Director of Research Services and Innovation
BSc (Hons) DPhil (Oxon)
After graduating from The University of Western Australia, Paul Watt completed his doctorate in Molecular Biology at Oxford University before taking up postdoctoral appointments at Harvard and Oxford and then at the Telethon Kids Institute, working primarily in genome stability, yeast genetics and transcriptional regulation. He was appointed Adjunct Professor at The University for Western Australia and is Director of Research Services and Innovation at the Telethon Kids, where he responsible for technology transfer and licensing activities. Professor Watt is also head of the Telethon Kids’ Drug Discovery Unit which offers contract research services to the pharmaceutical industry.
Professor Watt has published 58 peer reviewed scientific papers and is primary inventor on 25 patent applications, most of which have been granted in the US and Europe and other jurisdictions. Professor Watt is focused on technology translation, having founded InfaMed Ltd., now owned by Avita Medical, which commercialised a globally marketed drug delivery device which he invented.
Professor Watt is the founder and scientific adviser of Phylogica, a publicly-listed drug discovery spin-off from Telethon Kids, which he founded to commercialise a novel, structure-rich class of peptide known as Phylomers. Phylogica has entered into discovery alliances with several large Pharmaceutical companies including Janssen, Medimmune, Pfizer and Roche/Genentech and is commercialising a more efficient approach for intracellular delivery of biologics.
- Projects
-
Publications
January 2019
Tumor penetrating peptides inhibiting MYC as a potent targeted therapeutic strategy for triple-negative breast cancers
We demonstrated the efficacy of FPPa-OmoMYC in inhibiting breast cancer growth when injected orthotopically in TNBC allografts
Published research Drug Discovery UnitAugust 2018A platform for discovery of functional cell-penetrating peptides for efficient multi-cargo intracellular delivery
This report thus establishes a discovery platform for identifying novel, functional CPPs to expand the delivery landscape of druggable intracellular targets for biological therapeutics
Published research Drug Discovery UnitAugust 2017Phylomer Libraries: A Rich Source of Peptide Hits in Phenotypic and Target Directed Screens
The poor hit rates associated with conventional random peptide libraries present formidable challenges in genetic screening formats with limited throughput.
Published research Drug Discovery UnitJune 2017Structure-diverse Phylomer libraries as a rich source of bioactive hits from phenotypic and target directed screens against intracellular proteins
Phylomer libraries are being increasingly used in applications such as phenotypic screening where the numbers of peptides which can be feasibly screened is limited
Published research Drug Discovery UnitFebruary 2015Novel peptide-based drugs for the treatment of sonic hedgehog-dependent medulloblastoma
Medulloblastoma, the most common pediatric malignant brain tumor, consists of at least four distinct molecular subgroups.
Children's Cancers Published research Brain Tumour Research Drug Discovery UnitNovember 2014Target validation of the inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) gene in Cryptosporidium using Phylomer® peptides
Cryptosporidiosis, a gastroenteric disease characterised mainly by diarrheal illnesses in humans and mammals is caused by infection with the protozoan...
Published research Drug Discovery UnitNovember 2013The Neuroprotective Efficacy of Cell-Penetrating Peptides TAT, Penetratin, Arg-9, and Pep-1 in Glutamic Acid, Kainic Acid, and In Vitro Ischemia Injury Models
Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) are small peptides (typically 5-25 amino acids), which are used to facilitate the delivery of normally non-permeable...
Published research Drug Discovery UnitAugust 2013A novel retro-inverso peptide is a preferential JNK substrate-competitive inhibitor
A novel 18 amino acid peptide PYC98 was demonstrated to inhibit JNK1 activity toward c-Jun.
Published researchJanuary 2012Peptides targeting the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway (JNK/JUN) fail to reduce infarct volume after permanent MCAO in sprague dawley rats
In this study we have assessed the ability of two TAT-fused peptides to reduce infarct volume and improve functional outcome following permanent ischaemia.
Published research Drug Discovery UnitMarch 2011Characterization of a novel JNK (c-Jun N-terminal kinase) inhibitory peptide
An improved understanding of the roles of protein kinases in intracellular signalling and disease progression has driven significant advances in protein...
Published research Drug Discovery UnitNovember 2010AP-1 inhibitory peptides attenuate in vitro cortical neuronal cell death induced by kainic acid.
This study has assessed the neuroprotective efficacy of five AP-1 inhibitory peptides in an in vitro excitotoxicity model.
Published research Drug Discovery UnitMarch 2010MEIS proteins as partners of the TLX1/HOX11 oncoprotein
Aberrant expression of the TLX1/HOX11 proto-oncogene is associated with a significant subset of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemias...
Children's Cancers Published research Brain Tumour Research Drug Discovery Unit Leukaemia and Cancer Genetics -
Awards/Honours
-
Active Collaborations
-
Committees
-
Invited Presentations