Shudong Wang

Prof Shudong Wang

Professor of Medicinal Chemistry

School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences

College of Health

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.

Dr. Shudong Wang (Ph.D., MRACI Chartered Chemist, FRSC) is a Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and Head of Drug Discovery and Development at the University of South Australia. Her research focuses on innovative cancer therapies, including target validation, drug discovery, and clinical development.
After earning her Ph.D. in 1998, Dr. Wang spent seven years at Cyclacel Inc. (NASDAQGM:CYCC) in the UK, where she served as Head of Chemistry and Oncology Program Manager. During her tenure, she advanced the company’s medicinal chemistry and drug discovery efforts, leading multiple projects to preclinical and clinical stages. In 2005, she joined the University of Nottingham's School of Pharmacy, UK, as Associate Professor and Reader in Medicinal Chemistry, where she led the development of the first-in-class oral CDK9 inhibitor I-73, now in Phase 2 clinical trials for Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML).
In December 2011, Professor Wang joined the University of South Australia, where she established the region’s first Drug Discovery and Development Centre. She has led to build capabilities in drug design, medicinal chemistry, cellular & animal pharmacology, and clinical trials. With over 120 patent applications and seven drug candidates, she has an extensive track record in translational research. One of her drug candidates has completed Phase 1/2a trials in patients with advanced solid tumors, including brain, pancreatic, liver, colorectal, and ovarian cancers.
Professor Wang is highly experienced in the drug development process, including intellectual property protection, clinical trials, regulatory pathways, and commercialization. She has founded two oncology drug companies that are conducting clinical trials with her drug candidates.
As a chief investigator, Professor Wang has secured over $20 million in research grant funding over the past 10 years, including support from NHMRC, ARC, Cancer Council SA, The Foundation for Children, Tour de Cure, and pharmaceutical companies. She held SA Cancer Council's Principal Cancer Research Fellowship (2013-2017), and received the NHMRC Research Excellence Award in 2017. In April 2024, Professor Wang was appointed as a Member of the MRFF Australian Brain Cancer Mission's first Expert Advisory Panel by the Minister for Health and Aged Care. 

Professor Wang’s research focuses on the discovery and development of novel kinase inhibitor drugs for cancer treatment. Current ongoing research programs include:

  • Cyclin-dependent Kinase (CDK) Inhibitors as Anti-Cancer Agents

The discovery of cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) as key regulators of the cell cycle by Hartwell, Nurse, and Hunt, which earned them the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology & Medicine, established CDKs as important targets in cancer therapy. Tumor-associated cell-cycle defects often arise from alterations in CDK activity. While several CDK4/6 inhibitors have been approved for the treatment of breast cancer in the clinic, progress in developing mono-specific inhibitors remains limited. Our research aims to develop inhibitors with high specificity against individual CDK family members, particularly CDK2, CDK4, CDK5, CDK6, CDK8, or CDK9. These inhibitors are being designed as highly effective, low-toxicity therapeutics for a range of cancers, including haematological malignancies (AML, ALL, CLL) and solid tumors such as brain, breast, colorectal, lung, melanoma, ovarian, pancreatic, and prostate cancer, respectively.

  • Targeting Tyro3, Axl, and Mer (TAM) Kinases for Cancer Immunotherapy

TAM kinases (Tyro3, Axl, Mer) are over-expressed in many cancers and are associated with poor prognosis, drug resistance, and metastasis. Acting as immune checkpoints, similar to CTLA-4, PD-1, and PD-L1, TAM kinase inhibition can enhance tumor immunity. We have identified a class of highly potent and selective TAM kinase inhibitors that demonstrate strong anti-cancer activity across multiple cancer cell lines. In animal models, our lead candidate has shown significant anti-tumor efficacy, inducing tumor regression at a single-digit low milligram dosage by oral administration. Additionally, the compound enhances anti-tumor immune responses by increasing CD3+/CD8+ T cell populations in murine syngeneic models. This project aims to understand the mechanism of action and evaluate the therapeutic potential of these compounds as cancer immunotherapies.

  • Highly Selective and Potent FLT3 Inhibitors for Hematologic Cancers

FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) is highly expressed in a range of hematologic malignancies, including 70-100% of AML subtypes, as well as ALL and CML. Patients with FLT3 mutations have poor prognoses, experience higher relapse rates, and face increased mortality. We have identified a highly selective FLT3 inhibitor that exhibits picomolar potencies against FLT3 and all eight known FLT3 mutations, including FLT3 (ITD), FLT3 (D835Y), FLT3 (F594_R595insR), FLT3 (F594_R595insREY), FLT3 (ITD)-NPOS, FLT3 (ITD)-W51, FLT3 (R595_E596insEY), and FLT3 (Y591V592insVDFREYEYD). The candidate demonstrates high efficacy against tumor xenografts and induced complete remission in all in vivo AML models, leading to a 100% survival rate. Moreover, the compound is highly synergistic with venetoclax, a BCL-2 inhibitor, and has the potential to overcome venetoclax resistance. We seek partnership to advance this program toward clinical trials.

