Conan Wang

Dr. Conan Wang is an ARC Future Fellow and Group Leader at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB), University of Queensland. He leads the Technology-Driven Drug Discovery (Tech3D) Group, focusing on precision engineering of peptides and proteins using computational biology, molecular libraries, and nanotechnology. His research spans drug discovery for medicine and agriculture, including cancer therapies, antimicrobial agents, and insecticides.

Wang holds a PhD from the University of Queensland (2008) and has trained under renowned scientists including Professors David Craik (UQ), Mingjie Zhang (HKUST), and Andreas Hofmann (Griffith University). He returned to UQ in 2012 via an ARC linkage grant and currently manages a team of researchers and students.

His research interests include cyclotide engineering, peptide stability, and drug delivery mechanisms. Notable contributions include designing cyclotide-based inhibitors for PD-1/PD-L1 and PCSK9, and exploring droplet microfluidics for high-throughput peptide screening. Over 100 publications and 30+ awards highlight his impact in drug discovery and structural biology.

Key achievements include the 2022 Kazuhiko Tatemoto Prize for ACE2-derived peptides in COVID-19 treatment and ARC Future Fellowship funding. His lab collaborates on projects like crown-of-thorns starfish genomics and molecular grafting for cancer immunotherapy.