Research projects

This project synthesises 2D ferroelectric materials via vapor deposition or exfoliation and maps their nanoscale properties using AFM, aiming to advance nanoelectronic and optoelectronic devices beyond Moore’s law.

This project establishes a MicroED facility at ANU to study small molecule crystal structures using electron crystallography, enabling analysis of tiny crystals and advancing structural chemistry through specimen prep, data collection, and analysis.

Our goal is to develop an anti-malarial Trojan horse that will deliver a chemical payload to the malaria parasite that it cannot avoid, thus limiting the potential for resistance.

This project uses robotics and high-throughput platforms to accelerate chemoselective reaction development in small molecules and peptides, focusing on photochemical and electrochemical methods to create bioactive libraries for drug discovery.

This project will provide hands-on experience with some of the most exciting and rapidly evolving technologies in materials science today.

This project will involve collaboration with industry partners (Beta Therapeutics) and partners within the Centre of Excellence in Peptide and Protein Science.

This project will develop these materials for biological applications, for example as an artificial skin (below).

We are studying compounds in which a single atom of carbon is held between two metal centres LnM=C=MLn. In most cases the M=C=M spine is linear but we have recently isolated the first examples where the carbon is bent and displays nucleophilic character.

This project is centered on developing an artificial living biomineralisation platform for self-reinforcing materials.

This project targets broad-spectrum antiviral drug development by designing and testing molecules that inhibit viral proteases—key enzymes in RNA virus replication—using covalent “warheads” like alpha-ketoamides to identify new therapeutic leads.

Developing new chemical synthesis strategies to control the folding of complex 3D peptide topologies, unlocking bioactive molecules from Australia's unique biodiversity including venom peptides.

Conventional quantum computers require large coupled-qubit systems. Molecular qudits offer an alternative: encoding information in the many quantum states of a single molecule, using advanced EPR spectroscopy for quantum logic operations.

This project will involve a reasonable amount of organic synthesis, as well as some host-guest binding studies and potentially some X-ray crystallography.

Designing peptides and small proteins that bind cancer-cell receptors and diagnostic or therapeutic radiometals directly, without large chelators, for use in cancer theranostics.

The research includes the material synthesis, electron microscopy characterization and various diffraction and property measurement, with a potential to use national neutron/synchrotron facility.