I am a Senior Lecturer (equivalent to Associate Professor in the USA) in Synthetic Biology in the School of Natural Sciences in the Faculty of Science and Engineering and an Associate Investigator in the Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology. I completed a PhD in Microbiology and Immunology at the University of British Columbia and an NSERC-funded postdoctoral fellowship in the Bioengineering Department at Stanford University before joining Macquarie University.

Specialties and keywords: Synthetic Biology, Molecular Biology, Genome Engineering, Bacteriophages, Phage Therapy, Antimicrobial Resistance, tRNA, Start Codons, Initiation Codons, Next-Generation Sequencing, Proteomics.

My lab is now researching a range of topics in synthetic biology, microbiology, and virology. In particular we are working towards:

Enhancing Phage Therapy

How can we use natural and engineered bacterial viruses (phage) as therapeutics to address the global problem of antibiotic resistant bacteria? We are working to improve phage by using next-generation CRISPR methods to engineer T4 and T7 phages for therapeutic use against uropathogenic E. coli, and other pathogenic bacteria.

Overlapping Genes

Why are nearly 25% of genes in most genomes overlapping? What functional roles do they play, and can we use artificial gene overlaps to slow evolution of engineered systems?

Altered Genetic Codes

How can new genetic codes be used to slow evolution, biocontain GMOs, create orthogonal translation control systems, and add new chemistry to proteins?

BMOL3201/6231: Advanced Biochemistry & Cell Biology (2016 - Present)
Unit Convenor and Instructor
Final year undergraduate level lecture and laboratory course

MOLS8411: Molecular Genomics Analysis and Design (2020 - Present)
Unit Convenor, Curriculum Designer, and Instructor
Masters of Biotechnology level unit
Lecture and workshops

MOLS7012: Synthetic Biology  (2016 - Present)
Unit Convenor and Instructor
Masters of Research level
Workshops

MOLS7911: Laboratory Skills for Molecular Science Research (2017 - Present)
Instructor for synthetic biology computational lab skills module
Masters of Research level unit
Workshops

BMOL3401:  Applied and Medical Microbiology (2020 - Present)
Guest Lecturer on Acellular Pathogens and Person to Person Viral Disease

BMOL2401/6401: Microbiology and Molecular Biology (2016 - Present)
Guest Lecturer on Virus Biology

As of March 2023, I have been primary supervisor for 7 Masters of Research students (6 completed) and 8 Ph.D. students (3 completed). Alumni from the lab are currently at Altos Labs and Harvard Medical School.

We are always looking for Masters of Research (MRes) and PhD students. Please get in touch if you are interested in what the lab is working on and you think your background would be a good fit.