Professor Katherine Andrews, Director of the Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery (GRIDD), has been recognised as a Fellow of the Australian Society for Parasitology for her work on malaria drug discovery.
Presented at the Australian Society for Parasitology Annual General Meeting, Professor Andrews’s election as a Fellow acknowledges her outstanding contribution to parasitology research, focusing on early stage screening and pre-clinical testing of new drugs for the prevention and treatment of malaria.
“Malaria kills more than 1000 children every day, so it is essential that we find the best drug options available to help save lives,” Professor Andrews said.
“As the leader of the Tropical Parasitology laboratory at GRIDD, I direct a research team that focuses on the identification of new antimalarial drugs and new physiological target areas in the malarial process.
“One of the key techniques we use is to generate drug-resistant malaria parasites in the lab, see what genetic changes have occurred and use these clues to develop new areas for drugs to target. We also investigate promising new chemical compounds that have the potential to be used as new drugs to prevent or treat malaria.”
With more than 20 years’ experience in malaria research Professor Andrews has dedicated her career to discovering new and effective treatments that may benefit human health.
Professor Katherine Andrews, Director of the Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery (GRIDD)
“Becoming a Fellow of the Society is truly humbling, and has given me a platform to increase people’s awareness of the devastating impacts of parasitic diseases like malaria.”
Founded in 1964, the Australian Society for Parasitology fosters connections between scientific researchers and advances knowledge in the field of parasitology, making a significant contribution to the scientific and educational community of Australia and more globally.
“The Australian Society for Parasitology has been instrumental during my career, including providing wonderful networking opportunities with colleagues around Australia and nationally.”
Outside research, Professor Andrews is a STEM engagement advocate and a passionate STEM role model. As the founder and Director of the That’s RAD! Science STEM outreach project she authored an engaging and educational children’s book on parasites and has also produced three other books featuring female scientists working on nanotechnology, forensic science and protein crystal science.
“The support of the Australian Society for Parasitology for the That’s RAD! Science book project has contributed to us giving more than 6,000 books out to children and libraries in Queensland and Australia,” Professor Andrews said.
