lei, D, Wang, S, Pan, X & Peng, J 2017, 'Inhibition of CDK9 induces apoptosis and potentiates the effect of cisplatin in hypopharyngeal carcinoma cells', Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, vol. 482, no. 4, pp. 536-541. 7 7 1
2017	Diab, S, Abdelaziz, AM, Li, P, Teo, T, Basnet, SK, Noll, B, Rahaman, MH, Lu, J, Hou, J, Yu, M, Le, BT, Albrecht, H, Milne, RW & Wang, S 2017, 'Dual inhibition of Mnk2 and FLT3 for potential treatment of acute myeloid leukaemia', European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 139, pp. 762-772. Open access 22 18
2017	Kumarasiri, M, Teo, T, Yu, M, Philip, S, Basnet, SK, Albrecht, H, Sykes, MJ, Wang, P & Wang, S 2017, 'In search of novel CDK8 inhibitors by virtual screening', Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling, vol. 57, no. 3, pp. 413-416. 14 15 2
2017	Lenjisa, JL, Tadesse, S, Khair, NZ, Kumarasiri, M, Yu, M, Albrecht, H, Milne, R & Wang, S 2017, 'CDK5 in oncology: recent advances and future prospects.', Future Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 9, no. 16, pp. 1939-1962. Open access 32 29
2017	O'Brien-Brown, J, Jackson, A, Reekie, TA, Barron, ML, Werry, EL, Schiavini, P, McDonnell, M, Munoz, L, Wilkinson, S, Noll, B, Wang, S & Kassiou, M 2017, 'Discovery and pharmacological evaluation of a novel series of adamantyl cyanoguanidines as P2X7 receptor antagonists', European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 130, pp. 433-439. Open access 22 19 3
2017	Tadesse, S, Zhu, G, Mekonnen, LB, Lenjisa, JL, Yu, M, Brown, MP & Wang, S 2017, 'A novel series of N-(pyridin-2-yl)-4-(thiazol-5-yl)pyrimidin-2-amines as highly potent CDK4/6 inhibitors', Future Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 9, no. 13, pp. 1495-1506. Open access 10 10 2
2017	Zeleke, S, Yu, M, Mekonnen, LB, Lam, F, Islam, S, Tomusange, K, Rahaman, MH, Noll, B, MC Basnet, S, Teo, T, Albrecht, H, Milne, R & Wang, S 2017, 'Highly potent, selective, and orally bioavailable 4-Thiazol-N-(pyridin-2-yl)pyrimidin-2-amine cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6 inhibitors as anticancer drug candidates: design, synthesis, and evaluation', Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 60, no. 5, pp. 1892-1915. Open access 54 48 6
2016	Bala, V, Rao, S, Bateman, E, Keefe, DMK, Wang, S & Prestidge, CA 2016, 'Enabling oral SN38-based chemotherapy with a combined lipophilic prodrug and self-microemulsifying drug delivery system', Molecular Pharmaceutics, vol. 13, pp. 3518-3525. 41 40
2016	Bala, V, Rao, S, Li, P, Wang, S & Prestidge, CA 2016, 'Lipophilic prodrugs of SN38: synthesis and in vitro characterization toward oral chemotherapy', Molecular Pharmaceutics, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 287-294. 52 49 16
2016	Diab, S, Li, P, MC Basnet, S, Lu, J, Yu, M, Albrecht, H, Milne, RW & Wang, S 2016, 'Unveiling new chemical scaffolds as Mnk inhibitors', Future Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 271-285. 19 18
2016	Li, P, Diab, S, Yu, M, Adams, J, Islam, S, MC Basnet, S, Albrecht, H, Milne, RW & Wang, S 2016, 'Inhibition of Mnk enhances apoptotic activity of cytarabine in acute myeloid leukemia cells', Oncotarget, vol.7, no.35, pp.1-15. Open access 21 20
2016	Long, Y, Yu, M, Li, P, Islam, S, Goh, AW, Kumarasiri, M & Wang, S 2016, 'Synthesis and biological evaluation of heteroaryl styryl sulfone derivatives as anticancer agents', Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters, vol. 26, no. 23, pp. 5674-5678. 12 12
