My research interests focus on the application of organic chemistry to build unique drug delivery systems known as nanomedicines for the purpose of developing new therapeutic and diagnostic options for patients. In particular, I focus on the design and implementation of treatments that are able to be tailored to an individual patient, a process known as precision medicine. I develop and test these materials from the lab through to patients via clinical translation. For more information about projects, click on the research below.
Dr. Zachary H. Houston
Postdoctoral Fellow at The University of Queensland
Research
Interests
- Precision medicine
- Comparative oncology
- Clinical Translation
- Organic chemistry
- Molecular imaging
- Drug delivery
- Nanomaterials & nanomedicines
- Data organisation & visualisation
Click a tab below to filter research by category, my role, or PhD / past research.
You may also view an unfiltered list of all research projects here.
Designer Molecules
I’m a classically trained organic chemist and am primarily interested in designing new compounds both small and large (nanomaterial) for the better treatment and diagnosis of diseases.
Molecular Imaging
We can assess the capabilities of nanomedicines by applying unimodal or multimodal molecular imaging techniques (PET-CT, MRI, PET-MRI, fluorescence, luminescence, and photoacoustics) to measure their efficiency in the body (in vivo).
Clinical Translation
I am also significantly interested in developing new pathways for faster translation of successful precision nanomedicine treatments through the use of comparative oncology in companion animals. This investigatory strategy allows for family pets to receive new treatments for cancer and other diseases (typically for free) that would otherwise be unavailable, while also providing valuable information as to whether or not these treatments might be beneficial to humans.
Data Visualisation
The information we can obtain from molecular imaging is vast and the organisation and visualisation can allow us to observe new trends in the data. I have been working to apply the organisation and visualisation of this data through data mining, data architecturing, and data visualisation through the application of virtual reality to help educate students and other researchers about the data obtained from molecular imaging as well as to create new tools and applications for investigation of these datasets. (Image credit: Andrew Lilja)
I have also been a part of several short projects that were not part of a major project but resulted in publications. These are listed below by publication. Clicking on a title will take you to a page with more information about the publication.
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During my graduate career I obtained a Master of Science in Chemistry. My research project was on synthesis and hydrolytic stability of polyhedral boranes scaffolds called closomers. In this project I developed a technique for monitoring the hydrolytic stability of a selection of closomers for the intended application of drug delivery. This work lead on to my PhD project in the development of a drug delivery scaffold for cancer treatment.
- Master’s thesis (2008-2010): ‘Hydrolytic stability of carbamate and carbonate closomers for the design of a multifaceted drug delivery system’ (Thesis Link)
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During my PhD years, I developed expertise in synthetic organic chemistry towards the development of a novel drug delivery system using polyhedral boranes. While versatile in their chemistry and application, these structures were synthetically challenging to develop and were therefore an ideal platform to develop strong synthetic organic chemistry skills.
- PhD thesis (2010-2014): ‘Design and development of a polyhedral borane drug delivery system for the small-molecule antimetabolite 5-fluorouracil’ (Thesis Link)
- Key Publications – Jalisatgi, S.S., JACS, 2011 (Link), Goswami, L.N., J. Org. Chem., 2012 (Link), Goswami, L.N., Org. Biomol. Chem., 2013 (Link).
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In the year between the completion of my Bachelor of Science and the commencement of my PhD, I took part in research projects pertaining to polymer coatings at Flinders University of South Australia, on the following topics funded by the South Australian Government.
- Benign biodegradable polymer coatings
- Amine free dendrimer synthesis
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During my entire undergraduate career, I took advantage of multiple research experience opportunities highlighted below in reverse chronological order.
- ‘Sila Derivatives of Amitriptyline’ – Honours Thesis (2006-2007) at Flinders University, South Australia
- Alternating Siloxane Polymers – Summer Research Project (2005) at Flinders University, South Australia
- Self-Assembled Monolayers – Work Placement (2004) at Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Office (ANSTO) – Lucas Heights, New South Wales, Australia
- Hydrogen Storage on Nanophase Diamond Powder – Undergraduate Research project funded by NASA at the University of Missouri (Publication)