I have more than three decades of expertise in structural biology and protein engineering, and have published >160 papers. I am a named author on >11 patents, encompassing: minichaperone refolding, hypo-immune iPS cells, development of activators of GAD65 as therapeutic agents in anxiety disorders, engineered antibodies, stabilised anti-inflammatory protein biologics, and highly stable monobodies. I have determined high resolution X-ray crystallographic structures of over 90 proteins, including several ‘firsts’ of medically important proteins; the autoantigen GAD65, Membrane Attack Complex / Perforin (MACPF)-like protein, the bacteriophage lysin PlyC, and T Cell receptor-MHC complex. 

I completed my PhD in 1994 in the laboratory of Prof Sir Alan Fersht at the University of Cambridge, on the structure determination of protein-DNA and protein-protein complexes. As a postdoc then staff scientist at the MRC Centre Cambridge, I made contributions to the understanding of protein stability, molecular recognition and the action of molecular chaperones. I relocated to Monash University, Australia in 2003 where I headed the Protein Engineering and Design Lab until 2020.

As an entrepreneur scientist, I have founded several companies: PTNG Consulting, specialising in providing solutions in structural biology, protein engineering and design, and computational biology; Biovidera, a molecular visualisation and animation company; stealth mode biotech (cell & gene therapy).

As the VP of Protein Engineering and Structural Biology at Replay, a Genomic Medicine/SynBio Biotech based in San Diego, I played a leading role in the company inception in 2021, raising $1.5M non-dilutive funding with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to establish a discovery platform for a universal, renewable, off-the-shelf, hypoimmunogenic iPSC-derived cell source for regenerative medicine and cell therapy. Building and leading a team of protein engineers and cellular immunologists, I played a leading role in the vision and strategy that culminated in a $55M seed round in 2022.