Dr Richard Gordon
Honorary Associate Professor
UQ Centre for Clinical Research
Dr Richard Gordon is a network member of the MND Collective at UQ.
Researcher biography
Dr. Richard Gordon leads a multi-disciplinary, industry-partnered research program in Translational Neuroscience which integrates immunology, drug development, pharmacology, metabolomics and microbial metagenomics. His group aims to understand and therapeutically target key pathological mechanisms which drive the onset and progression of neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease (PD) and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Their work combines target validation studies in human patients with mechanistic insights from disease models to develop and test novel therapeutic strategies that can be translated towards clinical trials.
Key research themes within this program include:
- Understanding how chronic immune and inflammasome activation contribute to neurodegeneration in the CNS
- The role of gut dysbiosis and gastrointestinal dysfunction in Parkinson's disease pathophysiology
- Therapeutic targeting of the gut-brain axis for neuroprotection
- Drug discovery, development and repositioning for novel therapeutic targets
- Discovery and validation of clinical biomarkers for PD and ALS
- Clinical trials for disease-modifying therapeutic strategies
Book Chapters
Albornoz, Eduardo A., Woodruff, Trent M. and Gordon, Richard (2018). Inflammasomes in CNS diseases. Inflammasomes: clinical and therapeutic implications. (pp. 41-60) edited by Mario D. Cordero and Elisabet Alcocer-Gómez. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-89390-7_3
Gordon, Richard and Woodruff, Trent M. (2017). Neuroinflammation as a therapeutic target in neurodegenerative diseases. Disease-modifying targets in neurodegenerative disorders: paving the way for disease-modifying therapies. (pp. 49-80) edited by Veerle Baekelandt and Evy Lobbestael. London, United Kingdom: Academic Press. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-805120-7.00003-8
Gordon, Richard and Woodruff, Trent M. (2017). Neuroinflammation as a therapeutic target in neurodegenerative diseases. Disease-modifying targets in neurodegenerative disorders. (pp. 43-64) edited by Veerle Baekelandt and Evy Lobbestael. Boston, MA, United States: Academic Press (Elsevier Press).
Journal Articles
Johnson, Aishwarya Mary, Jose, Sara, Palakkott, Abdul Rasheed, Khan, Farheen Badrealam, Jayabalan, Nanthini, Kizhakkayil, Jaleel, AlNaqbi, Shamma Abdulla Ali, Scott, Mark GH, Ayoub, Mohammed Akli, Gordon, Richard and Saminathan, Hariharan (2023). Pharmacological inhibition of PTEN rescues dopaminergic neurons by attenuating apoptotic and neuroinflammatory signaling events. Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology, 18 (3), 462-475. doi: 10.1007/s11481-023-10077-8
Albornoz, Eduardo A., Gordon, Richard, Kumar, Vinod, Robertson, Avril A. B., Schroder, Kate and Woodruff, Trent M. (2023). Response to comment on “Inflammasome inhibition prevents α-synuclein pathology and dopaminergic neurodegeneration in mice”. Science Translational Medicine, 15 (696) adh0604, 1-4. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adh0604
Jayabalan, Nanthini, Oronsky, Bryan, Cabrales, Pedro, Reid, Tony, Caroen, Scott, Johnson, Aishwarya M., Birch, Natalia A., O’Sullivan, John D. and Gordon, Richard (2023). A review of RRx-001: a late-stage multi-indication inhibitor of NLRP3 activation and chronic inflammation. Drugs, 83 (5), 389-402. doi: 10.1007/s40265-023-01838-z
