Biography

I am a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Melbourne (2002-present). I received a BSc and PhD (under the supervision of Professor Bob Stick) at the University of Western Australia (UWA). For 1998-2000 I was an Izaac Walton Killam Postdoctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Professor Stephen G Withers at theUniversity of British Columbia, Canada, where I worked on glycosidase inhibitors. For 2001-2002 I was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Fellow of the Life Sciences Research Foundation in the laboratory of Professor Carolyn Bertozzi, based at the University of California, Berkeley, USA.

My current interests include carbohydrate chemistry and biochemistry; metabolic pathways for organosulfur metabolic currencies, and medicinal chemistry. With my research team and collaborators, I have authored over 200 journal articles, 13 patents, 6 book chapters, and co-authored a textbook, Carbohydrates: The Essential Molecules of Life (RV Stick and SJ Williams, 2009, Elsevier). I am a co-founder of FibrotechTherapeutics (sold to Shire Plc in 2014), Certa, OccuRx, and TianLi, Melbourne-based biotechnology companies. I am an inventor of the investigational drug asengeprast.

Curriculum vitae:

  • BSc (Hons) W.Aust. (1995)
  • PhD W.Aust. (2001)
  • Lecturer, University of Melbourne (2002)
  • Senior Lecturer, University of Melbourne (2006)
  • Associate Director, Bio21 Institute (Chemical Biology Theme/Commercialization) (2010-2023)
  • Associate Professor & Reader (2012)
  • Australian Research Council Future Fellow (2014-2017)
  • Professor (2016)
  • Associate Dean, Enterprise & Innovation (2022-)

Awards and Fellowships:

  • Royal Society of Chemistry, Chemistry Biology Interface Horizon Prize: Rita and John Cornforth Award (2024)
  • HG Smith Award (2021)
  • David Syme Research Prize (2014)
  • Grimwade Prize for Industrial Chemistry (2011)
  • Biota Award for Medicinal Chemistry (2010)
  • Fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (2009)
  • Rennie Memorial Medal (2008)
  • Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research (2007)
  • Royal Australian Chemical Institute, Athel Beckwith Lectureship (2005);
  • Selby Research Award (2002)
  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute Fellow of the Life Sciences Research Foundation, University of California at Berkeley (CR Bertozzi, 2001-2002)
  • Izaac Walton Killam Postdoctoral Fellow, University of British Columbia (SG Withers, 1998-2000)