Prof Naresh Kumar completed his PhD in organic chemistry at Wollongong University in 1983, and after working as a Research Scientist at the School of Chemistry, University of NSW was appointed a Lecturer in 2003. He moved through the ranks to become Professor of chemistry in 2009. Prof Kumar has a full-time research and teaching appointment at the University of New South Wales.
During the past ten years, he has carried out both vigorous...view more
Prof Naresh Kumar completed his PhD in organic chemistry at Wollongong University in 1983, and after working as a Research Scientist at the School of Chemistry, University of NSW was appointed a Lecturer in 2003. He moved through the ranks to become Professor of chemistry in 2009. Prof Kumar has a full-time research and teaching appointment at the University of New South Wales.
During the past ten years, he has carried out both vigorous independent and strong collaborative research in organic synthesis, natural products chemistry and biomaterials. This activity is reflected in 7 book chapters, and 250 publications that have appeared in major peer-reviewed international journals of chemistry. The major emphasis of his research has been in the area of heterocyclic chemistry and, more recently, in the areas of medicinal chemistry and biomaterials. These projects have been well supported by ARC grants, NHMRC grants, and commercial research contracts.
Prof Kumar’s group has access to state-of-the-art research facilities through the School of Chemistry and the UNSW Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre. The School is co-located with the Centre, which together have all the major scientific infrastructure required to perform cutting edge chemical research including high-field nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and X-ray diffraction. Further, the School of Chemistry enjoys state-of-the-art laboratories housed in Australia’s newest chemistry building.
Keywords: Biologically active molecules, Flavonoids, Antimicrobials, Fimbrolides, Peptidomimetics, Heterocyclic chemistry, Natural products chemistry, Biomaterials
My Grants
ARC Discovery and Linkage projects
- 2018: New scaffolds for antimicrobial discovery $297,500
- 2019: Microbiologically induced stress corrosion cracking in underground mines, $675,318
- 2018: Development of electrochemically activated sorbents for PFAS defluorination, $1,103,883
- 2016: Novel antimicrobial surface coatings for Cochlear implants, $333,470
- 2016: Effect of a novel immobilised antimicrobial peptide on bacteria, $392,500
- 2014: Novel peptide mimics for the disruption of chemical communication in bacteria, $390,000
NHMRC Ideas/Project and Development grants
- 2019: Tackling hospitial acquired infections with peptide mimics, $1,177,905
- 2017: Innovative antimicrobial treatments for successful bone allografts, $475,000
- 2014: Development of antimicrobial contact lenses, $694,000
My Qualifications
BSc (Hons) PAU, PhD (Wollongong)
My Awards
1979: University Medal in BSc (Hons) Chemistry
2012: University Staff Award for Excellence in Community Outreach
2016: Science Teachers' Association of NSW Outstanding Service Award
2016: Visiting Professor, Gifu University, Japan
2018: Visiting Professor, Gajdah Mada University, Indonesia
2019: Editorial Board of "Bioorganic Chemistry" section of Molecules
My Research Activities
Our group's research interests intersect the boundaries between chemistry, biology and medicine leading to a diverse range of research projects at the forefront of medicinal chemistry and antimicrobial biomaterials. The research multidisciplinary in nature and involves a combination of synthetic organic chemistry, molecular modelling, analytical chemistry, surface characterisation and biological screening.
Project currently running in the group include:
- Natural products and heterocyclic chemistry - development of new synthetic methodologies for the preparation of biologically important natural products and their analogues (with Prof David Black)
- Design and Synthesis of novel antimicrobial agents
- Quorum sensing inhibitors
- Antimicrobial peptide mimics (with Prof Mark Willcox)
- Inhibitors of bacterial transcription initiation (with Prof Peter Lewis, University of Newcastle)
- Design and synthesis of novel anticancer agents
- Novel heterocyclic analogues of isoflavones
- Development of novel USP5 inhibitors (with Dr Belamy Cheung - Children's Cancer Institute)
- Antimicrobial biomaterials
- Antimicrobial bone grafts and orthopaedic implants (with Prof Bill Walsh and Prof Mark Willcox)
- Tackling hospital acquired infections with peptide mimics (with Prof Mark Willcox)
- Antimicrobial hydrogels based on peptide mimics (with Dr Renxun Chen)
- Disinfective strategies for medical and industrial applications
- Inhibiting microbiologically induced stress corrosion cracking in mines (with Prof Serkan Saydam and Prof Mike Manefield)
- New disinfection systems against microbes and viruses for hospital and public settings (with Prof Mark Willcox and Dr Renxun Chen)
My Research Supervision
Areas of supervision
The main focus of the research undertaken in my group is the discovery and development of novel biologically active molecules. The research is multidisciplinary in nature and involves a combination of synthetic organic chemistry, molecular modelling and biological screening. We are interested in supervising students in the areas of design and synthesis of novel antimicrobial and anticancer agents, development of new heterocyclic systems, and new antimicrobial surface coatings for biomaterials.
Currently supervising
Our team is currently supervising the research work 10 PhD, 1 MPhil and 2 honours students. The group is supported by 3 postdoctoral researchers who also mentor the research students. We have a diverse inclusive group with members from all over the world, creating a supportive environment for all to excel in their studies.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0951-9621