Oronsky, Bryan, Takahashi, Lori, Gordon, Richard, Cabrales, Pedro, Caroen, Scott and Reid, Tony (2023). RRx-001: a chimeric triple action NLRP3 inhibitor, Nrf2 inducer, and nitric oxide superagonist. Frontiers in Oncology, 13 1204143, 1-8. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1204143
Jewell, Shannon, Herath, Ashane M. and Gordon, Richard (2022). Inflammasome activation in Parkinson's disease. Journal of Parkinson's Disease, 12 (s1), S113-S128. doi: 10.3233/JPD-223338
Jose, Sara, Groves, Natalie J., Roper, Kathrein E. and Gordon, Richard (2022). Mechanisms of NLRP3 activation and pathology during neurodegeneration. The International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology, 151 106273, 106273. doi: 10.1016/j.biocel.2022.106273
Jewell, Shannon, Roper, Kerry, Woodhouse, Helen, Adam, Robert, O'Sullivan, John and Gordon, Richard (2022). LC-MS based urine metabolomic profiling indicate altered gut microbiome and host lipid metabolites in Parkinson's disease. The FASEB Journal, 36 (S1). doi: 10.1096/fasebj.2022.36.S1.R2928
Johnson, Aishwarya M., Ou, Zhen-Yi Andy, Gordon, Richard and Saminathan, Hariharan (2022). Environmental neurotoxicants and inflammasome activation in Parkinson’s disease – a focus on the gut-brain axis. The International Journal of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, 142 106113, 106113. doi: 10.1016/j.biocel.2021.106113
Saminathan, Hariharan, Charli, Adhithiya, Luo, Jie, Panicker, Nikhil, Gordon, Richard, Hostetter, Jesse M, Jin, Huajun, Anantharam, Vellareddy, Kanthasamy, Anumantha G and Kanthasamy, Arthi (2020). Fyn kinase mediates pro-inflammatory response in a mouse model of endotoxemia: Relevance to translational research. European journal of pharmacology, 881 173259, 173259. doi: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2020.173259
Samidurai, Manikandan, Tarale, Prashant, Janarthanam, Chelva, Estrada, Crystal Gomez, Gordon, Richard, Zenitsky, Gary, Jin, Huajun, Anantharam, Vellareddy, Kanthasamy, Anumantha G. and Kanthasamy, Arthi (2020). Tumor necrosis factor-like weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK) enhances activation of STAT3/NLRC4 inflammasome signaling axis through PKCδ in astrocytes: implications for Parkinson's disease. Cells, 9 (8) 1831, 1831-35. doi: 10.3390/cells9081831
Idris, Misgana, Mitchell, Deanne J., Gordon, Richard, Sidharthan, Neelima P., Butcher, Neville J. and Minchin, Rodney F. (2020). Interaction of the brain-selective sulfotransferase SULT4A1 with other cytosolic sulfotransferases: effects on protein expression and function. Drug Metabolism and Disposition, 48 (5), 337-344. doi: 10.1124/dmd.119.089714
Deora, Vandana, Lee, John D., Albornoz, Eduardo A., McAlary, Luke, Jagaraj, Cyril J., Robertson, Avril A. B., Atkin, Julie D, Cooper, Matthew A., Schroder, Kate, Yerbury, Justin J., Gordon, Richard and Woodruff, Trent M. (2020). The microglial NLRP3 inflammasome is activated by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis proteins. Glia, 68 (2) glia.23728, 407-421. doi: 10.1002/glia.23728
Gordon, Richard, Albornoz, Eduardo A., Christie, Daniel C., Langley, Monica R., Kumar, Vinod, Mantovani, Susanna, Robertson, Avril A. B., Butler, Mark S., Rowe, Dominic B., O'Neill, Luke A., Kanthasamy, Anumantha G., Schroder, Kate, Cooper, Matthew A. and Woodruff, Trent M. (2018). Inflammasome inhibition prevents α-synuclein pathology and dopaminergic neurodegeneration in mice. Science Translational Medicine, 10 (465) aah4066, eaah4066. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aah4066
