The School of Chemistry receives research funding and grants from a variety of sources, including the Australian Research Council (ARC), the National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and other Government and Industry bodies.
Information is available for potential research and postdoctoral fellows.
Research funding for 2016
Members of the School were successful in leading the following ARC & NHMRC grants:
| Prof. Muthupandian Ashokkumar | Ultrasound-assisted fabrication of biofunctional materials |
| Prof. Evan Bieske | Shape-shifting molecules: photoisomerization action spectroscopy |
| Assoc. Prof. Paul Donnelly | Technetium and copper complexes for diagnostic imaging of neurodegeneration |
| Prof. Paul Mulvaney | The role of molecular dipole layers on charge carrier separation |
| Prof. Frances Separovic | Atomic details of antimicrobial peptides at work in live cells |
| Assoc. Prof. Spencer Williams | Unravelling the immunology of complex glycolipids by chemical synthesis |
| Prof. Gavin Reid | An ultra-high-resolution mass spectrometry facility for lipidomics research |
| Prof. Frances Separovic | Dynamic nuclear polarisation system for molecular structure determination |
| Assoc. Prof. Paul Donnelly | Molecular imaging of cancers with copper and zirconium radiopharmaceuticals |
Research funding for 2015
The School was successful in the following ARC grants:
| Prof Evan Bieske | Cold ions and fire |
| Dr Colette Boskovic | Smart molecular materials for sensors, displays and nanoscale devices |
| Assoc Prof Paul Donnelly | Gallium, copper and metal fluoride complexes designed for brain imaging |
| Assoc Prof Craig Hutton | New roles for thioamides in peptide synthesis |
| Prof Richard O'Hair | Coinage metal nanoclusters: synthesis, structure and reactivity |
| Dr Alessandro Soncini | Spin detection and control in molecular nanomagnets at surfaces |
| Dr Lei Zhang | Water oxidation catalysts for artificial photosynthesis (DECRA) |
| Assoc Prof Brendan Abrahams | A radical approach to multifunctional coordination solids (with D'Alessandro) |
| Prof Paul Mulvaney | Collaborative facility for high resolution spectroscopy of thin films and devices (LIEF with RMIT) |
Research funding for 2014
The School was successful in several major grant schemes, including leading the following ARC grants:
| Dr Lars Goerigk | Quantum refinement of DNA X-ray structures |
| Dr Paul Donnelly | Site-specific conjugation of zirconium and copper complexes to antibodies for application in diagnostic imaging and therapy |
| Assoc. Prof. Spencer Williams | Breaking it down: dissecting the mechanism and exploring new inhibition strategies for polysaccharide cleaving enzymes |
| Dr Wallace Wong | Self-organised materials for flexible electronics |
| Assoc. Prof. Craig Hutton | Chemical probes for the study of a unique enzyme from Mycobacterium tuberculosis |
| Prof. Mark Rizzacasa | Total synthesis of Myxobacteria metabolites and analogues |
| Prof. Carl Schiesser | Radicals in unconventional media - improving the sustainability of radical reactions through next generation ionic liquid radical chemistry |
| Prof. Frances Separovic | Structure and activity determination of membrane-active peptides |
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Prof. Frances Separovic Dr Marco Sani | Biomembrane interactions facility |
Research funding for 2013
The School was awarded several new major grants, including ARC and NHMRC projects, commencing in 2013:
| Prof. Spas Kolev | The pollution potential of mercury in legacy biosolids and possibilities for its minimisation by phytoremediation and phytostabilisation approaches |
| Dr Georgina Such | Advanced bio-inspired polymer assembly: tools for diagnostics, imaging and therapies |
| Prof. Frances Separovic | Targeting the bacterial membrane |
