Professor Michael Kassiou is a world-leading medicinal chemist with expertise in drug discovery. His innovative approach combines chemistry and molecular design. His innovations have been commercialised in several companies, most notably Prokardia Therapeutics which are producing entirely new medicines for cardiovascular disease, and Kinoxis Therapeutics who are targeting mental health conditions including substance use disorders. He holds more than 20 patents, several of which have been licensed to pharmaceutical companies.

Kassiou leads the Centre for Drug Discovery Innovation and the New South Wales Organoid Innovation Centre – a multi-institution facility applying cutting-edge stem-cell techniques to accelerate drug discovery and design. He is also a node leader of MedChem Australia, a national initiative aiming to bridge the gap between research and commercialisation.

His remarkable achievements have been recognised with the Eureka Prize for Leadership in Science and Innovation in 2023 and the Australian Financial Review Higher Education Award for Research Commercialisation in 2024.

Professor Michael Kassiou is a world leading chemist, who has made unparalleled contributions to the development of medicinal chemistry, with a focus on brain chemistry. He has pioneered medicinal chemistry research in brain chemistry through the understanding of drug-protein and drug binding site interactions, a key component, which allows him to obtain structure-activity relationships of bioactive molecules. His innovations have been commercialised in three companies, which are producing entirely new medicines for cardiovascular disease – Prokardia Therapeutics; mental health conditions, including substance use disorders – Kinoxis Therapeutics; and medical conditions where cannabinoids are effective – Nexcan Laboratories.