2016	Rahaman, MH, Kumarasiri, M, Mekonnen, LB, Yu, M, Diab, S, Albrecht, H, Milne, RW & Wang, S 2016, 'Targeting CDK9: a promising therapeutic opportunity in prostate cancer', Endocrine-Related Cancer, vol. 23, no. 12, pp. T211-T226. Open access 50 46 5
2016	Sutton, SK, Carter, DR, Kim, P, Tan, O, Arndt, GM, Zhang, XD, Baell, J, Noll, BD, Wang, S, Kumar, N, McArthur, GA, Cheung, BB & Marshall, GM 2016, 'A novel compound which sensitizes BRAF wild-type melanoma cells to vemurafenib in a TRIM16-dependent manner', Oncotarget, vol. 7, no. 32, pp. 52166-52178. Open access 9 8 1
2016	Xie, S, Jiang, H, Zhai, X-w, Wei, F, Wang, S-d, Ding, J & Chen, Y 2016, 'Antitumor action of CDK inhibitor LS-007 as a single agent and in combination with ABT-199 against human acute leukemia cells', Acta Pharmacologica Sinica, vol. 37, no. 11, pp. 1481-1489. Open access 29 30 14
2015	Abdelaziz, AM, Yu, M, Li, P, Zhong, L, Singab, ANB, Hanna, AG, Abouzid, KA, Mekhael, MK & Wang, S 2015, 'Synthesis and evaluation of 5-chloro-2-methoxy-N-(4-sulphamoylphenyl) benzamide derivatives as anti-cancer agents', Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 5, no. 5, pp. 253-260. Open access
2015	Kumarasiri, M, Teo, T & Wang, S 2015, 'Dynamical insights of Mnk2 kinase activation by phosphorylation to facilitate inhibitor discovery', Future Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 91-102. 7 8 1
2015	Le, BT, Kumarasiri, M, Adams, JRJ, Yu, M, Milne, RW, Sykes, MJ & Wang, S 2015, 'Targeting Pim kinases for cancer treatment : opportunities and challenges', Future Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 35-53. 34 33 11
2015	Lu, T, Laughton, CA, Wang, S & Bradshaw, TD 2015, 'In vitro antitumor mechanism of (E)-N-(2-methoxy-5-(((2,4,6-trimethoxystyryl)sulfonyl)methyl)pyridin-3-yl)methanesulfonamide', Molecular Pharmacology, vol. 87, no. 1, pp. 18-30. Open access 21 15 7
2015	MC Basnet, S, Diab, S, Schmid, R, Yu, M, Yang, Y, Gillam, TA, Teo, T, Li, P, Peat, T, Albrecht, H & Wang, S 2015, 'Identification of a highly conserved allosteric binding site on Mnk1 and Mnk2', Molecular Pharmacology, vol. 88, no. 5, pp. 935-948. Open access 15 15
2015	Teo, T, Lam, F, Yu, M, Yang, Y, MC Basnet, S, Albrecht, H, Sykes, M & Wang, S 2015, 'Pharmacologic inhibition of MNKs in acute myeloid leukemia', Molecular Pharmacology, vol. 88, no. 2, pp. 380-389. Open access 25 22 6
2015	Teo, T, Yang, Y, Yu, M, MC Basnet, S, Gillam, T, Hou, J, Schmid, R, Kumarasiri, M, Diab, S, Albrecht, H, Sykes, M & Wang, S 2015, 'An integrated approach for discovery of highly potent and selective Mnk inhibitors: screening, synthesis and SAR analysis', European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 103, pp. 539-550. 27 25 4
2015	Yu, M, Li, P, MC Basnet, S, Kumarasiri, M, Diab, S, Teo, T, Albrecht, H & Wang, S 2015, 'Discovery of 4-(dihydropyridinon-3-yl)amino-5-methylthieno[2,3-d[pyrimidine derivatives as potent Mnk inhibitors: synthesis, structure-activity relationship analysis and biological evaluation', European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 95, pp. 116-126. 33 33 3
2015	Zeleke, S, Yu, M, Kumarasiri, M, Le, BT & Wang, S 2015, 'Targeting CDK6 in cancer: state of the art and new insights', Cell Cycle, vol. 14, no. 20, pp. 3220-3230. Open access 93 82
2014	Diab, S, Kumarasiri, M, Yu, M, Teo, T, Proud, C, Milne, R & Wang, S 2014, 'MAP kinase-interacting kinases: emerging targets against cancer', Chemistry and Biology, vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 441-452. Open access 81 74 10