Neal, Matthew, Luo, Jie, Harischandra, Dilshan S., Gordon, Richard, Sarkar, Souvarish, Jin, Huajun, Anantharam, Vellareddy, Désaubry, Laurent, Kanthasamy, Anumantha and Kanthasamy, Arthi (2018). Prokineticin-2 promotes chemotaxis and alternative A2 reactivity of astrocytes. Glia, 66 (10), 2137-2157. doi: 10.1002/glia.23467
Mantovani, Susanna, Smith, Simon S., Gordon, Richard and O'Sullivan, John D. (2018). An overview of sleep and circadian dysfunction in Parkinson's disease. Journal of Sleep Research, 27 (3) e12673, e12673. doi: 10.1111/jsr.12673
Giacomin, Paul R., Kraeuter, Ann Katrin, Albornoz, Eduardo A., Jin, Shuting, Bengtsson, Mia, Gordon, Richard, Woodruff, Trent M., Urich, Tim, Sarnyai, Zoltán and Soares Magalhães, Ricardo J. (2018). Chronic helminth infection perturbs the gut-brain axis, promotes neuropathology and alters behaviour. The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 218 (9), 1511-1516. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiy092
Chen, Weiqiang, Foo, Suan-Sin, Zaid, Ali, Teng, Terk-Shin, Herrero, Lara J., Wolf, Stefan, Tharmarajah, Kothila, Vu, Luan D., van Vreden, Caryn, Taylor, Adam, Freitas, Joseph R., Li, Rachel W., Woodruff, Trent M., Gordon, Richard, Ojcius, David M., Nakaya, Helder I., Kanneganti, Thirumala-Devi, O’Neill, Luke A. J., Robertson, Avril A. B., King, Nicholas J., Suhrbier, Andreas, Cooper, Matthew A., Ng, Lisa F. P. and Mahalingam, Suresh (2017). Specific inhibition of NLRP3 in chikungunya disease reveals a role for inflammasomes in alphavirus-induced inflammation. Nature Microbiology, 2 (10), 1-11. doi: 10.1038/s41564-017-0015-4
Deora, Vandana, Albornoz, Eduardo A., Zhu, Kevin, Woodruff, Trent M. and Gordon, Richard (2017). The ketone body β-hydroxybutyrate does not inhibit synuclein mediated inflammasome activation in microglia. Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology, 12 (4), 1-7. doi: 10.1007/s11481-017-9754-5
Gordon, Richard, Neal, Matthew L., Luo, Jie, Langley, Monica R., Harischandra, Dilshan S., Panicker, Nikhil, Charli, Adhithiya, Jin, Huajun, Anantharam, Vellareddy, Woodruff, Trent M., Zhou, Qun-Yong, Kanthasamy, Anumantha G. and Kanthasamy, Arthi (2016). Prokineticin-2 upregulation during neuronal injury mediates a compensatory protective response against dopaminergic neuronal degeneration. Nature Communications, 7 (1) 12932, 12932.1-12932.18. doi: 10.1038/ncomms12932
Gordon, Richard, Singh, Neeraj, Lawana, Vivek, Ghosh, Anamitra, Harischandra, Dilshan S., Jin, Huajun, Hogan, Colleen, Sarkar, Souvarish, Rokad, Dharmin, Panicker, Nikhil, Anantharam, Vellareddy, Kanthasamy, Anumantha G. and Kanthasamy, Arthi (2016). Protein kinase Cδ upregulation in microglia drives neuroinflammatory responses and dopaminergic neurodegeneration in experimental models of Parkinson's disease. Neurobiology of Disease, 93, 96-114. doi: 10.1016/j.nbd.2016.04.008
Kim, Dong-Suk, Jin, Huajun, Anantharam, Vellareddy, Gordon, Richard, Kanthasamy, Arthi and Kanthasamy, Anumantha G. (2016). p73 gene in dopaminergic neurons is highly susceptible to manganese neurotoxicity. NeuroToxicology, 59, 231-239. doi: 10.1016/j.neuro.2016.04.012
