My current research is focused on the use of acidified disodium malonate (aDSM) in attenuating ischaemia-reperfusion injury as a potential adjunct therapy with tPA and endovascular thrombectomy. Previous research has determined neutral formulations of disodium malonate (DSM) successful in attenuating I/R injury, however new research has unveiled that aDSM has a higher drug uptake into ischaemic tissue at a lower dosage through preferential selection by mitochondrial monocarboxylate transporter 1.

While aDSM has seen previous I/R injury attenuation success in mice models, demonstrating clinical relevance in preclinical model is an essential prerequisite for therapeutic development and widespread clinical availability. 

My research bridges the translational gap between previous mice models to a clinically relevant ovine model. My research aims to;

1). Establish tolerability and optimal dosage of aDSM in a large-animal model

2). Determine whether aDSM attenuates infarct expansion following stroke with reperfusion using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

3). Characterise tissue-level markers of oxidative damage and injury using histopathology