Professor Wang’s research is committed to advancing targeted cancer therapies, improving patient outcomes through the pre-clinical and clinical development of innovative kinase inhibitors.

Year Citation
2026 van der Noord, V. E., McLaughlin, R. P., Karuntu, J. S., He, J., Timmermans, A. M., Basnet, S. K. C., . . . van de Water, B. (2026). Disrupting CDK9 activity suppresses triple-negative breast cancer and is enhanced by EGFR Inhibition. Cellular Oncology Dordrecht Netherlands, 49(1), 20.
DOI
2026 Teo, T., Karanjia, J., Wabnitz, P., Kichenadasse, G., Gan, H. K., Cooper, A., . . . Wang, S. (2026). A phase I/IIa study of auceliciclib in patients with advanced solid tumours and in combination with temozolomide in patients with recurrent/relapsed high-grade glioma.. ESMO Open, 11(2), 106035.
DOI
2025 Mekonnen, L. B., Teo, T., Noll, B., Rahaman, M. H., Lenjisa, J., Basnet, S., . . . Wang, S. (2025). A brain-penetrant CDK4/6 inhibitor - AU3-14 shows robust anti-tumor efficacy against glioblastoma.. Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie, 189(118340), 118340.
DOI Scopus2 Europe PMC2
2025 Safaroghli-azar, A., Mekonnen, L. B., Hassankhani, R., Lenjisa, J., Basnet, S. K. C., Batayneh, H., . . . Wang, S. (2025). A novel CDK4 inhibitor for myeloid protection in chemotherapy-treated triple-negative breast Cancer. Investigational New Drugs, 43(3), 728-741.
DOI Scopus1 WoS1 Europe PMC1
2024 Rahman, R., Rahaman, M. H., Hanson, A. R., Choo, N., Hassankhani, R., Islam, S., . . . Selth, L. A. (2024). CDK9 inhibition inhibits multiple oncogenic transcriptional and epigenetic pathways in prostate cancer. British Journal of Cancer, 131(6), 1092-1105.
DOI Scopus3 WoS5 Europe PMC5
2024 Rahman, R., Rahaman, M. H., Hanson, A. R., Choo, N., Xie, J., Townley, S. L., . . . Selth, L. A. (2024). Author Correction: CDK9 inhibition constrains multiple oncogenic transcriptional and epigenetic pathways in prostate cancer.. Br J Cancer, 131(10), 1719.
DOI WoS1 Europe PMC1
2024 Seneviratne, J. A., Ravindrarajah, D., Carter, D. R., Zhai, V., Lalwani, A., Krishan, S., . . . Marshall, G. M. (2024). Combined inhibition of histone methyltransferases EZH2 and DOT1L is an effective therapy for neuroblastoma. Cancer Medicine, 13(21, article no. e70082), 1-20.
DOI Scopus3 WoS4 Europe PMC4
2024 Kasirzadeh, S., Lenjisa, J. L., & Wang, S. (2024). Targeting CDK2 to combat drug resistance in cancer therapy. Future Oncology, 20(39), 3325-3341.
DOI Scopus7 WoS10 Europe PMC6
2023 Safaroghli Azar, A., Emadi, F., Lenjisa, J., Mekonnen, L., & Wang, S. (2023). Kinase inhibitors: opportunities for small molecule anticancer immunotherapies. Drug Discovery Today, 28(5), 1-12.
DOI Scopus3 WoS4 Europe PMC1
2023 Islam, S., Rahaman, M. H., Yu, M., Noll, B., Martin, J. H., Wang, S., & Head, R. (2023). Anti-Leukaemic Activity of Rilpivirine Is Mediated by Aurora A Kinase Inhibition. Cancers, 15(4), 21 pages.
DOI Scopus5 WoS4 Europe PMC5
2023 Fanta, B. S., Lenjisa, J., Teo, T., Kou, L., Mekonnen, L., Yang, Y., . . . Wang, S. (2023). Discovery of N,4-Di(1H-pyrazol-4-yl)pyrimidin-2-amine-Derived CDK2 Inhibitors as Potential Anticancer Agents: Design, Synthesis, and Evaluation. Molecules, 28(7), 2951.
DOI Scopus8 WoS7 Europe PMC5
2023 Fanta, B. S., Mekonnen, L., Basnet, S. K. C., Teo, T., Lenjisa, J., Khair, N. Z., . . . Wang, S. (2023). 2-Anilino-4-(1-methyl-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)pyrimidine-derived CDK2 inhibitors as anticancer agents: Design, synthesis & evaluation. Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, 80(117158), 117158.
DOI Scopus16 WoS16 Europe PMC10
2023 Mustafa, E. H., Laven-Law, G., Kikhtyak, Z., Nguyen, V., Ali, S., Pace, A. A., . . . Hickey, T. E. (2023). Selective inhibition of CDK9 in triple negative breast cancer. Oncogene, 43(3), 202-215.
DOI Scopus16 WoS17 Europe PMC12
2022 Islam, S., Wang, S., Bowden, N., Martin, J., & Head, R. (2022). Repurposing existing therapeutics, its importance in oncology drug development: kinases as a potential target. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 88(1), 64-74.
DOI Scopus31 WoS30 Europe PMC25
2022 Anshabo, A. T., Bantie, L., Diab, S., Lenjisa, J., Kebede, A., Long, Y., . . . Wang, S. (2022). An Orally Bioavailable and Highly Efficacious Inhibitor of CDK9/FLT3 for the Treatment of Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Cancers, 14(5), 1113.