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Assoc. Prof. Uta Wille Prof. Anthony Wedd | Extending frontiers of structural chemistry and biology through high resolution pulsed electron paramagnetic resonance |
| Assoc. Prof. Spencer Williams | Defining the biosynthesis and immunological properties of mycobaterial glycolipids |
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Prof. Evan Bieske Assoc. Prof.Trevor Smith Prof. Ken Ghiggino | Supercontinuum fibre laser consortium for the chemical and materials sciences |
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Prof. Ken Ghiggino Assoc. Prof. Trevor Smith | Time-resolved microspectroscopy of conjugated polymer films for organic photovoltaic applications |
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Prof. Carl Schiesser Prof. Peter Taylor | Developing and Applying Free Radical Quantum Dots and Diamonds: Improving the performance of modern artists paint |
| Prof. Paul Mulvaney | Quantum Dot Energy Transfer-The chemistry of blinking |
| Prof. Anthony Wedd | How does Redox Cycling Drive the Metabolism of the Essential Metals Iron and Copper |
| Dr Christopher Ritchie | Rational Design and Farication of Polyoxometalate Based Nanodevices |
| Dr James Hutchison | Molecules and mirrors: new directions in chemistry and organic optoelectronics using hybrid light/matter states |
| Dr Viktoras Dryza | Guiding the Rational Design of Organic Dye Sensitisers for Solar Cell Technologies |
| Assoc. Prof. Jonathan White | Synthesis of new DNA Binding Radioprotectors |
Research funding for 2012
A strong year for the School of Chemistry with new ARC and NHMRC projects commencing in 2012 including:
|
Assoc. Prof. Brendan Abrahams Prof. Richard Robson | New molecular architectures: synthesis, structure and properties |
| Prof. Evan Bieske | Laser spectroscopy of functional molecules |
| Dr Paul Donnelly | Copper complexes for the diagnostic imaging of Alzheimer's disease |
| Dr Paul Donnelly | Copper and gallium radiopharmaceuticals for the diagnosis and therapy of cancer |
| Dr Paul Donnelly | Modulating cellular copper levels to prevent the effects of excitotoxicity in neurodegenerative diseases (with Pathology) |
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Dr John Gehman Prof. Frances Separovic | Advanced biophysical characterisation centre (with RMIT) |
| Assoc. Prof. Craig Hutton | Solid phase synthesis of side-chain cross-linked peptide oligomers |
| Prof. Robert Lamb | Tunable antifouling behaviour on rough surfaces |
| Prof. Frances Separovic | A 700 MHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometer for the Melbourne Biomolecular NMR Network: A high throughput resource (with Biochemistry) |
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Prof. Anthony Wedd Dr Paul Donnelly | Redox sulphur chemistry in copper nutrition |
| Assoc. Prof. Spencer Williams | Dissecting catalysis and inhibition of a unique endo-acting mannose-processing glycosidase |
Research funding for 2011
Another strong year for the School with new ARC and NHMRC projects commencing in 2011 including:
| Dr Stephen Best | Synchrotron X-ray absorption fine structure and fundamental X-ray interactions for nano-physics, chemistry and mineralogy |
| Assoc. Prof. Evan Bieske | Getting the drift - new frontiers in ion spectroscopy |
| Dr Colette Boskovic | Switchable molecules for molecular nanoscience |
| Dr Paul Donnelly | Validating a potential therapeutic for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis |
| Assoc. Prof. Rachel Caruso | High efficiency dye-sensitised solar cells containing multiple sensitisers |
| Assoc. Prof. Michelle Gee | Imaging the action of antimicrobial peptides in living cells |
| Prof. Franz Grieser & Prof. Muthupandian Ashokkumar | Free radical generation and reactions in ultrasound assisted processes |
