Dr Tristan Reekie
Lecturer

Dr Tristan Reekie

PhD ANU 2013

B. Sci (Hons) ANU 2007

LLB ANU 2010

UNSW Canberra
School of Science

I completed my PhD in 2013 at ANU and then completed a postdoctoral position at ETH Zurich before returning to Australia to work  at the University of Sydney. I began my independent career at ANU in 2019, which I have now continued at the University of New South Wales Canberra.

My research is focused on small molecule organic chemistry with application to materials, plant science and medicinal chemistry.

In addition to my research, I am also heavily involved in teaching and outreach to enhance interest in science amongst students and the general public. I have long-term involvement with programs such as the Australian Chemistry Olympiad to encourage the next generation of scientist.

Phone
+61-2-5114 5067
Location
Room 214 Building 22
  • Books | 2022
    2022, Preface
  • Book Chapters | 2022
    2022, 'The Current Status of Drug Discovery for the Oxytocin Receptor', in Methods in Molecular Biology, pp. 153 - 174, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1759-5_10
  • Journal articles | 2023
    2023, 'Divergent reactivity of usnic acid and evaluation of its derivatives for antiproliferative activity against cancer cells', Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, 79, pp. 117157, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bmc.2023.117157
    Journal articles | 2022
    2022, 'The Isoxazole Derivative of Usnic Acid Induces an ER Stress Response in Breast Cancer Cells that Leads to Paraptosis-like Cell Death', International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23, http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms23031802
    Journal articles | 2021
    2021, 'Prodromal neuroinflammatory, cholinergic and metabolite dysfunction detected by PET and MRS in the TgF344-AD transgenic rat model of AD: A collaborative multi-modal study', Theranostics, 11, pp. 6644 - 6667, http://dx.doi.org/10.7150/thno.56059
    Journal articles | 2021
    2021, 'Tobramycin and Colistin display anti-inflammatory properties in CuFi-1 cystic fibrosis cell line', European Journal of Pharmacology, 902, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejphar.2021.174098
    Journal articles | 2020
    2020, 'Erratum: Synthesis of Usnic Acid Derivatives and Evaluation of Their Antiproliferative Activity against Cancer Cells (Journal of Natural Products (2019) 82:7 (1768-1778) DOI: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.8b00980)', Journal of Natural Products, 83, pp. 563 - 564, http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.jnatprod.0c00129
    Journal articles | 2020
    2020, 'Low intrinsic efficacy for G protein activation can explain the improved side effect profiles of new opioid agonists', Science Signaling, 13, http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/scisignal.aaz3140
    Journal articles | 2020
    2020, 'Rapid antibacterial activity of cannabichromenic acid against methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus', Antibiotics, 9, pp. 1 - 11, http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics9080523
    Journal articles | 2020
    2020, 'Reversing binding sensitivity to A147T translocator protein', RSC Medicinal Chemistry, 11, pp. 511 - 517, http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c9md00580c
    Journal articles | 2020
    2020, 'Targeting the MAPK7/MMP9 axis for metastasis in primary bone cancer', Oncogene, 39, pp. 5553 - 5569, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41388-020-1379-0
    Journal articles | 2020
    2020, 'Tricyclic heterocycles display diverse sensitivity to the A147T TSPO polymorphism', European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 207, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejmech.2020.112725
    Journal articles | 2019
    Cheng HWA; Sokias R; Werry EL; Ittner LM; Reekie TA; Du J; Gao Q; Hibbs DE; Kassiou M, 2019, 'First Nondiscriminating Translocator Protein Ligands Produced from a Carbazole Scaffold', Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 62, pp. 8235 - 8248, http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.9b00980
    Journal articles | 2019
    2019, 'An overview of late-stage functionalization in today’s drug discovery', Expert Opinion on Drug Discovery, 14, pp. 1137 - 1149, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17460441.2019.1653850
    Journal articles | 2019
    2019, 'Challenges and Opportunities in Central Nervous System Drug Discovery', Trends in Chemistry, 1, pp. 612 - 624, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.trechm.2019.04.009
    Journal articles | 2019
    2019, 'Cubanes in Medicinal Chemistry', Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 62, pp. 1078 - 1095, http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.8b00888
    Journal articles | 2019
    2019, 'New-generation azaindole-adamantyl-derived synthetic cannabinoids', Forensic Toxicology, 37, pp. 350 - 365, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11419-019-00466-1
    Journal articles | 2019