DOI Scopus13 WoS11 Europe PMC10
2022 Chen, R., Hassankhani, R., Long, Y., Basnet, S. K. C., Teo, T., Yang, Y., . . . Wang, S. (2022). Discovery of Potent Inhibitors of Cyclin-Dependent Kinases 7 and 9: Design, Synthesis, Structure-Activity Relationship Analysis and Biological Evaluation. Chemmedchem, 18(3), e202200582.
DOI Scopus5 WoS5 Europe PMC5
2022 Islam, S., Teo, T., Kumarasiri, M., Slater, M., Martin, J. H., Wang, S., & Head, R. (2022). Combined In Silico and In Vitro Evidence Supporting an Aurora A Kinase Inhibitory Role of the Anti-Viral Drug Rilpivirine and an Anti-Proliferative Influence on Cancer Cells. Pharmaceuticals, 15(10), 16 pages.
DOI Scopus6 WoS6 Europe PMC6
2022 Teo, T., Kasirzadeh, S., Albrecht, H., Sykes, M. J., Yang, Y., & Wang, S. (2022). An overview of CDK3 in cancer: clinical significance and pharmacological implications. Pharmacological Research, 180, 16 pages.
DOI Scopus13 WoS12 Europe PMC11
2022 Yu, M., Yang, Y., Sykes, M., & Wang, S. (2022). Small-molecule inhibitors of tankyrases as prospective therapeutics for cancer. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 65(7), 5244-5273.
DOI Scopus31 WoS32 Europe PMC30
2021 Yu, M., Teo, T., Yang, Y., Li, M., Long, Y., Philip, S., . . . Wang, S. (2021). Potent and orally bioavailable CDK8 inhibitors: design, synthesis, structure-activity relationship analysis and biological evaluation. European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 214, 1-22.
DOI Scopus15 WoS14 Europe PMC15
2021 Yu, M., Long, Y., Yang, Y., Li, M., Teo, T., Noll, B., . . . Wang, S. (2021). Discovery of a potent, highly selective, and orally bioavailable inhibitor of CDK8 through a structure-based optimisation. European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 218(113391), 23 pages.
DOI Scopus9 WoS8 Europe PMC9
2021 Long, Y., Yu, M., Ochnik, A. M., Karanjia, J. D., Basnet, S. K., Kebede, A. A., . . . Wang, S. (2021). Discovery of novel 4-azaaryl-N-phenylpyrimidin-2-amine derivatives as potent and selective FLT3 inhibitors for acute myeloid leukaemia with FLT3 mutations. European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 213(113215), 113215.
DOI Scopus14 WoS13 Europe PMC9
2021 Bantie, L., Tadesse, S., Likisa, J., Yu, M., Noll, B., Heinemann, G., . . . Wang, S. (2021). Erratum to “A first-in-class CDK4 inhibitor demonstrates in vitro, ex-vivo and in vivo efficacy against ovarian cancer” (Gynecologic Oncology (2020) 159(3) (827–838), (S0090825820339056), (10.1016/j.ygyno.2020.09.012)). Gynecologic Oncology, 163(1), 215.
DOI
2021 Shao, H., Foley, D. W., Huang, S., Abbas, A. Y., Lam, F., Gershkovich, P., . . . Wang, S. (2021). Structure-based design of highly selective 2,4,5-trisubstituted pyrimidine CDK9 inhibitors as anti-cancer agents. European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 214(113244), 1-15.
DOI Scopus22 WoS20 Europe PMC15
2021 Abdelaziz, A. M., Yu, M., & Wang, S. (2021). Mnk inhibitors: a patent review. Pharmaceutical Patent Analyst, 10(1), 25-35.
DOI Scopus9 WoS10 Europe PMC9
2021 Emran, A. A., Tseng, H. Y., Gunatilake, D., Cook, S. J., Ahmed, F., Wang, S., . . . Tiffen, J. C. (2021). A combination of epigenetic BET and CDK9 inhibitors for treatment of human melanoma. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, In press(9), 2238-2249.e12.
DOI Scopus11 WoS11 Europe PMC9
2021 Anshabo, A. T., Milne, R., Wang, S., & Albrecht, H. (2021). CDK9: A comprehensive review of its biology, and its role as a potential target for anti-cancer agents. Frontiers in Oncology, 11(678559), 1-24.
DOI Scopus118 WoS113 Europe PMC105
2020 Richter, G. H. S., Hensel, T., Schmidt, O., Saratov, V., von Heyking, K., Becker Dettling, F., . . . Schäfer, B. W. (2020). Combined inhibition of epigenetic readers and transcription initiation targets the EWS-ETS transcriptional program in Ewing sarcoma. Cancers, 12(2), 1-17.
DOI WoS20 Europe PMC21
2020 Diab, S., Yu, M., & Wang, S. (2020). CDK7 inhibitors in cancer therapy: the sweet smell of success?. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 63(14), 7458-7474.
DOI Scopus69 WoS68 Europe PMC67
2020 Tadesse, S., Anshabo, A. T., Portman, N., Lim, E., Tilley, W., Caldon, C. E., & Wang, S. (2020). Targeting CDK2 in cancer: challenges and opportunities for therapy.. Drug discovery today, 25(2), 406-413.