| Prof. Paul Mulvaney | The Victorian integrated plasmonics facility |
| Prof. Paul Mulvaney | Molecular Plasmonics - from single electrons to quantum catalysis and optical logic gates |
| Prof. Richard O'Hair & Dr George Khairallah | Decarboxylation to unmask organometallics: scope and utility in bond formation |
| Prof. Mark A Rizzacasa & Assoc. Prof. Craig Hutton | Biogenesis inspired total synthesis of natural products |
| Prof. Frances Separovic | The mechanism of membrane disruption by antimicrobial peptides |
| Prof. Frances Separovic | Advanced characterisation of materials by nuclear magnetic resonance |
| Assoc. Prof. Jonathan White | PET imaging agents for the differential diagnosis of hypoxic tumors |
Research funding for 2010
2010 was a strong year for the School of Chemistry. New ARC projects commencing in 2010 include:
| Assoc. Prof. Spas Kolev | Phytoextraction approaches for mitigating heavy metal release from unlined and loosely capped rural landfills |
| Dr Spencer Williams | Mannosyl Transfer processes in leishmania and mycobacteria |
| Prof. Anthony Wedd | Chemistry of the Transport of Nutrient Copper in Biological Cells |
| Prof. Paul Mulvaney | Repulsive van der Waals Forces and Brownian ratchet motors: manipulating thermal and quantum Fluctuations |
| Prof. Paul Mulvaney | Australia/Germany: scaleable interdigitation arrays for solar photovoltaics project |
| Dr George Khairallah | Catalytic currency: the role of size-reactivity relationships of simple and mixed "coinage" metal clusters in C-C bond forming reactions |
| Dr Linda Feketeova | Formation, structure and chemistry of non-covalentcomplexes of biomolecules via mass spectrometry |
| Prof. Andrew Holmes | Synthesis of phosphatidylinositol and inositol polyphosphate derivatives to probe key signaling proteins associated with cell growth and cancer |
| Assoc. Prof. Evan Bieske | Laser facility for ultra-sensitive molecular characterization |
| Prof. Andrew Holmes | Advanced ultrasonic spray deposition system for large area solar cells fabrication |
| Assoc. Prof. Jonathan White | Small molecule X-Ray molecular structure elucidation facility |
Research funding for 2009
2009 was a strong year for the School of Chemistry. New ARC projects commencing in 2009 include:
| Assoc. Prof. Spas Kolev | Enhanced Capacity in UltraTrace Level Detection and Speciation of Compounds of Environmental, Biological and Materials Science Interest (Infrastructure Grant) |
| Dr Uta Wille | Reaction Kinetics Analysis Facility (Infrastructure Grant) |
| Dr Amanda Barnard | Environmental stability of nanoscale materials for catalysis and sensing |
| Assoc. Prof. Evan Bieske | Lighting up the charged brigade: laser spectroscopy of protonated and metal containing complexes |
| Dr Rachel Caruso | Flexible dye sensitised solar cells on polymer substrates |
| Prof Franz Grieser | An integrated study of dynamic interactions in soft matter systems |
| Dr John Gehman, Prof. Frances Separovic & Prof John Wade | Membrane associated structure and the effect of metals on Abeta peptide from Alzheimer's disease |
| Prof. Ken Ghiggino | Energy transforming polymers: from single molecules to devices |
| Prof. Paul Mulvaney | Nanocrystal Electronics: A SolGel Approach |
| Assoc. Prof. Charles Young | New Frontiers in Molybdenum Chemistry: Electronic Structure and Molybdoenzyme Function |
Research funding for 2008
2008 was an outstanding year for the School of Chemistry. New projects commencing in 2008, include:
| Assoc. Prof. M Ashokkumar & Prof. Franz Grieser | Composite nanomaterials for environmental remediation and fuel cell applications |
| Assoc. Prof. Evan Bieske | Understanding and controlling ion neutral interactions |
| Dr Colette Boskovic | New approaches to bistable spin clusters |
| Dr Colette Boskovic & Prof. Frances Separovic |
