Dr Harendra Parekh

Senior Lecturer

School of Pharmacy
Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences
h.parekh@uq.edu.au
+61 7 334 61887

Overview

Harendra's research interests are in the area of synthetic pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmaceutics as applied to nano-carriers, and advanced non-viral drug/gene delivery system design, synthesis and evaluation. His team at PACE have been instrumental in developing highly versatile micro- & nanobubble formulations, which when used in-conjuction with ultrasound, pave the way for improved rates of 'on-demand' drug delivery and release in target tissue. Harendra also has a keen interest in developing bioresponsive drug/gene delivery systems with current engagement with pharma partners, globally, to commercialise his platforms. Separately, Dr Parekh has been developing a program to reformulate TCMs, in collaboration with researchers at a leading Chinese research institute; the outcomes of this work was aired across Asia in a BBC World News story, and showcased (TV & radio) by the Australian Academy of Science, National Touring Series.

BScPharm(Hon I), PhD (Nottingham)

Harendra completed his BSc in pharmacy (UK) and registered as a Pharmacist in 1998. He went onto undertake his PhD in Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Nottingham in the same year. Under the supervision of Dr B. Kellam and Dr. S. R. Chhabra he investigated the development of novel linkers for solid phase peptide and glycopeptide synthesis. Harendra was awarded his PhD in 2002, and after a short time working in community pharmacy in the UK relocated to Australia and took up a position as research officer in the School of Chemistry at UQ. He continues to be a member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of GB and is also registered with the AHPRA (pharmacist) in QLD.

During his post-doctoral tenure he explored the area of non-viral gene delivery via chemical synthesis of novel dendrimeric systems. Emphasis was on the treatment of age-related macular degeneration and in 2004 he received Uniquest's Trailblazer Prize for commercialisation potential. In May 2005 Dr Parekh was appointed Lecturer within the School of Pharmacy, and promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2011. He also holds adjunct positions at Manipal University (India), and the National University of Singapore's Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Institute (NNI).

Research Impacts

Dr Parekh is engaged directly with leading clinicians/physicians across the fields of ophthalomology, ENT, cancer and endocrinology. In addition Dr Parekh engages with pharma industry partners, globally, to translate his platforms from the bench-to-bedside, through a highly multi-disciplinary team approach.

Dr Parekh's Nanobubble platform has received media attention, having been aired across Australia.

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, University of Nottingham
  • Bachelor (Honours) of Science (Advanced), University of Portsmouth

Publications

View all Publications

Supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy

  • Doctor Philosophy

  • Doctor Philosophy

View all Supervision

Available Projects

View all Available Projects

Publications

Book

  • Singh, Prachi, Kokil, Ganesh R., Tupally, Karnaker R., Poddar, Kingshuk, Tan, Aaron, Venkatesan, Venky, Parekh, Harendra S. and Pastorin, Giorgia (2016). Therapeutic perspectives in Type-1 Diabetes. Singapore: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-981-10-0602-9

Book Chapter

  • Singh, Prachi, Kokil, Ganesh R., Tupally, Karnaker R., Poddar, Kingshuk, Tan, Aaron, Venkatesan, Venky, Parekh, Harendra S. and Pastorin, Giorgia (2016). Introduction to diabetes and type 1 diabetes. Therapeutic perspectives in type-1 diabetes. (pp. 1-6) edited by Prachi Singh, Ganesh R. Kokil, Karnaker R. Tupally, Kingshuk Poddar, Aaron Tan, Venky Venkatesan, Harendra S. Parekh and Giorgia Pastorin. Singapore, Singapore: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-981-10-0602-9_1

  • Manikkath, J., Hegde, A. R., Parekh, H. S. and Mutalik, S. (2016). Peptide dendrimers in delivery of bioactive molecules to skin. Nanoscience in dermatology. (pp. 89-97) edited by Michael R. Hamblin, Pinar Avci and Tarl W. Prow. London, United Kingdom: Academic Press. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-802926-8.00007-0

  • Tupally, Karnaker R., Kokil, Ganesh K., Thakur, Sachin S., Singh, Prachi and Parekh, Harendra S. (2015). Dendrimers. Controlled release systems: advances in nanobottles and active nanoparticles. (pp. 259-286) edited by Alexander van Herk, Jacqueline Forcada and Giorgia Pastorin. Boca Raton, FL, United States: Taylor & Francis. doi: 10.1201/b19860-15

  • Thakur, Sachin S., Parekh, Harendra S., Schwable, Carl H., Gan, Yong and Ouyang, Defang (2015). Solubilization of poorly-soluble drugs: cyclodextrin-based formulations. Computational pharmaceutics: application of molecular modeling in drug delivery. (pp. 31-51) edited by Defang Ouyang and Sean C. Smith. Chichester, United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons.

  • Parekh, Harendra S., Liu, Gang and Wei, Ming Q. (2014). A new dawn for the use of traditional Chinese medicine in cancer therapy. Recent advances in plant-based, traditional, and natural medicines. (pp. 131-150) edited by Subramayam Vemulpad and Joanne Jamie. Oakville, ON, Canada: Apple Academic Press.

  • Seefeld, Anne, Kokil, Ganesh R., Tupally, Karnaker R., Parekh, Harendra S. and Herten, Dirk-Peter (2013). Fluorescent nucleic acid probes in living cells. DNA and RNA nanobiotechnologies in medicine: diagnosis and treatment of diseases. (pp. 291-328) edited by Volker A. Erdmann and Jan Barciszewski. Berlin, Germany: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-36853-0_12

  • Parekh, Harendra S. and Jing, Jing (2011). An evidence-based perspective of herbal remedies for cancer patients. Evidence-based Anticancer Materia Medica. (pp. 399-422) B.V.: Springer.

  • Parekh, Harendra S. and Jing, Jing (2011). An evidence-based perspective of herbal remedies for cancer patients.. Evidence-based anticancer herbal medicine. (pp. 399-422) edited by William C.S. Cho. New York, U.S.A.: Springer Verlag.

  • Parekh, H. S (2011). An introduction to dendrimers-versatile drug/gene delivery vectors. Nanotechnology in health care. (pp. 355-367) edited by P.D. Gupta and N. Udupa. Nataniyon Ka Rasta, Jaipur: S.P. Publications.

  • Shah, Neha, Ouyang, Defang, Mutalik, Srinivas and Parekh, Harendra (2011). Dendrimers as carriers for the effective delivery of drugs and genes. Nanotechnology in health care. (pp. 367-391) edited by P.D. Gupta and N. Udupa. Jaipur, India: S.P. Publications.

Journal Article

Conference Publication

Other Outputs

  • PAREKH, Harendra, TUPALLY, Karnaker, CABOT, Peter and KANDALE, Ajit Nandakumar (2021). Peptides and uses thereof. 2021300202.

  • Harendra Parekh, Peter Cabot, Karnaker Tupally and Ajit Kandale (2020). A CYCLIC PEPTIDE. US-20220089646-A1.

  • PAREKH, Harendra, CABOT, Peter, TUPALLY, Karnaker and KANDALE, Ajit (2020). A cyclic peptide. 2020212659.

Grants (Administered at UQ)

PhD and MPhil Supervision

Current Supervision

Completed Supervision

Possible Research Projects

Note for students: The possible research projects listed on this page may not be comprehensive or up to date. Always feel free to contact the staff for more information, and also with your own research ideas.