DOI Scopus278 WoS261 Europe PMC212
2020 McCalmont, H., Li, K. L., Jones, L., Toubia, J., Bray, S. C., Casolari, D. A., . . . D'Andrea, R. J. (2020). Efficacy of combined CDK9/13ET inhibition in preclinical models of MLL-rearranged acute leukemia. Blood Advances, 4(2), 296-300.
DOI Scopus23 WoS22 Europe PMC24
2020 Sorvina, A., Shandala, T., Wang, S., Sharkey, D. J., Parkinson-Lawrence, E., Selemidis, S., & Brooks, D. A. (2020). CDKI-73 is a novel pharmacological inhibitor of Rab11 cargo delivery and innate immune secretion. Cells, 9(2), 1-17.
DOI Scopus10 WoS9 Europe PMC8
2020 Bantie, L., Tadesse, S., Likisa, J., Yu, M., Noll, B., Heinemann, G., . . . Wang, S. (2020). A first-in-class CDK4 inhibitor demonstrates in vitro, ex-vivo and in vivo efficacy against ovarian cancer.. Gynecol Oncol, 159(3), 827-838.
DOI Scopus16 WoS18 Europe PMC16
2020 Xie, S., Wei, F., Sun, Y. M., Gao, Y. L., Pan, L. L., Tan, M. J., . . . Chen, Y. (2020). EZH2 inhibitors abrogate upregulation of trimethylation of H3K27 by CDK9 inhibitors and potentiate its activity against diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Haematologica, 105(4), 1021-1031.
DOI Scopus12 WoS9 Europe PMC9
2019 Khair, N. Z., Lenjisa, J. L., Tadesse, S., Kumarasiri, M., Basnet, S. K. C., Mekonnen, L. B., . . . Wang, S. (2019). Discovery of CDK5 inhibitors through structure-guided approach. ACS, 10(5), 786-791.
DOI Scopus23 WoS21 Europe PMC19
2019 Rahaman, M. H., Yu, Y., Zhong, L., Adams, J., Lam, F., Li, P., . . . Wang, S. (2019). CDKI-73: an orally bioavailable and highly efficacious CDK9 inhibitor against acute myeloid leukemia. Investigational new drugs, 37(4), 625-635.
DOI Scopus36 WoS35 Europe PMC30
2019 Portman, N., Alexandrou, S., Carson, E., Wang, S., Lim, E., & Caldon, C. E. (2019). Overcoming CDK4/6 inhibitor resistance in ER-positive breast cancer. Endocrine-related cancer, 26(1), 15-30.
DOI Scopus142 WoS129 Europe PMC123
2019 Abdelaziz, A. M., Diab, S., Islam, S., KC Basnet, S., Noll, B., Li, P., . . . Wang, S. (2019). Discovery of n-phenyl-4-(1h-pyrrol-3-yl)pyrimidin-2-amine derivatives as potent mnk2 inhibitors: design, synthesis, sar analysis, and evaluation of in vitro anti-leukaemic activity. Medicinal chemistry, 15(6), 600-621.
DOI Scopus6 WoS5 Europe PMC5
2019 Tadesse, S., Caldon, E. C., Tilley, W., & Wang, S. (2019). Cyclin-dependent kinase 2 inhibitors in cancer therapy: an update. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 62(9), 4233-4251.
DOI Scopus239 WoS233 Europe PMC180
2019 Abdelaziz, A. M., Basnet, S. K. C., Islam, S., Li, M., Tadesse, S., Albrecht, H., . . . Wang, S. (2019). Synthesis and evaluation of 2'H-spiro[cyclohexane-1,3'-imidazo[1,5-a]pyridine]-1',5'-dione derivatives as Mnk inhibitors. Bioorganic & medicinal chemistry letters, 29(18), 2650-2654.
DOI Scopus10 WoS10 Europe PMC7
2019 Rahaman, M. H., Lam, F., Zhong, L., Teo, T., Adams, J., Yu, M., . . . Wang, S. (2019). Targeting CDK9 for treatment of colorectal cancer. Molecular Oncology, 13(10), 16 pages.
DOI Scopus47 WoS44 Europe PMC43
2018 Tadesse, S., Bantie, L., Tomusange, K., Yu, M., Islam, S., Bykovska, N., . . . Wang, S. (2018). Discovery and pharmacological characterisation of a novel series of highly selective inhibitors of cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6 as anticancer agents. British journal of pharmacology, 175(12), 2399-2413.
DOI Scopus24 WoS22 Europe PMC19
2018 Philip, S., Kumarasiri, M., Teo, T., Yu, M., & Wang, S. (2018). Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 8: A New Hope in Targeted Cancer Therapy?. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 61(12), 5073-5092.
DOI Scopus97 WoS91 Europe PMC82
2017 Diab, S., Abdelaziz, A. M., Li, P., Teo, T., Basnet, S. K. C., Noll, B., . . . Wang, S. (2017). Dual inhibition of Mnk2 and FLT3 for potential treatment of acute myeloid leukaemia. European journal of medicinal chemistry, 139, 762-772.
DOI Scopus23 WoS22 Europe PMC19
2017 Cao, S., Yu, Y., Chen, S., Lei, D., Wang, S., Pan, X., & Peng, J. (2017). Inhibition of CDK9 induces apoptosis and potentiates the effect of cisplatin in hypopharyngeal carcinoma cells. Biochemical and biophysical research communications, 482(4), 536-541.
DOI Scopus9 WoS8 Europe PMC9
