Download curriculum vitae - The University of Sydney

BRIEF CURRICULUM VITAE
Professor Iain Stewart McGregor MA (Oxon) PHD (Sydney)
Office: (02) 9351 3571
Fax: (02) 9351 8023
Mobile: (0418) 765 185
Email:
[email protected]
Web:
http://www.psych.usyd.edu.au/staff/iain/lab/
RECENT POSITIONS
2006-present
2014-present
2009-2013
Professor of Psychopharmacology, University of Sydney
NHMRC Professorial Research Fellow
ARC Professorial Fellow
RESEARCH INTERESTS










Drug discovery
Prescription psychotropic drugs
Novel emerging psychoactive drugs
Neuropeptides including oxytocin
Analytical toxicology
Neurochemistry
Proteomics
Pheromones
Animal models of addiction
Animal models of psychiatric disease
MEMBERSHIP OF PROFESSIONAL BODIES





Society for Neuroscience (USA)
Fellow, International Behavioral Neuroscience Society (USA)
European Behavioral Pharmacology Society
International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism
International Cannabinoid Research Society
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS







Fellow, International Behavioral Neuroscience Society (2005)
NHMRC Achievement Award (2007): top ranked project grant in Australia that year.
Best paper prize, European Behavioural Pharmacology Society meeting (2013)
Patent 2009904810: A Novel Therapy for Problem Drinking (2010)
More than 190 publications in peer-reviewed international journals.
Google Scholar metrics: H-index = 45, # cites = 7104, # cites since 2009 = 3730.
Recent keynote/plenary talks: 6th International Drugs and Young People conference, Melbourne (2011); Australasian
Professional Society on Alcohol and Drugs, Hobart (2011); International Behavioural Neuroscience Society Conference,
Hawaii (2012); National Cannabis Conference, Sydney (2010) and Brisbane (2012); Sydney Science Forum, Sydney
(2012); Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Society of Tasmania, Hobart (2013); Youth Alcohol and Other Drug Practice
Summit, Melbourne (2014).
TEACHING AND SUPERVISION
 Supervisor or Associate Supervisor of 23 completed PhDs since 1999.
 Current supervisor of 7 PhDs and Associate Supervisor of 5 PhDs.
 Supervisor of more than 70 Honours projects during career, including 3 current Honours students.
 Alumni of McGregor lab include: A/Prof Jonathon Arnold (Uni of Sydney), A/Prof Jennifer Cornish (Macquarie Uni), Dr
Dean Carson (postdoc Stanford), Dr Kelly Clemens (ARC DECRA fellow, UNSW).
RECENT RESEARCH GRANTS
 2014-2018 Understanding Australia’s drug use. NHMRC Career Award: PRF to Prof I.S. McGregor ($727,610).
 2014-2016 Randomised control trial of exercise for the management of cannabis withdrawal in adult humans. NHMRC
Project Grant (with Drs Lintzeris, Rooney, Allsop and Arnold) ($524,506).
 2014-2016 Alpha-4 containing GABA-A receptors as targets for gamma- hydroxybutyric acid (GHB). NHMRC Project
Grant (with Dr M. Collins, A/Prof G. Hunt and Dr N. Absalom) ($590,558).
 2012-2014 Mephedrone ("Meow): The Effects Of A Novel "Party Drug" On Brain And Behaviour. NHMRC Project Grant
(with Dr J. Cornish, Dr P. Callaghan, Dr A. Winstock and A/Prof G. Hunt) ($386,250).
 2012-2014 Oxytocin Receptor Agonists For Treatment Of Social Anxiety. NHMRC Project Grant (with Prof Michael
Kassiou and A/Prof Glenn Hunt) ($444,282).
 2012 A flexible high throughput analytical system (LC-MS/MS) for psychopharmacology and drug discovery. ARC
Linkage Infrastructure Equipment and Facilities: ($310,000).
1
 2011-2013
Preclinical validation of oxytocin as a novel treatment for alcohol dependence. NHMRC Project
Grant (with Prof Michael Kassiou and A/Prof Glenn Hunt) ($500,022).
 2011-2013
Extrasynaptic GABA-A receptors as novel targets for gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) (with A/Prof
Mary Collins, Dr Petrine Wellendorph and Dr Glenn E. Hunt) ($508,135)
 2011-2012
A double blind placebo randomised controlled trial of Sativex in the management of cannabis
withdrawal (with Prof Jan Copeland and Prof Nick Lintzeris) ($241,283).
 2010-2012
Purinergic P2X7 Receptor as a Target for Antidepressant Drug Discovery NHMRC Project Grant (with
Prof Michael Kassiou and Prof Maxwell Bennett) ($550,000).
 2009-2013
Models of adolescent drug use and its consequences. Australian Professorial Fellowship ($694,000)