2014	Diab, S, Teo, THS, Kumarasiri, M, Li, P, Yu, M, Lam, F, MC Basnet, S, Sykes, MJ, Albrecht, H, Milne, R & Wang, S 2014, 'Discovery of 5-(2-(phenylamino)pyrimidin-4-yl)thiazol-2(3H)-one derivatives as potent Mnk2 inhibitors : synthesis, SAR analysis and biological evaluation', ChemMedChem: chemistry enabling drug discovery, vol. 9, no. 5, pp. 962-972. Open access 66 62 1
2014	Lam, F, Abbas, AY, Shao, H, Teo, T, Adams, J, Li, P, Bradshaw, TD, Fischer, PM, Walsby, E, Pepper, C, Chen, Y, Ding, J & Wang, S 2014, 'Targeting RNA transcription and translation in ovarian cancer cells with pharmacological inhibitor CDKI-73', Oncotarget, vol. 5, no. 17, pp. 7691-7704. Open access 46 44 3
2014	Lu, T, Goh, AW, Yu, M, Adams, J, Lam, F, Teo, T, Li, P, Noll, B, Zhong, L, Diab, S, Chahrour, O, Hu, A, Abbas, AY, Liu, X, Huang, S, Sumby, CJ, Milne, R, Midgley, C & Wang, S 2014, 'Discovery of (E)-3-((styrylsulfonyl)methyl)pyridine and (E)-2-((styrylsulfonyl)methyl)pyridine derivatives as anticancer agents: synthesis, structure-activity relationships, and biological activities', Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 57, no. 6, pp. 2275-2291. Open access 22 18 3
2014	Teo, T, Yu, M, Yang, Y, Gillam, TA, Lam, F, Sykes, MJ & Wang, S 2014, 'Pharmacologic co-inhibition of Mnks and mTORC1 synergistically suppresses proliferation and perturbs cell cycle progression in blast crisis-chronic myeloid leukemia cells', Cancer Letters, vol. 357, pp. 612-623. 40 36 6
2014	Walsby, E, Pratt, G, Shao, H, Abbas, AY, Fischer, PM, Bradshaw, TD, Brennan, P, Fegan, C, Wang, S & Pepper, C 2014, 'A novel Cdk9 inhibitor preferentially targets tumor cells and synergizes with fludarabine', Oncotarget, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 375-385. Open access 72 63
2013	Hou, J, Teo, THS, Sykes, MJ & Wang, S 2013, 'Insights into the importance of DFD-motif and insertion I1 in stabilizing the DFD-out conformation of Mnk2 kinase', ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters, vol. 4, no. 8, pp. 736-741. Open access 10 9
2013	Shao, H, Shi, S, Foley, DW, Lam, F, Abbas, AY, Liu, X, Huang, S, Jiang, X, Baharin, N, Fischer, PM & Wang, S 2013, 'Synthesis, structure-activity relationship and biological evaluation of 2,4,5-trisubstituted pyrimidine CDK inhibitors as potential anti-tumour agents', European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 70, pp. 447-455. 48 44
2013	Shao, H, Shi, S, Huang, S, Hole, AJ, Abbas, AY, Baumli, S, Liu, X, Lam, F, Foley, DW, Fischer, PM, Noble, M, Endicott, JA, Pepper, C & Wang, S 2013, 'Substituted 4-(Thiazol-5-yl)-2-(phenylamino)pyrimidines are highly active CDK9 inhibitors: Synthesis, X-ray crystal structures, structure-activity relationship, and anticancer activities', Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 56, no. 3, pp. 640-659. Open access 109 108 7
2012	Alkahtani, HM, Abbas, AY & Wang, S 2012, 'Synthesis and biological evaluation of benzo[d]imidazole derivatives as potential anti-cancer agents', Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 1317-1321. 65 55
2012	Hole, AJ, Baumli, S, Shao, H, Shi, S, Huang, S, Pepper, C, Fischer, PM, Wang, S, Endicott, JA & Noble, M 2012, 'Comparative structural and functional studies of 4-(Thiazol-5-yl)-2-(phenylamino)pyrimidine-5-carbonitrile CDK9 inhibitors suggest the basis for isotype selectivity', Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 56, no. 3, pp. 660-670. Open access 46 44
2012	Hou, J, Lam, FK, Proud, C & Wang, S 2012, 'Targeting Mnks for cancer therapy', Oncotarget, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 118-131. Open access 135 122
2012	Liu, X, Lam, F, Shi, S, Fischer, PM & Wang, S 2012, 'In vitro antitumor mechanism of a novel cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor CDKI-83', Investigational New Drugs, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 889-897. 10 6