2017 Tadesse, S., Yu, M., Mekonnen, L. B., Lam, F., Islam, S., Tomusange, K., . . . Wang, S. (2017). Highly potent, selective, and orally bioavailable 4-Thiazol-N-(pyridin-2-yl)pyrimidin-2-amine cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6 inhibitors as anticancer drug candidates: design, synthesis, and evaluation. Journal of medicinal chemistry, 60(5), 1892-1915.
DOI Scopus73 WoS65 Europe PMC42
2017 Kumarasiri, M., Teo, T., Yu, M., Philip, S., Basnet, S. K. C., Albrecht, H., . . . Wang, S. (2017). In search of novel CDK8 inhibitors by virtual screening. Journal of chemical information and modeling, 57(3), 413-416.
DOI Scopus15 WoS16 Europe PMC11
2017 Tadesse, S., Zhu, G., Mekonnen, L. B., Lenjisa, J. L., Yu, M., Brown, M. P., & Wang, S. (2017). A novel series of N-(pyridin-2-yl)-4-(thiazol-5-yl)pyrimidin-2-amines as highly potent CDK4/6 inhibitors. Future Medicinal Chemistry, 9(13), 1495-1506.
DOI Scopus16 WoS16 Europe PMC11
2017 Lenjisa, J. L., Tadesse, S., Khair, N. Z., Kumarasiri, M., Yu, M., Albrecht, H., . . . Wang, S. (2017). CDK5 in oncology: recent advances and future prospects.. Future medicinal chemistry, 9(16), 1939-1962.
DOI Scopus37 WoS35 Europe PMC32
2017 O'Brien Brown, J., Jackson, A., Reekie, T. A., Barron, M. L., Werry, E. L., Schiavini, P., . . . Kassiou, M. (2017). Discovery and pharmacological evaluation of a novel series of adamantyl cyanoguanidines as P2X7 receptor antagonists. European journal of medicinal chemistry, 130, 433-439.
DOI WoS32 Europe PMC22
2016 Bala, V., Rao, S., Li, P., Wang, S., & Prestidge, C. A. (2016). Lipophilic prodrugs of SN38: synthesis and in vitro characterization toward oral chemotherapy. Molecular Pharmaceutics, 13(1), 287-294.
DOI Scopus66 WoS59 Europe PMC47
2016 Diab, S., Li, P., Basnet, S. K. C., Lu, J., Yu, M., Albrecht, H., . . . Wang, S. (2016). Unveiling new chemical scaffolds as Mnk inhibitors. Future Medicinal Chemistry, 8(3), 271-285.
DOI Scopus22 WoS20 Europe PMC16
2016 Li, P., Diab, S., Yu, M., Adams, J., Islam, S., Basnet, S. K. C., . . . Wang, S. (2016). Inhibition of Mnk enhances apoptotic activity of cytarabine in acute myeloid leukemia cells. Oncotarget, 7(35), 1-15.
DOI Scopus23 WoS23 Europe PMC22
2016 Bala, V., Rao, S., Bateman, E., Keefe, D., Wang, S., & Prestidge, C. (2016). Enabling oral SN38-based chemotherapy with a combined lipophilic prodrug and self-microemulsifying drug delivery system. Molecular Pharmaceutics, 13(10), 3518-3525.
DOI Scopus46 WoS45 Europe PMC30
2016 Long, Y., Yu, M., Li, P., Islam, S., Goh, A. W., Kumarasiri, M., & Wang, S. (2016). Synthesis and biological evaluation of heteroaryl styryl sulfone derivatives as anticancer agents. Bioorganic & medicinal chemistry letters, 26(23), 5674-5678.
DOI Scopus16 WoS16 Europe PMC7
2016 Xie, S., Jiang, H., Zhai, X. W., Wei, F., Wang, S. D., Ding, J., & Chen, Y. (2016). Antitumor action of CDK inhibitor LS-007 as a single agent and in combination with ABT-199 against human acute leukemia cells. Acta pharmacologica sinica, 37(11), 1481-1489.
DOI Scopus33 WoS33 Europe PMC32
2016 Rahaman, M. H., Kumarasiri, M., Mekonnen, L. B., Yu, M., Diab, S., Albrecht, H., . . . Wang, S. (2016). Targeting CDK9: A promising therapeutic opportunity in prostate cancer. Endocrine Related Cancer, 23(12), T211-T226.
DOI Scopus63 WoS58 Europe PMC54
2016 Sutton, S. K., Carter, D. R., Kim, P., Tan, O., Arndt, G. M., Zhang, X. D., . . . Marshall, G. M. (2016). A novel compound which sensitizes BRAF wild-type melanoma cells to vemurafenib in a TRIM16-dependent manner. Oncotarget, 7(32), 52166-52178.
DOI Scopus10 WoS9 Europe PMC9
2015 Kumarasiri, M., Teo, T., & Wang, S. (2015). Dynamical insights of Mnk2 kinase activation by phosphorylation to facilitate inhibitor discovery. Future Medicinal Chemistry, 7(2), 91-102.
DOI Scopus7 WoS8 Europe PMC4
2015 Teo, T., Yu, M., Yang, Y., Gillam, T., Lam, F., Sykes, M. J., & Wang, S. (2015). Pharmacologic co-inhibition of Mnks and mTORC1 synergistically suppresses proliferation and perturbs cell cycle progression in blast crisis-chronic myeloid leukemia cells. Cancer Letters, 357(2), 612-623.
DOI Scopus44 WoS40 Europe PMC36
2015 Lu, T., Laughton, C. A., Wang, S., & Bradshaw, T. D. (2015). In vitro antitumor mechanism of (E)-N-(2-methoxy-5-(((2,4,6-trimethoxystyryl)sulfonyl)methyl)pyridin-3-yl)methanesulfonamide. Molecular pharmacology, 87(1), 18-30.
DOI Scopus27 WoS23 Europe PMC19