    2019, 'Synthesis of Usnic Acid Derivatives and Evaluation of Their Antiproliferative Activity against Cancer Cells', Journal of Natural Products, 82, pp. 1768 - 1778, http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.jnatprod.8b00980
    Journal articles | 2019
    2019, 'Targeting the Oxytocin System: New Pharmacotherapeutic Approaches', Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, 40, pp. 22 - 37, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tips.2018.11.001
    Journal articles | 2018
    2018, 'Conformationally rigid derivatives of WAY-267,464: Synthesis and pharmacology at the human oxytocin and vasopressin-1a receptors', European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 143, pp. 1644 - 1656, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejmech.2017.10.059
    Journal articles | 2018
    2018, 'Flexible Analogues of Azaindole DYRK1A Inhibitors Elicit Cytotoxicity in Glioblastoma Cells', Australian Journal of Chemistry, 71, pp. 789 - 797, http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/CH18251
    Journal articles | 2018
    2018, 'Imaging glial activation in patients with post-treatment Lyme disease symptoms: A pilot study using [ 11 C]DPA-713 PET', Journal of Neuroinflammation, 15, http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12974-018-1381-4
    Journal articles | 2018
    2018, 'In vivo assessment of neuroinflammation in progressive multiple sclerosis: A proof of concept study with [18F]DPA714 PET', Journal of Neuroinflammation, 15, http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12974-018-1352-9
    Journal articles | 2018
    2018, 'Peptides, Peptidomimetics, and Carbohydrate-Peptide Conjugates as Amyloidogenic Aggregation Inhibitors for Alzheimer's Disease', ACS Chemical Neuroscience, 9, pp. 1530 - 1551, http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acschemneuro.8b00185
    Journal articles | 2018
    2018, 'Synthesis and in vitro evaluation of diverse heterocyclic diphenolic compounds as inhibitors of DYRK1A', Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, 26, pp. 5852 - 5869, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bmc.2018.10.034
    Journal articles | 2018
    2018, 'The evolving science of phytocannabinoids', Nature Reviews Chemistry, 2, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/S41570-017-0101
    Journal articles | 2018
    2018, 'The role of polycyclic frameworks in modulating P2X7 receptor function', Tetrahedron, 74, pp. 1207 - 1219, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tet.2017.10.075
    Journal articles | 2017
    Moir M; Chua SW; Reekie T; Martin AD; Ittner A; Ittner LM; Kassiou M, 2017, 'Ring-opened aminothienopyridazines as novel tau aggregation inhibitors', MedChemComm, 8, pp. 1275 - 1282, http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c6md00306k
    Journal articles | 2017
    Sokias R; Werry EL; Chua SW; Reekie TA; Munoz L; Wong EC N; Ittner LM; Kassiou M, 2017, 'Determination and reduction of translocator protein (TSPO) ligand rs6971 discrimination', MedChemComm, 8, pp. 202 - 210, http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c6md00523c
    Journal articles | 2017
    2017, 'Comparative Evaluation of Three TSPO PET Radiotracers in a LPS-Induced Model of Mild Neuroinflammation in Rats', Molecular Imaging and Biology, 19, pp. 77 - 89, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11307-016-0984-3
    Journal articles | 2017
    2017, 'Discovery and pharmacological evaluation of a novel series of adamantyl cyanoguanidines as P2X7 receptor antagonists', European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 130, pp. 433 - 439, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejmech.2017.02.060
    Journal articles | 2017
    2017, 'Investigation of pyrazolo-sulfonamides as putative small molecule oxytocin receptor agonists', European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 136, pp. 330 - 333, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejmech.2017.05.013
    Journal articles | 2017
    2017, 'Metal-acetylide addition to tetracyanoethylene', Tetrahedron Letters, 58, pp. 2414 - 2416, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tetlet.2017.05.009
    Journal articles | 2017
    2017, 'Pharmacological evaluation of a novel series of urea, thiourea and guanidine derivatives as P2X7 receptor antagonists', Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters, 27, pp. 2439 - 2442, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bmcl.2017.04.005
    Journal articles | 2017
    2017, 'Porphyrin Donor and Tunable Push–Pull Acceptor Conjugates—Experimental Investigation of Marcus Theory', Chemistry - A European Journal, 23, pp. 6357 - 6369, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/chem.201700043
    Journal articles | 2017
    2017, 'Rapid access to N-(indol-2-yl)amides and N-(indol-3-yl)amides as unexplored pharmacophores', Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry, 15, pp. 576 - 580, http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c6ob02622b
    Journal articles | 2017
