Professor Brimble’s research focuses on the synthesis of bioactive natural products and the synthesis of peptides, lipopeptides and glycopeptides as potential therapeutic agents. Prof Brimble’s lecture will showcase the intricate science of “making complex molecules.” The lecture will also describe her lab’s research on the synthesis of peptides, lipopeptides and glycopeptides as a platform for the discovery and development of peptide therapeutics as agents to treat traumatic brain injury, infectious disease, osteoporosis and diabetes. She discovered the drug NNZ2566 for Neuren Pharmaceuticals that is in phase 2b clinical trials for traumatic brain injury and was successful in phase 2 trials for Rett Syndrome. NNZ2566 has recently been named trofinetide and has received orphan drug status and fast track designation by the FDA as the first drug to treat Rett Syndrome. Professor Brimble’s laboratory has also been licensed by Medsafe NZ to manufacture clinical grade peptides under cGMP for human clinical trials of therapeutic cancer vaccines.