2015 Yu, M., Li, P., K c Basnet, S., Kumarasiri, M., Diab, S., Teo, T., . . . Wang, S. (2015). Discovery of 4-(dihydropyridinon-3-yl)amino-5-methylthieno[2,3-d[pyrimidine derivatives as potent Mnk inhibitors: Synthesis, structure-activity relationship analysis and biological evaluation. European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 95, 116-126.
DOI Scopus37 WoS37 Europe PMC22
2015 Teo, T., Lam, F., Yu, M., Yang, Y., Basnet, S., Albrecht, H., . . . Wang, S. (2015). Pharmacologic inhibition of MNKs in acute myeloid leukemia. Molecular Pharmacology, 88(2), 380-389.
DOI Scopus31 WoS28 Europe PMC23
2015 Teo, T., Yang, Y., Yu, M., Basnet, S., Gillam, T., Hou, J., . . . Wang, S. (2015). An integrated approach for discovery of highly potent and selective Mnk inhibitors: Screening, synthesis and SAR analysis. European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 103, 539-550.
DOI Scopus31 WoS27 Europe PMC17
2015 Basnet, S., Diab, S., Schmid, R., Yu, M., Yang, Y., Gillam, T., . . . Wang, S. (2015). Identification of a highly conserved allosteric binding site on Mnk1 and Mnk2 s. Molecular Pharmacology, 88(5), 935-948.
DOI Scopus15 WoS15 Europe PMC10
2015 Li, K. L., Bray, S. C., Iarossi, D., Adams, J., Zhong, L., Noll, B., . . . D'Andrea, R. J. (2015). Investigation of a novel cyclin-dependent-kinase (CDK) inhibitor Cdki-73 as an effective treatment option for MLL-AML. Blood, 126(23), 1365.
DOI WoS5
2015 Le, B. T., Kumarasiri, M., Adams, J. R. J., Yu, M., Milne, R. W., Sykes, M. J., & Wang, S. (2015). Targeting Pim kinases for cancer treatment : opportunities and challenges. Future medicinal chemistry, 7(1), 35-53.
DOI Scopus44 WoS45 Europe PMC33
2015 Tadesse, S., Yu, M., Kumarasiri, M., Le, B. T., & Wang, S. (2015). Targeting CDK6 in cancer: state of the art and new insights. Cell cycle, 14(20), 3220-3230.
DOI Scopus134 WoS127 Europe PMC105
2015 Abdelaziz, A. M., Yu, M., Li, P., Zhong, L., Singab, A. N. B., Hanna, A. G., . . . Wang, S. (2015). Synthesis and evaluation of 5-chloro-2-methoxy-N-(4-sulphamoylphenyl) benzamide derivatives as anti-cancer agents. Medicinal chemistry, 5(5), 253-260.
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2014 Diab, S., Teo, T. H. S., Kumarasiri, M., Li, P., Yu, M., Lam, F., . . . Wang, S. (2014). Discovery of 5-(2-(phenylamino)pyrimidin-4-yl)thiazol-2(3H)-one derivatives as potent Mnk2 inhibitors : synthesis, SAR analysis and biological evaluation. ChemMedChem, 9(5), 962-972.
DOI Scopus80 WoS76 Europe PMC59
2014 Lam, F., Abbas, A. Y., Shao, H., Teo, T., Adams, J., Li, P., . . . Wang, S. (2014). Targeting RNA transcription and translation in ovarian cancer cells with pharmacological inhibitor CDKI-73. Oncotarget, 5(17), 7691-7704.
DOI Scopus50 WoS49 Europe PMC43
2014 Diab, S., Kumarasiri, M., Yu, M., Teo, T., Proud, C., Milne, R., & Wang, S. (2014). MAP kinase-interacting kinases - emerging targets against cancer. Chemistry & Biology, 21(4), 441-452.
DOI Scopus88 WoS84 Europe PMC70
2014 Lu, T., Goh, A. W., Yu, M., Adams, J., Lam, F., Teo, T., . . . Wang, S. (2014). Discovery of (E)-3-((Styrylsulfonyl) methyl) pyridine and (E)-2-((Styrylsulfonyl) methyl) pyridine Derivatives as Anticancer Agents: Synthesis, Structure–Activity Relationships, and Biological Activities. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 57(6), 2275-2291.
DOI Scopus34 WoS34 Europe PMC18
2014 Walsby, E., Pratt, G., Shao, H., Abbas, A. Y., Fischer, P. M., Bradshaw, T. D., . . . Pepper, C. (2014). A novel Cdk9 inhibitor preferentially targets tumor cells and synergizes with fludarabine. Oncotarget, 5(2), 375-385.
DOI Scopus78 WoS71 Europe PMC63
2013 Hou, J., Teo, T., Sykes, M. J., & Wang, S. (2013). Insights into the importance of DFD-motif and insertion I1 in stabilizing the DFD-out conformation of Mnk2 kinase. ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters, 4(8), 736-741.
DOI Scopus12 WoS11 Europe PMC8
2013 Shao, H., Shi, S., Foley, D. W., Lam, F., Abbas, A. Y., Liu, X., . . . Wang, S. (2013). Synthesis, structure-activity relationship and biological evaluation of 2,4,5-trisubstituted pyrimidine CDK inhibitors as potential anti-tumour agents. European journal of medicinal chemistry, 70, 447-455.
DOI Scopus61 WoS56 Europe PMC30