2012	Liu, X, Shi, S, Lam, F, Pepper, C, Fischer, PM & Wang, S 2012, 'CDKI-71, a novel CDK9 inhibitor, is preferentially cytotoxic to cancer cells compared to flavopiridol', International Journal of Cancer, vol. 130, no. 5, pp. 1216-1226. Open access 51 49
2012	Lukasik, PM, Elabar, S, Lam, F, Shao, H, Liu, X, Abbas, AY & Wang, S 2012, 'Synthesis and biological evaluation of imidazo[4,5-b]pyridine and 4-heteroarylpyrimidine derivatives as anti-cancer agents', European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 57, pp. 311-322. 65 57
2011	Chahrour, O, Abdalla, A, Lam, F, Midgley, C & Wang, S 2011, 'Synthesis and biological evaluation of benzyl styrylsulfonyl derivatives as potent anticancer mitotic inhibitors', Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters, vol. 21, no. 10, pp. 3066-3069. Open access 14 14
2011	Lam, F, Bradshaw, TD, Mao, H, Roberts, S, Pan, Y & Wang, S 2011, 'ZJU-6, a novel derivative of Erianin, shows potent anti-tubulin polymerisation and anti-angiogenic activities', Investigational New Drugs, vol. 30, no. 5, pp. 1899-1907. 18 13
2011	Xu, Z, Liu, Z, Chen, T, Chen, TT, Wang, Z, Tian, G, Shi, J, Wang, X, Lu, Y, Yan, X, Wang, G, Jiang, H, Chen, K, Wang, S, Xu, Y, Shen, J & Zhu, W 2011, 'Utilization of halogen bond in lead optimization: a case study of rational design of potent phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitors', Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 54, no. 15, pp. 5607-5611. 106 102
2010	He, S, Yang, J, Wu, B, Pan, Y, Wan, H, Wang, Y, Du, Y & Wang, S 2010, 'Neuroprotective effect of parthenocissin A, a natural antioxidant and free radical scavenger, in focal cerebral ischemia of rats', Phytotherapy Research, vol. 24, S1, pp. S63-S70. 16 14
2010	McIntyre, NA, McInnes, C, Griffiths, G, Barnett, AL, Kontopidis, G, Slawin, AM, Jackson, W, Thomas, M, Zheleva, D I, Wang, S, Blake, DG, Westwood, NJ & Fischer, PM 2010, 'Design, synthesis, and evaluation of 2-methyl- and 2-amino-N-aryl-4,5- dihydrothiazolo[4,5-h]quinazolin-8-amines as ring-constrained 2-anilino-4-(thiazol-5-yl)pyrimidine cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors', Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 53, no. 5, pp. 2136-2145. 31 31
2010	Wang, S, Griffiths, G, Midgley, CA, Barnett, AL & Fischer, PM and 17 other authors 2010, 'Discovery and characterization of 2-anilino-4- (thiazol-5-yl)pyrimidine transcriptional CDK inhibitors as anticancer agents', Chemistry and Biology, vol. 17, no. 10, pp. 1111-1121. Open access 93 85
2010	Wang, S, Midgley, CA, Scaerou, F, Grabarek, J & Fischer, PM and 17 other authors 2010, 'Discovery of N-Phenyl-4-(thiazol-5-yl)pyrimidin-2-amine aurora kinase inhibitors', Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 53, no. 11, pp. 4367-4378. Open access 89 80
2009	Salama, NN & Wang, S 2009, 'Quantitative mass spectrometric analysis of ropivacaine and bupivacaine in authentic, pharmaceutical and spiked human plasma without chromatographic separation', Analytical Chemistry Insights, vol. 2009 no. 4, pp. 11-19. 1
2009	Taha, EA, Salama, NN & Wang, S 2009, 'Enantioseparation of cetirizine by chromatographic methods and discrimination by 1H-NMR', Drug Testing and Analysis, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 118-124. 10 7
2008	Wang, S & Fischer, P 2008, 'Cyclin-dependent kinase 9: a key transcriptional regulator and potential drug target in oncology, virology and cardiology', Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, vol. 29 no. 6, pp. 302-313. 193

