2026 Ferrier Public Lecture – Victoria University of Wellington

The Ferrier Research Institute warmly invites you to attend the 2026 Ferrier Public Lecture at the Pipitea Campus. The 2026 Ferrier Public Lecture, presented annually in honour of the late Professor Robin Ferrier, will be delivered by Professor Richard Payne, professor in organic chemistry and chemical biology at the School of Chemistry, University of Sydney.

Titled Drug discovery inspired by peptide natural products, the 2026 Ferrier Public Lecture will highlight how naturally occurring structures and phenomena have led to the discovery of drug leads for a range of human conditions. From the antibiotic penicillin to the frontline antimalarial artemisinin, natural products have always played an instrumental role in the development of new drugs. Over the past decade, enormous advances in chemistry, genomics, and proteomics have underpinned the rapid discovery of new classes of peptide molecules that serve as an exciting new frontier of natural products for the discovery of next-generation therapeutics. In his lecture, Professor Payne will discuss strategies that have been used to leverage the privileged chemical structures and bioactivity of peptide-based natural products for the discovery of new drug leads for a range of human diseases.

Event Details:

• Date: Wednesday, 1 April 2026
• Time: 6.15pm (drinks & nibbles start from 5.30pm)
• Location: Lecture Theatre 1, Rutherford House, Pipitea Campus, 33 Bunny Street, Wellington