2013 Shao, H., Shi, S., Huang, S., Hole, A. J., Abbas, A. Y., Baumli, S., . . . Wang, S. (2013). Substituted 4-(Thiazol-5-yl)-2-(phenylamino)pyrimidines are highly active CDK9 inhibitors: Synthesis, X-ray crystal structures, structure-activity relationship, and anticancer activities. Journal of medicinal chemistry, 56(3), 640-659.
DOI Scopus125 WoS121 Europe PMC77
2012 Liu, X., Shi, S., Lam, F., Pepper, C., Fischer, P. M., & Wang, S. (2012). CDKI-71, a novel CDK9 inhibitor, is preferentially cytotoxic to cancer cells compared to flavopiridol. International Journal of Cancer, 130(5), 1216-1226.
DOI
2012 Liu, X., Lam, F., Shi, S., Fischer, P. M., & Wang, S. (2012). In vitro antitumor mechanism of a novel cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor CDKI-83. Investigational new drugs, 30(3), 889-897.
DOI
2012 Lukasik, P. M., Elabar, S., Lam, F., Shao, H., Liu, X., Abbas, A. Y., & Wang, S. (2012). Synthesis and biological evaluation of imidazo[4,5-b]pyridine and 4-heteroarylpyrimidine derivatives as anti-cancer agents. European journal of medicinal chemistry, 57, 311-322.
DOI Scopus73 WoS66 Europe PMC32
2012 Hou, J., Lam, F., Proud, C., & Wang, S. (2012). Targeting Mnks for cancer therapy. Oncotarget, 3(2), 118-131.
DOI Scopus141 WoS130 Europe PMC114
2012 Hole, A. J., Baumli, S., Shao, H., Shi, S., Huang, S., Pepper, C., . . . Noble, M. (2012). Comparative structural and functional studies of 4-(Thiazol-5-yl)-2-(phenylamino)pyrimidine-5-carbonitrile CDK9 inhibitors suggest the basis for isotype selectivity. Journal of medicinal chemistry, 56(3), 660-670.
DOI Scopus61 WoS60 Europe PMC46
2012 Alkahtani, H. M., Abbas, A. Y., & Wang, S. (2012). Synthesis and biological evaluation of benzo[d]imidazole derivatives as potential anti-cancer agents. Bioorganic and medicinal chemistry letters, 22(3), 1317-1321.
DOI
2011 Xu, Z., Liu, Z., Chen, T., Chen, T. T., Wang, Z., Tian, G., . . . Zhu, W. (2011). Utilization of halogen bond in lead optimization: a case study of rational design of potent phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitors. Journal of medicinal chemistry, 54(15), 5607-5611.
DOI
2011 Lam, F., Bradshaw, T. D., Mao, H., Roberts, S., Pan, Y., & Wang, S. (2011). ZJU-6, a novel derivative of Erianin, shows potent anti-tubulin polymerisation and anti-angiogenic activities. Investigational new drugs, 30(5), 1899-1907.
DOI
2011 Chahrour, O., Abdalla, A., Lam, F., Midgley, C., & Wang, S. (2011). Synthesis and biological evaluation of benzyl styrylsulfonyl derivatives as potent anticancer mitotic inhibitors. Bioorganic and medicinal chemistry letters, 21(10), 3066-3069.
DOI
2010 Wang, S., Midgley, C. A., Scaerou, F., Grabarek, J., & Fischer, P. M. (2010). Discovery of N-Phenyl-4-(thiazol-5-yl)pyrimidin-2-amine aurora kinase inhibitors. Journal of medicinal chemistry, 53(11), 4367-4378.
DOI
2010 He, S., Yang, J., Wu, B., Pan, Y., Wan, H., Wang, Y., . . . Wang, S. (2010). Neuroprotective effect of parthenocissin A, a natural antioxidant and free radical scavenger, in focal cerebral ischemia of rats. Phytotherapy research, 24(S1), S63-S70.
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2010 McIntyre, N. A., McInnes, C., Griffiths, G., Barnett, A. L., Kontopidis, G., Slawin, A. M. Z., . . . Fischer, P. M. (2010). Design, synthesis, and evaluation of 2-methyl- and 2-amino-N-aryl-4,5- dihydrothiazolo[4,5-h]quinazolin-8-amines as ring-constrained 2-anilino-4-(thiazol-5-yl)pyrimidine cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 53(5), 2136-2145.
DOI
2010 Wang, S., Griffiths, G., Midgley, C. A., Barnett, A. L., & Fischer, P. M. (2010). Discovery and characterization of 2-anilino-4- (thiazol-5-yl)pyrimidine transcriptional CDK inhibitors as anticancer agents. Chemistry and biology, 17(10), 1111-1121.
DOI
2009 Taha, E. A., Salama, N. N., & Wang, S. (2009). Enantioseparation of cetirizine by chromatographic methods and discrimination by 1H-NMR. Drug testing and analysis, 1(3), 118-124.
DOI
2009 Salama, N. N., & Wang, S. (2009). Quantitative mass spectrometric analysis of ropivacaine and bupivacaine in authentic, pharmaceutical and spiked human plasma without chromatographic separation. Analytical Chemistry Insights, 11(4), 2009-2019.
2008 Wang, S., & Fischer, P. (2008). Cyclin-dependent kinase 9: a key transcriptional regulator and potential drug target in oncology, virology and cardiology. Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, 302(6), 29-313.