Mantovani, Susanna, Gordon, Richard, Li, Rui, Christie, Daniel C., Kumar, Vinod and Woodruff, Trent M. (2016). Motor deficits associated with Huntington's disease occur in the absence of striatal degeneration in BACHD transgenic mice. Human Molecular Genetics, 25 (9) ddw050, 1780-1791. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddw050
Panicker, Nikhil, Saminathan, Hariharan, Jin, Huajun, Neal, Matthew, Harischandra, Dilshan S., Gordon, Richard, Kanthasamy, Kavin, Lawana, Vivek, Sarkar, Souvarish, Luo, Jie, Anantharam, Vellareddy, Kanthasamy, Anumantha G. and Kanthasamy, Arthi (2015). Fyn kinase regulates microglial neuroinflammatory responses in cell culture and animal models of parkinson’s disease. Journal of Neuroscience, 35 (27), 10058-10077. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0302-15.2015
Khan, Nemat, Gordon, Richard, Woodruff, Trent M. and Smith, Maree T. (2015). Antiallodynic effects of alpha lipoic acid in an optimized RR-EAE mouse model of MS-neuropathic pain are accompanied by attenuation of upregulated BDNF-TrkB-ERK signalling in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. Pharmacology Research and Perspectives, 3 (3) e00137, 1-16. doi: 10.1002/prp2.137
Brennan, Faith H., Gordon, Richard, Lao, Hong W., Biggins, Patrick J., Taylor, Stephen M., Franklin, Robin J. M., Woodruff, Trent M. and Ruitenberg, Marc J. (2015). The complement receptor C5aR controls acute inflammation and astrogliosis following spinal cord injury. Journal of Neuroscience, 35 (16), 6517-6531. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5218-14.2015
Mantovani, S., Gordon, R., Macmaw, J. K., Plfluger, C. M., Henderson, R. D., Noakes, P. G., McCombe, P. A. and Woodruff, T. M. (2014). Elevation of the terminal complement activation products C5a and C5b-9 in ALS patient blood. Journal of Neuroimmunology, 276 (1-2), 213-218. doi: 10.1016/j.jneuroim.2014.09.005
Gordon, Richard, Anantharam, Vellareddy, Kanthasamy, Anumantha G. and Kanthasamy, Arthi (2012). Proteolytic activation of proapoptotic kinase protein kinase Cδ by tumor necrosis factor α death receptor signaling in dopaminergic neurons during neuroinflammation. Journal of Neuroinflammation, 9 (1) 82. doi: 10.1186/1742-2094-9-82
Kanthasamy, Kavin, Gordon, Richard, Jin, Huajun, Anantharam, Vellareddy, Ali, Syed, Kanthasamy, Anumantha G. and Kanthasamy, Arthi (2011). Neuroprotective Effect of Resveratrol Against Methamphetamine-Induced Dopaminergic Apoptotic Cell Death in a Cell Culture Model of Neurotoxicity. Current Neuropharmacology, 9 (1), 49-53. doi: 10.2174/157015911795017353
Gordon, Richard, Hogan, Colleen E., Neal, Matthew L., Anantharam, Vellareddy, Kanthasamy, Anumantha G. and Kanthasamy, Arthi (2011). A simple magnetic separation method for high-yield isolation of pure primary microglia. Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 194 (2), 287-296. doi: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2010.11.001
Conference Papers
Jayabalan, Nanthini, Roper, Katherine Kerry, Woodhouse, Helen M., Adam, Robert J., O'Sullivan, John D. and Gordon, Richard (2022). A Novel Role for Glucocerebrosidase 1 (GBA1) in Parkinson's Disease. Experimental Biology Meeting 2022, Philadelphia, PA United States, 2-5 April 2022. Hoboken, NJ United States: John Wiley and Sons. doi: 10.1096/fasebj.2022.36.S1.R5391
Gordon, Richard, Albornoz, Eduardo, Kanthasamy, Anumantha and Woodruff, Trent (2018). C5aR1 is required for a-synuclein mediated NLRP3 inflammasome activation. 27th International Complement Workshop (ICW), Santa Fe, NM, United States, Sep 16-20, 2018. Kidlington, Oxford, United Kingdom: Pergamon Press. doi: 10.1016/j.molimm.2018.06.247
