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Prof. Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland

Matt Cooper completed his PhD in Australia in 1995 and then spent 13 years in the UK, first at the University of Cambridge, then in start-ups and biotechnology companies. This involved innovation, fund raising, intellectual property generation, licensing, product development and commercialisation.

He returned to Australia in 2009 as a NHMRC Australia Fellow. He has consulted with Private Equity Investment, Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology and Diagnostics companies, was Managing Director of Cambridge Medical Innovations (part of Alere Inc.) and CSO of Akubio Ltd. He is an inventor and driver of a several antibiotic drug discovery programmes with lead compounds pre-clinical. He is an expert in label-free technologies and their application to drug discovery and development with two books in this field.

Experience

  • 2009–present
    NHMRC Australia Fellow & Professor of Chemical Biology, The University of Queensland, Institute for Molecular Bioscience
  • 2007–2009
    Founder & Managing Director, Cambridge Medical Innovations Ltd., UK
  • 2002–2007
    Chief Scientific Officer, Akubio Ltd., UK.
  • 1999–2003
    Senior Research Partner, AdPro Tech Ltd., UK.
  • 1999–2002
    Senior Research Scientist, Sense Proteomics Ltd., UK.
  • 2001–2002
    Co-Founder & Managing Director, Akubio Ltd., UK.
  • 1997–2001
    Senior Consultant, Biacore AB, Sweden.
  • 1999–2000
    PostDoctoral Fellow , Cambridge Centre for Molecular Recognition, University of Cambridge, UK.
  • 1996–1999
    PostDoctoral Research Fellow, Cambridge Centre for Molecular Recognition, University of Cambridge, UK.

Education

  • 1995 
    University of Adelaide, Australia, PhD Organic Chemistry
  • 1990 
    University of Adelaide, Australia, B.Sc (Honours 1st Class)

Publications

  • 2011
    Fix the antibiotic pipeline, Nature
  • 2008
    Nanomechanical detection of antibiotic mucopeptide binding in a model for superbug drug resistance, Nature Nanotechnology 3:691-696
  • 2002
    Identification of ARAP3, a novel PI3K effector by selective capture on phosphoinositide affinity mat, Molecular Cell 9:95-108
  • 2002
    Optical Biosensors in Drug Discovery, Nature Review Drug Discovery 1:515-528.
  • 2001
    Direct and sensitive detection of a human virus by rupture event scanning, Nature Biotechnology 19: 833-837
  • 2001
    Phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate regulates the neutrophil oxidase complex binding to the PX domain p, Nature Cell Biolology 3:679-682
  • 2000
    A vesicle capture sensor chip for kinetic analysis of interactions with membrane-bound receptors, Analytical Biochemistry 277: 196-205
  • 1999
    Binding of glycopeptide antibiotics to a model of vancomycin-resistant bacterium, Chemistry & Biology 6:891-899
  • 1998
    Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Ac toxin interaction with Manduca sexta aminopeptidase N, Biochemical Journal 333:677-683

Research Areas

  • Analytical Biochemistry (060101)
  • Signal Transduction (060111)
  • Receptors And Membrane Biology (060110)
  • Characterisation Of Biological Macromolecules (030403)
  • Biomolecular Modelling And Design (030402)
  • Biologically Active Molecules (030401)
  • Medical Biotechnology Diagnostics (Incl. Biosensors) (100402)
  • Infectious Agents (060502)
  • Medical Infection Agents (Incl. Prions) (110802)

Honours

2007 Institution of Engineering & Technology Award for Emerging Technologies
2006 Micro &Nanotechnology Innov Award, UK
2002 Smart Innov Award, UK.
1999 Howard Florey Centenary Rsrch Fellowship, AUS
1995 George Murray Fellowship,Uni of Cambridge, UK