Year Citation
2022 Wang, S., & Goh, A. W. (2022). WO/2022/006638, Derivatives of 2-oxo-n-(4-(pyrimidin-4-yloxy/thio)phenyl)-1,2-dihydropyridine-3-carboxamide for use as protein kinase inhibitors for therapy.
2017 Wang, S., Zeleke, S. T., & Yu, M. (2017). WO2017020065, N-(pyridin-2-yl)-4-(thiazol-5-yl)pyrimidin-2-amine derivatives as therapeutic compounds.
  • Small-molecule kinase inhibitors for the treatment of Cancer, Aucentra Therapeutics Pty. Ltd., 2021 - Present
  • Targeting CDK9 in lethal prostate cancer, Cancer Australia, 2021-2023
  • Development of a novel and highly selective CDK4/6 inhibitor for treating cancer, NHMRC, 2018 - 2022
  • Target CDK9 in triple negative and endocrine-resistant breast cancer, National Breast Cancer Foundation, 2019 - 2023
  • Discovery and development of CDK 4/6 inhibitors as anti-cancer agents, Changzhou Qianhong Bio-pharma Co Ltd, 2016 - 2021
  • Targeting cyclin-dependent kinase 4 in glioblastoma, Neurosurgical Research Foundation, 2020 - 2021
  • Development of CDK9 inhibitors for treatment of acute myeloid leukaemia, Bio Innovation SA, 2016 - 2018
  • Development of a new and effective therapeutic agent to treat childhood leukemia, Tour de Cure Ltd, 2016 - 2018
  • Novel inhibitors of map kinase-interacting kinase for cancer treatment, Cancer Council SA - Beat Cancer Fellowship, 2013 - 2017

Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
2023 Principal Supervisor Targeting tankyrases for the treatment of cancer - Doctorate Full Time Mrs Senait Tesfaw
2022 Principal Supervisor Discovery of Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 6 (CDK6) small-molecule inhibitors and degraders for cancer therapy - Doctorate Full Time Mr Mohammed Assen Seid
2022 Principal Supervisor span class="cf0">Preclinical evaluation of a CDK4 inhibitor AU2-94 for the treatment of cancer - Doctorate Full Time Miss Ava Safaroghliazar
2022 Principal Supervisor Investigation of AU3-14, a novel CDK4/6 inhibitor, for immunotherapeutic potential in cancer - Doctorate Part Time Mrs Hajer Batayneh
2020 Principal Supervisor Preclinical evaluation of transcription regulator/ tyrosine kinase inhibitors for the treatment of cancer - Doctorate Part Time Mr Lianmeng Kou

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