COMMUNITY AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
 Workshops given around to Australia: Psychopharmacology for mental health professionals – delivered to Disability
Queensland, NSW Justice Health, We Help Ourselves, NSW Institute of Psychiatry.
 Member of Australian Psychological Society working party: Prescription privileges for clinical psychologists.
 Councilor representing Australasia, International Behavioral Neuroscience Society
 Reviewer: Journal of Neuroscience, Neuropharmacology, Drug and Alcohol Review, Behavioral Neuroscience,
Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, Neuropsychopharmacology, Neuroscience, Psychopharmacology.
 Grant reviewer: ARC, NHMRC, Irish, Dutch, UK, NZ and EEC granting schemes.
 PhD examiner: Monash, UWS, Universities of Adelaide, Queensland and Newcastle, UNSW
 Recent media includes appearances on ABC Lateline, ABC News, ABC 7.30 Report, Catalyst, Channel 7 news, ABC radio
(702, JJJ, Health Report), Sydney Morning Herald, Time, New Scientist and The Australian.
 Expert witness and consultant in numerous legal cases.
PUBLICATIONS (2014 only)
 Meds for Heads: Your Guide to Psychotropic Drugs (book to be published 2014, see medsforheads.com).
 Karanges, E. Stephenson, C.P., McGregor I.S. (in press) Trends in the dispensing of psychotropic medications in
Australia from 2009-2012: Focus on children, adolescents and prescriber specialty. Aus & NZ Journal of Psychiatry.
 Johnston J, Lintzeris N, Allsop D, Suraev A, Booth J Carson DS, Helliwell D, Winstock A, McGregor IS (in press). Lithium
carbonate in the management of cannabis withdrawal: a randomized placebo-controlled trial in an inpatient setting.
Psychopharmacology.
 Einfeld S, Smith E, McGregor IS, Steinbeck K, Taffe J, Rice L, Horstead S, Rogers N, Hodges A and Guastella AJ (in
press). A double-blind randomised controlled trial of oxytocin nasal spray in Prader-Willi syndrome. Am J Medical
Genetics.
 Ramos L, Hicks C, Caminer A and McGregor IS (in press) Inhaled vasopressin increases sociability and reduces body
temperature and heart rate in rats. Psychoneuroendocrinology.
 Wilkinson S, Gunosewoyo H, Barron M, Boucher A, McDonnell M, Turner P, Morrison D, Bennett M, McGregor IS,
Rendina L, Kassiou, M (in press) The first CNS-active carborane: A novel P2X7 receptor antagonist with antidepressant
activity. ACS Chemical Neuroscience.
 Allsop DJ, McGregor IS, Dunlop A, Saddler C, Rivas G, Copeland J (in press) Changes in cigarette and alcohol use during
cannabis abstinence. Drug and Alcohol Dependence.
 Suraev A, Bowen MT, Ali SO, Hicks C, Ramos L, McGregor IS (in press) Adolescent exposure to oxytocin, but not the
selective oxytocin receptor agonist TGOT, increases social behavior and oxytocin in adulthood. Hormones & Behavior.
 Wong A, Keats K, Rooney K, Hicks C, Allsop D, Arnold J, McGregor IS (in press) Fasting and exercise increase plasma
cannabinoid levels in THC pre-treated rats: An examination of behavioural consequences. Psychopharmacology.
 Ahmed S, Kashem M, Sarker R, Ahmed EU, Hargreaves GA, McGregor IS (in press) Neuroadaptations in the striatal
proteome of the rat following prolonged excessive sucrose intake. Neurochemical Research.
 Too LK, Ball HJ, McGregor IS, Hunt NH. (in press) The pro-inflammatory cytokine interferon-gamma is an important
driver of neuropathology and behavioural sequelae in experimental meningitis. Brain, Behavior and Immunity.
 Bowen MT, McGregor IS (in press) Oxytocin and vasopressin modulate the social response to threat: a preclinical
study. International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology.
 Hicks C, Ramos L, Reekie T, Misagh GH, Narlawar R, Kassiou M, and McGregor IS (in press) 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.
 Too LK, Mitchell AJ, Yau B, Ball HJ, McGregor IS, and Hunt NH (in press) Interleukin-18 deficiency and its long-term
behavioural and cognitive impacts in a murine model of pneumococcal meningitis. Behavioural Brain Research.
 Allsop DJ, Copeland J, Lintzeris N, Dunlop AJ, Montebello M, Sadler C, Rivas GR, Holland RM, Muhleisen P, Norberg
MM, Booth J, McGregor IS (2014) Nabiximols as an agonist replacement therapy during cannabis withdrawal: A
randomized clinical trial. JAMA Psychiatry.
2