    2017, 'Structural Optimization and Pharmacological Evaluation of Inhibitors Targeting Dual-Specificity Tyrosine Phosphorylation-Regulated Kinases (DYRK) and CDC-like kinases (CLK) in Glioblastoma', Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 60, pp. 2052 - 2070, http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.6b01840
    Journal articles | 2016
    2016, 'A Three-Step Synthesis of Tetrasubstituted NH-Pyrroles', Organic Letters, 18, pp. 2252 - 2255, http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.orglett.6b00890
    Journal articles | 2016
    2016, 'A systematic exploration of the effects of flexibility and basicity on sigma (σ) receptor binding in a series of substituted diamines', Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry, 14, pp. 9388 - 9405, http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c6ob00615a
    Journal articles | 2016
    2016, 'ChemInform Abstract: A Three-Step Synthesis of Tetrasubstituted NH-Pyrroles.', ChemInform, 47, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/chin.201637091
    Journal articles | 2016
    2016, 'ChemInform Abstract: Penta-2,4-dien-1-ones by Formal [3 + 2] Cycloaddition-Rearrangement of Electron-Deficient Diethyl 2-(Dicyanomethylene)malonate with Alkynes.', ChemInform, 47, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/chin.201625063
    Journal articles | 2016
    2016, 'ChemInform Abstract: The Formation of Seven-Membered Heterocycles under Mild Pictet-Spengler Conditions: A Route to Pyrazolo[3,4]benzodiazepines.', ChemInform, 47, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/chin.201642188
    Journal articles | 2016
    2016, 'Flexible analogues of WAY-267,464: Synthesis and pharmacology at the human oxytocin and vasopressin 1a receptors', European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 108, pp. 730 - 740, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejmech.2015.11.050
    Journal articles | 2016
    2016, 'Penta-2,4-dien-1-ones by Formal [3+2] Cycloaddition–Rearrangement of Electron-Deficient Diethyl 2-(Dicyanomethylene)malonate with Alk­ynes', European Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2016, pp. 716 - 724, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ejoc.201501473
    Journal articles | 2016
    2016, 'The Formation of Seven-Membered Heterocycles under Mild Pictet-Spengler Conditions: A Route to Pyrazolo[3,4]benzodiazepines', Journal of Organic Chemistry, 81, pp. 4883 - 4889, http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.joc.6b00710
    Journal articles | 2015
    2015, 'Ester-Substituted Electron-Poor Alkenes for Cycloaddition-Retroelectrocyclization (CA-RE) and Related Reactions', European Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2015, pp. 7264 - 7275, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ejoc.201501085
    Journal articles | 2015
    2015, 'Structure-activity relationship studies of SEN12333 analogues: Determination of the optimal requirements for binding affinities at α7 nAChRs through incorporation of known structural motifs', European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 95, pp. 277 - 301, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejmech.2015.03.025
    Journal articles | 2015
    2015, 'Two-photon absorption and spectroscopy of the lowest two-photon transition in small donor-acceptor-substituted organic molecules', Physical Review A - Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics, 91, http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.91.043818
    Journal articles | 2015
    2015, 'WAY 267,464, a non-peptide oxytocin receptor agonist, impairs social recognition memory in rats through a vasopressin 1A receptor antagonist action', Psychopharmacology, 232, pp. 2659 - 2667, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00213-015-3902-5
    Journal articles | 2014
    2014, 'Body temperature and cardiac changes induced by peripherally administered oxytocin, vasopressin and the non-peptide oxytocin receptor agonist WAY 267,464: A biotelemetry study in rats', British Journal of Pharmacology, 171, pp. 2868 - 2887, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bph.12613
    Journal articles | 2014
    2014, 'ChemInform Abstract: RANEY® Cobalt - An Underutilised Reagent for the Selective Cleavage of C-X and N-O Bonds', ChemInform, 45, pp. no - no, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/chin.201445264
    Journal articles | 2014
    2014, 'ChemInform Abstract: Synthesis of Biologically Active Seven-Membered-Ring Heterocycles.', ChemInform, 45, pp. no - no, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/chin.201419187
    Journal articles | 2014
    2014, 'Investigations of amide bond variation and biaryl modification in analogues of α7 nAChR agonist SEN12333', European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 84, pp. 200 - 205, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejmech.2014.07.029
    Journal articles | 2014
    2014, 'Pyrazolo[1,4]diazepines as non-peptidic probes of the oxytocin and vasopressin receptors', Tetrahedron Letters, 55, pp. 4568 - 4571, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tetlet.2014.06.022
