Melanie Robitaille

Dr. Melanie Robitaille is a Senior Post-Doctoral Researcher with the Calcium Signalling in Therapeutics Team (CaSTT) in the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Queensland's Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences. She specializes in developing novel methodologies and cellular assays for drug discovery, with expertise in genetically encoded indicators for high-content imaging in live cells.

Her research program focuses on elucidating calcium signal remodeling in disease states, identifying calcium transporters as therapeutic targets, and developing molecular screening tools for drug development. With extensive expertise in plasmid cloning, lentiviral transduction, and CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, her work spans breast cancer, melanoma, coronavirus infection mechanisms, and opioid receptor pharmacology. Her recent publications demonstrate a strong emphasis on calcium signaling's role in cancer progression and therapeutic resistance.

Dr. Robitaille's research is supported by significant funding including: a First-in-Class Calcium Channel Inhibitor grant (2025-2028) from the United States Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs; an NHMRC IDEAS Grant (2023-2026) on calcium influx pathways in cancer drug tolerance; and an ARC Discovery Project (2022-2025) investigating ion transport pathways exploited by coronaviruses.

• Principal Advisor for PhD research on calcium signaling pathways and coronavirus infection
• Associate Advisor for multiple projects on opioid receptor pharmacology and calcium channel drug targets

Her collaborative work primarily involves Professor Gregory Monteith, with additional collaborations across virology, oncology, and pharmacology disciplines. Dr. Robitaille maintains an active publication record with 81 works including 40 journal articles and 37 conference publications, demonstrating sustained research productivity in calcium signaling mechanisms and their therapeutic applications.