Ellen Swan, mentee in the 2020 IMNIS program in SA (University of Adelaide)
Ellen graduated from a Bachelor of Science (Advanced) in Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Adelaide in 2016, followed by a Bachelor of Science (Honours) (First Class) in Chemistry at the University of Adelaide in 2018. From her Honours degree, she was awarded the Rennie Scholarship for Research in Chemistry, and the Cedric Stanton Hicks Research Scholarship.
Ellen is currently a PhD candidate in at the University of Adelaide, working under the supervision of Prof. Simon Pyke and Dr John Bruning. Her research lies at the interface of medicinal chemistry and molecular biology, investigating the development of biologically-available small molecule inhibitors for a non-traditional therapeutic target (a protein-protein interaction domain). This project aims to identify a new class of therapeutic targets that have historically been considered “undruggable”, and potentially help elucidate drug targets for currently untreatable diseases.
She enjoys the interdisciplinary nature of her research, and hopes to pursue a career that will allow her to develop the applications of her work.
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