Dr. Maria Duenas

Assistant Professor

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Biography

Maria Duenas joined the Rheumatic Heart Disease program at the Kids Research Institute, Australia in 2023 with an affiliation to the School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Western Australia. She is involved in the development of next-generation mucosal Strep vaccine candidates for clinical trials, employing discovery-based proteomics approaches to support vaccine development with a focus on mucosal immunology. Maria's research aims to establish connections between Strep vaccines and the Strep Pathogenesis & Diagnostics teams. Originally from Ecuador, she studied chemistry at Universidad San Francisco de Quito and obtained her PhD from Iowa State University in the United States, where she developed innovative mass spectrometry techniques to enhance cellular spatial resolution. Afterward, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom from 2019 until 2023, where she was awarded the prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship to develop untargeted high-throughput screening approaches for drug discovery. Her expertise includes assay development, quantitative proteomics, and mass spectrometry techniques.

Research Interests

Experience

Postdoctoral Researcher

2023-10-02 — Present

Kids Research Institute • Perth, Australia

Involved in developing next-generation mucosal Strep vaccine candidates for clinical trials.

Senior Research Associate

2019-04-23 — 2023-09-30

Newcastle University • United Kingdom

Developed untargeted high-throughput screening approaches for drug discovery.

Requirements for University of Western Australia

Master Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:2.8
IELTS
Listening
Required:6
Reading
Required:6
Writing
Required:6
Speaking
Required:6
Overall
Required:6.5
TOEFL
Listening
Required:20
Reading
Required:20
Writing
Required:22
Speaking
Required:20
Total
Required:82
Prerequisites
Bachelor degree in a relevant field Personal Statement Curriculum Vitae
Application Checklist
  • Academic Transcripts
  • English Language Proficiency Proof
  • Personal Statement
  • References
  • Proof of Identity
Specialization Notes

Requirements are standardized across the Graduate School for most Master by Coursework programs at UWA.