Other outputs

1. S. Diab, A. M Abdelaziz, P. Li, T. Teo, S.K C. Basnet, B. Noll, M. H Rahaman, J. Lu, J. Hou, M. Yu, B. T. Le, H. Albrecht, R. W Milne and S. Wang. Dual Inhibition of Mnk2 and FLT3 for Potential Treatment of Acute MyeloidLeukaemia. European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 2017, DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2017.08.006, in press.

2. J. L Lenjisa, S. Tadesse, N. Z Khair, M. Kumarasiri, M. Yu, H. Albrecht, R. Milne, and S. Wang. CDK5 in Oncology: Recent Advances and Future Prospects. Future Medicinal Chemistry. Accepted 8th June 2017.

3. S.Tadesse, L. Bantie, K. Tomusange, M. Yu, S. Islam, N. Bykovska, B. Noll, G. Zhu, P. Li, F. Lam, M. Kumarasiri, R. Milne and S. Wang. Discovery and Pharmacological Characterisation of a Novel Series of Highly Selective Inhibitors of Cyclin-Dependent Kinases 4 and 6 as Anticancer Agents. British Journal of Pharmacology, 2017, in press.

4. S.Tadesse, G. Zhu, L. B Mekonnen, J. L Lenjisa, M. Yu, M. P. Brown, and S. Wang. A novel series of N-(pyridin-2-yl)-4-(thiazol-5-yl)pyrimidin-2-amines as highly potent CDK4/6 inhibitors. Future Medicinal Chemistry. 2017, In press.

5. S. Tadesse, M.Yu, L. B. Mekonnen, F. Lam, S. Islam, K. Tomusange, M. H. Rahaman, B. Noll, S. K. C. Basnet, T. Teo, H. Albrecht, R. Milne, and S. Wang. Highly Potent, Selective, and Orally Bioavailable 4‑Thiazol‑N‑(pyridin-2-yl)pyrimidin-2-amine Cyclin-Dependent Kinases 4 and 6 Inhibitors as Anticancer Drug Candidates: Design, Synthesis, and Evaluation. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 60, 1892−1915, 2017.

5. M. Kumarasiri, T. Teo, M. Yu, S. Philip, S.K. C. Basnet, H. Albrecht, M. J. Sykes, P. Wang, and S. Wang. In Search of Novel CDK8 Inhibitors by Virtual Screening. Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling, 57 (3), pp 413–416, 2017.

Research

Current research & highlights

Professor Wang current research is focussed on the discovery and development of novel protein kinase inhibitor drugs for treatment of cancers. The current ongoing research programmes include:

Discovery and development of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors as anti-cancer agents. Hartwell, Nurse and Hunt discovered cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) as key regulators of the cell cycle, which earnt them the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology & Medicine. CDKs catalyze the phosphorylation of substrate proteins by transferring phosphate from ATP via their serine or threonine residues. Tumour-associated cell-cycle defects are mediated by alterations in CDK activity. Although many CDK inhibitors have been identified, little progress has been made in the discovery of mono-specific inhibitors. We have multiple programs aiming at developing small-molecule inhibitors with high specificity against individual members of CDK family, particularly against CDK2, CDK4, CDK5, CDK6, CDK7, CDK8 and CDK9. These inhibitor compounds are developing as highly effective and low toxic therapeutics for treatment of cancers including hematological malignancies (i.e. AML, ALL and CLL) and cancers of breast, lung, melanoma, ovarian and prostate.
Discovery of Mnk inhibitors for cancer therapy. Elevated expression level of eIF4E promotes cancer development and progression. Activity of eIF4E is modulated through phosphorylation by Mnk1 and Mnk2 and the phosphorylation event is necessary for oncogenic transformation. Importantly, recent findings suggest that Mnks are dispensable for normal development. For these reasons, pharmacologic inhibitors of Mnks may provide a nontoxic and effective anti-cancer therapeutic strategy. This project aims to identify novel and selective Mnk inhibitors for target validation and clinical application.
Developing novel inhibitors of FLT3 for treating leukemia. FMS-like tyrosine kinase-3 (FLT3) transfers a phosphate from ATP to a substrate via a tyrosine residue. It is recognized as important in the function of normal lymphohaematopoietic stem cells and mutations in the FLT3 gene represent one of the most common and clinically challenging mutations in childhood and adult leukaemia. The development of small-molecule inhibitors is seen as a valuable opportunity for treating different types of acute and chronic leukaemia. This program is developing inhibitors that can be used in combination with other anti-leukaemic drugs to achieve greater remission and reduce the incidence of resistance.

Research

Patents

Details	Registry	Status
Derivatives of 2-oxo-n-(4-(pyrimidin-4-yloxy/thio)phenyl)-1,2-dihydropyridine-3-carboxamide for use as protein kinase inhibitors for therapy Wang, Shudong; Goh, Aik Wye	World	Granted
N-(pyridin-2-yl)-4-(thiazol-5-yl)pyrimidin-2-amine derivatives as therapeutic compounds Wang, Shudong; Zeleke, Solomon Tadesse; Yu, Mingfeng	WO	Filed

External engagement & recognition

Collaborations

External engagement & recognition

Collaborations

Organisation	Country
Adelaide Oncology and Haematology	AUSTRALIA
Ain Shams University	EGYPT
Cardiff University	UNITED KINGDOM
Children's Hospital Zurich	SWITZERLAND
Chinese Academy of Sciences	CHINA
Cresset Discovery	UNITED KINGDOM
CSIRO Australia (Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organisation)	AUSTRALIA
Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals, Inc	UNITED KINGDOM
East China University of Science and Technology	CHINA
Essen University Hospital	GERMANY
Garvan Institute of Medical Research	AUSTRALIA
German Cancer Research Center	GERMANY
GlaxoSmithKline	AUSTRALIA
Goethe University Frankfurt	GERMANY
Griffith University	AUSTRALIA
Lebanese American University	LEBANON
Macquarie University	AUSTRALIA
Monash University	AUSTRALIA
National Organization for Drug Control and Research	EGYPT
National Research Centre	EGYPT
Newcastle University, United Kingdom	UNITED KINGDOM
Open University	UNITED KINGDOM
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre	AUSTRALIA
RMIT University	AUSTRALIA
Royal Prince Alfred Hospital	AUSTRALIA
Shandong University	CHINA
Shanghai Children's Medical Center	CHINA
Shanghai Jiao Tong University	CHINA
South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI)	AUSTRALIA
Sydney Children's Hospital	AUSTRALIA
Technical University Munich	GERMANY
The Kinghorn Cancer Centre	AUSTRALIA
Topharman Shanghai Co. Ltd	UNITED STATES
University of Adelaide	AUSTRALIA
University of Birmingham	UNITED KINGDOM
University of New South Wales	AUSTRALIA
University of Newcastle	AUSTRALIA
University of Nottingham	UNITED KINGDOM
University of Oxford	UNITED KINGDOM
University of Queensland	AUSTRALIA
University of South Australia	AUSTRALIA
University Of South Carolina - Columbia	UNITED STATES
University of Southampton	UNITED KINGDOM
University of St Andrews	UNITED KINGDOM
University of Sussex	UNITED KINGDOM
University of Sydney	AUSTRALIA
University of Tasmania	AUSTRALIA
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center	UNITED STATES
University of Toronto	CANADA
Yabao Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd	CHINA
Zhejiang Chinese Medical University	CHINA
Zhejiang University	CHINA

