Dr. Norelle Daly is Professor in the School of Medicine, Health & Molecular Sciences at James Cook University, Australia. Dr. Norelle Daly awarded her PhD from the University of Queensland. Her studies involved using NMR spectroscopy to determine the structure of domains of the LDL receptor; a receptor critical for the control of cholesterol levels.

Dr. Norelle Daly research involves exploring the potential of peptides as drug candidates for therapeutic applications. Peptides are of significant interest in drug design as they can be highly potent and specific for a range of different drug targets. However, the inherent poor stability of peptides limits their application. Her research aims to overcome this limitation by using tightly folded scaffolds, such as those found in the venom of spiders, cone snails and scorpions, to improve stability. In addition, plants are a rich source of highly stable peptides including backbone cyclic peptides from the coffee and sunflower families. It is anticipated that these studies will significantly expand the potential of peptides as therapeutics. In particular, peptide-based drug leads for cancer are being explored because of the enormous impact it has on health care in Australia and the urgent need for more effective treatments.