Enhanced NMR Research, Analysis and Characterisation Facility |
| Dr Rachel Caruso | Synthesis of functionalised metal oxide beads with hierarchical pores for radionuclide and metal sequestration |
| Dr Evan Moore | Novel Lanthanide Complexes and Polymeric Luminescent Chelates for Biomedical Imaging and Bioassay |
| Prof. Mark Rizzacasa | Synthesis of Myxobacteria Metabolites and Analogues |
| Prof. Anthony Wedd & Dr Paul Donnelly | Molecular Probes for BioMetals |
| Prof. Anthony Wedd & Dr Paul Donnelly | Investigating protein/protein interactions |
| Dr Spencer Williams | Understanding the cardioprotective effects of flavonolds |
| Dr Wallace Wong | Novel organic materials for efficient lowcost solar cells |
| Prof. Richard O'Hair | Mass spectrometry facility for the quantitation and analysis of post-translationally modified peptides |
Research funding for 2007
Funding in excess of $2.9 million was awarded to Chemistry staff and their collaborators in 2007, as detailed below:
| Dr Spencer Williams | Mannose Metabolism in Pathogenic Microorganisms |
| Assoc. Prof. Mark Rizzacasa | Biomimetic and Methodology Based Total Synthesis of Bioactive Natural Products |
| Dr Paul Donnelly | Copper Radiopharmaceuticals for Molecular Imaging of Alzheimer's Disease |
| Assoc. Prof. Jonathan White | Structures and Properties of beta-R3M (M = Si, Ge, Sn)- and beta-Chalcogenyl-substituted Carbenium Ions |
| Dr Jingli Xie | Novel Photo-Catalysts for Water Oxidation: Linking Nature to New Technologies |
| Assoc. Prof. Charles Young & Dr Stephen Best | A National Biomedical Electron Paramagnetic Resonance and Molecular Imaging Centre |
Chemistry staff were also participants in the following successful collaborative research grants:
| Assoc. Prof. M. Ashokkumar | Surfactant Effects in Sonoprocessing |
| Dr Craig Hutton | Dissociation of a Tetrameric Enzyme with Interface-Targeted Peptides |
| Prof. Andrew Holmes | Identifying Mitogenic Signalling Proteins with Phosphatidylinositol Lipids |
Research funding for 2006
The School had another very successful year in research funding. Staff who received external grants for funding of research commencing in 2006 included:
| Dr M. Ashokkumar | Ultrasonic processing of dairy ingredients to control protein aggregation and promote heat stability |
| Dr Damian Bird | An investigation into the absorption of nanoparticles through skin via time-resolved scanning near-field fluroescence microscopy |
| Dr Rachel Caruso | Nanostructured materials as both separations media and transmutation hosts for minor actinides in advanced fuel cycle reprocessing solutions |
| Dr Rachel Caruso | Chemical and morphological engineering of semi-conductor electrodes for high efficiency solar cells |
| Dr Rachel Caruso | The incorporation of gold nanoparticles in porous titanium dioxide materials for photocatalytic applications |
| Dr Craig Hutton | Synthesis of the celogentin family of anti-tumour cyclic peptides |
| Dr Spas Kolev | Extraction of uranium and thorium using novel polymer inclusion membranes |
| Prof. Paul Mulvaney | Energy conversion and signal transduction in nanomechanical systems |
| Prof. Carl Schiesser | Centre for free radical chemistry and biotechnology |
| Prof. Frances Separovic | Membrane interactions and neurotoxicity of Amyloid Abeta peptides from Alzheimer's disease |
| Prof. Frances Separovic | Membrane protein structure and interaction facility |
| Prof. Frances Separovic | Structure and activity of host-defence peptides from Australian anurans: anticancer agents, neuropeptides and NOS inhibitors |
| Dr Trevor Smith | Towards Nano-Assembled Light Emitting Polymer Films |
| Assoc. Prof. Jonathan White | Evaluation of new radioprotectors |
| Assoc. Prof. Jonathan White | Structures and properties of beta-silyl and beta-chalcogenyl-substituted carbenium ions |