    Journal articles | 2014
    2014, 'RANEY® cobalt-an underutilised reagent for the selective cleavage of C-X and N-O bonds', Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry, 12, pp. 7433 - 7444, http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c4ob00917g
    Journal articles | 2013
    2013, 'ChemInform Abstract: Intramolecular Cycloaddition Reactions of cis-1,2-Dihydrocatechol Derivatives Incorporating C3-Tethered Diazoketones, Nitrile Oxides, and Azides: Stereocontrolled Routes to Enantiomerically Pure Spiro[5.5]undecanes and Related Systems', ChemInform, 44, pp. no - no, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/chin.201349063
    Journal articles | 2013
    2013, 'Intramolecular cycloaddition reactions of cis -1,2-dihydrocatechol derivatives incorporating C3-tethered diazoketones, nitrile oxides, and azides: Stereocontrolled routes to enantiomerically pure spiro[5.5]undecanes and related systems', Journal of Organic Chemistry, 78, pp. 7100 - 7111, http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jo400952u
    Journal articles | 2013
    2013, 'Synthesis of biologically active seven-membered-ring heterocycles', Synthesis (Germany), 45, pp. 3211 - 3227, http://dx.doi.org/10.1055/s-0033-1338549
    Journal articles | 2012
    2012, 'A raney-cobalt-mediated tandem reductive cyclization route to the 1,5-methanoazocino[4,3-b]indole framework of the uleine and strychnos alkaloids', Journal of Organic Chemistry, 77, pp. 10773 - 10781, http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jo302132d
    Journal articles | 2012
    2012, 'Application of a Raney-cobalt-mediated tandem reductive cyclization protocol to total syntheses of the aspidosperma alkaloids (±)- limaspermidine and (±)-1-acetylaspidoalbidine', Organic Letters, 14, pp. 5621 - 5623, http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ol3026846
    Journal articles | 2012
    2012, 'ChemInform Abstract: The Palladium-Catalyzed Ullmann Cross-Coupling Reaction', ChemInform, 43, pp. no - no, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/chin.201202233
    Journal articles | 2009
    2009, 'ChemInform Abstract: Chemoenzymatic Methods for the Enantioselective Assembly of Bioactive Natural Products', ChemInform, 40, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/chin.200945238
    Journal articles | 2008
    2008, 'ChemInform Abstract: The Chemoenzymatic Total Synthesis of Phellodonic Acid, a Biologically Active and Highly Functionalized Hirsutane Derivative Isolated from the Tasmanian Fungus Phellodon melaleucus.', ChemInform, 39, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/chin.200826188
    Journal articles | 2008
    2008, 'The chemoenzymatic total synthesis of phellodonic acid, a biologically active and highly functionalized hirsutane derivative isolated from the tasmanian fungus phellodon melaleucus', Australian Journal of Chemistry, 61, pp. 94 - 106, http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/CH07403
  • Conference Papers | 2018
    2018, 'Neuroinflammation in progressive multiple sclerosis: in vivo assessment using [18F]DPA714', in MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS JOURNAL, SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD, GERMANY, Berlin, pp. 228 - 229, presented at 34th Congress of the European-Committee-for-Treatment-and-Research-in-Multiple-Sclerosis (ECTRIMS), GERMANY, Berlin, 10 October 2018 - 12 October 2018, https://www.webofscience.com/api/gateway?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000446861400360&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=891bb5ab6ba270e68a29b250adbe88d1
    Conference Papers | 2015
    2015, 'Extremely efficient two-photon absorption in small donor-acceptor substituted organic molecules', in Proceedings of Frontiers in Optics 2015, FIO 2015, http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/fio.2015.fw4a.2
    Preprints |
    Divergent Reactivity of Usnic Acid and Evaluation of its Derivatives for Antiproliferative Activity Against Cancer Cells, , http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4308225

The Peter Andrews Award for Innovation in Medicinal Chemistry/Chemical Biology (2022)

Young Tall Poppy Science Award (2020) for promoting science among students, teachers and an appreciation of science in the broader community.

My research uses organic synthesis techniques to create molecules for application in medicinal chemistry, materials and plant sciences. I have a strong focus on both commercialisation and publishing results in peer-reviewed journals. It is the latter area where I have made the significant impact, generating new compounds to treat substance use disorders and social disfunction. The success of this research has led to the establishment of a spin-out company, Kinoxis Therapeutics, where I continue to work as their Head of Chemistry alongside my academic role.

Deputy Director of the Australian Chemistry Olympiad program

My Teaching

ZPEM1101 - Chemistry 1A

ZPEM1102 - Chemistry 1B

ZPEM2102 - Organic Chemistry 2

ZPEM2114 - Biological Chemistry