Magalhaes, Ricardo J. Soares, Giacomin, Paul, Sarnyay, Zoltan, Kraeuter, Ann, Urich, Tim, Bengtsson, Mia, Jin, Shuting, Albornoz, Eduardo A., Gordon, Richard and Woodruff, Trent (2017). Gut microbiome changes induced by experimental trichuris muris infection are associated with decreased cognitive function in mice. 65th Annual Meeting of the American-Society-of-Tropical-Medicine-and-Hygiene (ASTMH), Atlanta, GA, United States, 13-16 November 2016. Deerfield, United States: American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
Deora, Vandana, Mantovani, Susanna, Yerbury, Justin, Clark, Richard, Atkin, Julie, Lee, John, Gordon, Richard and Woodruff, Trent M. (2017). Motor neuron disease proteins activate complement and generate C5a. 16th European Meeting on Complement in Human Disease (EMCHD), Copenhagen, Denmark, 8-12 September 2017. Kidlington, Oxford, United Kingdom: Pergamon Press. doi: 10.1016/j.molimm.2017.06.144
Li, R., Levin, S., Lee, J., Gordon, R. and Woodruff, T. (2016). The complement C5a receptor, C5aR2 contributes to motor deficits in mouse models of Huntington's and Parkinson's disease. International Congress of Immunology (ICI), Melbourne, Australia, 21-26 August 2016. Weinheim, Germany: Wiley - VCH. doi: 10.1002/eji.201670200
Gordon, Richard, Albornoz, Eduardo A., Kumar, Vinod, Zhou, Kiane, Garin-Michaud, Ashoka, Mantavani, Susanna, Kanthasamy, Anumantha G. and Woodruff, Trent M. (2016). Complement C5a activates microglial NLRP3 inflammasomes and drives neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease through C5aR1. The XXVI International Complement Workshop (ICW), Kanazawa, Japan, 4-8 September 2016. Muenchen, Germany: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.imbio.2016.06.146
Li, Rui, Lee, John D., Levin, Samantha, Gordon, Richard and Woodruff, Trent M. (2016). A pathogenic role for the C5a receptor, C5aR2, in mouse models of Huntington's and Parkinson's disease. The XXVI International Complement Workshop (ICW), Kanazawa, Japan, 4-8 September 2016. Muenchen, Germany: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.imbio.2016.06.186
Mantovani, S., Gordon, R., Ngo, S., Pfluger, C., O'Sullivan, J., Noakes, P., Henderson, R., McCombe, P. and Woodruff, T. (2015). Peripheral immune complement activation in neurodegenerative disease. 25th Biennial Meeting of the International-Society-for-Neurochemistry Jointly with the 13th Meeting of the Asian-Pacific-Society-for-Neurochemistry in Conjunction with the 35th Meeting of the Australasian-Neuroscience-Society, Cairns Australia, 23-27 August 2015. Chichester, West Sussex, United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell. doi: 10.1111/jnc.13188
Albornoz, E., Deora, V., Robertson, B. A., Cooper, M. A., Schroder, K., Woodruff, T. M. and Gordon, R. (2015). Paraquat activates the NLRP3 Inflammasome in microglia via the NADPH oxidase pathway. International Congress of Immunology (ICI), Melbourne, Australia, Aug 21-26, 2016. Weinheim, Germany: Wiley-Blackwell.
Mantovani, S., Li, R., Gordon, R., Kumar, V., Taylor, S. and Woodruff, T. M. (2013). Behavioural and pathological phenotyping of the C57BL/6J BACHD transgenic mouse model of Huntington’s disease. World Congress on Huntington’s disease, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 15-18 September 2013. Amsterdam, Netherlands: I O S Press.