External engagement & recognition

Engagement/recognition	Year
Fellow Royal Society of Chemistry	2018
Member Royal Australian Chemical Institute	2018
Member American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)	2018
Member American Chemical Society (ACS)	2018
Fellow Royal Society of Chemistry	2017
Member Royal Australian Chemical Institute	2017
Member American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)	2017
Member American Chemical Society (ACS)	2017
Recipient, Top Development Grant for 2017 Annual Research Excellence Awards, National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)	2017
Principle Cancer Research Fellowship Cancer Council SA	2013

Teaching & student supervision

Research degree supervision

Supervisions from 2010 shown

Thesis title	Student status
CDK inhibitors as immunotherapeutic agents for cancer treatment	Current
Design and synthesis of mnk Inhibitors for targeted cancer therapy	Current
Development of Cyclin Dependent Kinase Inhibitors for Cancer Treatment	Current
Evaluation of the cyclin-dependent kinase CDK inhibitors resistance for cancer treatment	Current
Identification and preclinical evaluation of kinase-targeted drugs for repurposing in cancer	Current
Identification of the mechanism of resistance against PI3K inhibitors in human leukemia	Current
Investigating the role of novel Tropomyosin receptor kinase (TRK) inhibitor for the treatment of NTRK fusion-positive lung cancer	Current
Preclinical evaluation of TAM kinase inhibitors as potential anticancer agents	Current
Targeting tankyrases for the treatment of cancer	Current
A combined lipophilic prodrug and lipid-based drug delivery approach to enable oral chemotherapy (with SN38)	Completed
Derivatives of 4-(1H-pyrazol-4-yl)pyrimidine CDK2 inhibitors as potential anticancer agents: design, synthesis & evaluation	Completed
Design, synthesis, and evaluation of novel CDK2 inhibitors as potential anticancer agents	Completed
Developing inhibitorsof MAP kinase-interacting kinases as potential anti-cancer agents	Completed
Development of cyclin dependent kinase 9 inhibitors for the treatment of cancer	Completed
Discovery and evaluation of MNK inhibitors as potential anti-cancer agents	Completed
Discovery and evaluation of styrylsulfonyl-methylpyridine derivatives as anticancer agents	Completed
Discovery of cyclin-dependent kinase 2/5 inhibitors for the potential treatment of cancer	Completed
Discovery of novel cyclin-dependent kinase 8 inhibitors as potential antitumour agents	Completed
Discovery of novel inhibitors of MAPK-interacting kinases as anti-tumour agents	Completed
Discovery of protein kinase inhibitors as potential anti-cancer agents	Completed
Identification and characterisation of Mnk inhibitors as potential anti-cancer agents	Completed
Investigating a novel CDK9 Inhibitor, CDKI-73, as a treatment for AML	Completed
Novel cyclin-dependent kinase 9 inhibitors for the treatment of cancer: identification and preclinical evaluation	Completed
Novel inhibitors of cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6 as anticancer agents: design, synthesis and evaluation	Completed
Pharmacological evaluation of protein kinase inhibitors as anti-cancer agents	Completed
Polymeric micelles to improve the delivery of poorly soluble antimicrobial agents to bacterial and fungal biofilms	Completed
Pre-clinical development of a CDK inhibitor for the treatment of cancer	Completed
Pre-clinical Evaluation of FLT3 Inhibitors for Treatment of Acute Myeloid Leukaemia	Completed
Preclinical evaluation of inhibitors of cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6 for the treatment of cancer	Completed
Preclinical evaluation of novel dual CDK2/5 inhibitors as anticancer drug candidates	Completed
Protein kinase inhibitors as potential anti-cancer agents: design, synthesis and evaluation	Completed

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Professor Shudong Wang

About me

About me

UniSA Clinical & Health Sciences

About me

Professional Associations

Experience

Qualifications

Research

Highlights

Projects

Outputs

Journal Articles

Other outputs

Current research & highlights

Patents

External engagement & recognition

Collaborations

Collaborations

External engagement & recognition

Fellow

Member

Member

Member

Fellow

Member

Member

Member

Recipient, Top Development Grant for 2017

Principle Cancer Research Fellowship

Teaching & student supervision

Courses and programs

Research degree supervision

Gallery