Irina Vetter

Professor Irina Vetter is a NHMRC Leadership Fellow at The University of Queensland (UQ), holding joint appointments at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) and School of Pharmacy. Her research focuses on peripheral pain mechanisms, ion channel pharmacology, and analgesic drug discovery using venom-derived toxins. She investigates pain pathways, chemotherapy-induced neuropathy, and neuroinflammation, with a particular interest in developing novel pain therapies.

Education: PhD in Pharmacology from The University of Queensland.

Research Interests:

• Use of venom peptides (e.g., from cone snails, spiders, ants) to study pain pathways and ion channels.
• Development of subtype-selective analgesics targeting voltage-gated sodium channels (e.g., NaV1.7).
• Neuro-immune interactions in pain, including NLRP3 inflammasome activation and gut microbiome effects on neuropathy.

Grants & Funding:

• ARC Discovery Projects: Defining sodium channel accessory proteins, tuning sodium channel activation.
• NHMRC Synergy Grant: DISCERN initiative for chronic pain research.
• Cantargia AB collaboration: IL-1RAP targeting for chemotherapy-induced neuropathy.

Supervision:

• Current projects include studies on venom-derived peptides, chemotherapy neuropathy mechanisms, and ion channel modulation.
• Notable past students include work on vincristine-induced neuropathy and spider toxin engineering.

Labs & Collaborations:

Leads a multidisciplinary lab at IMB, collaborating with institutions worldwide on venom biodiscovery, pain mechanisms, and drug development.