Damian Laird

Biography

After undertaking a BSc in Marine Science (Environmental Chemistry) at the University of NSW,Damian Laird moved to Hobart and completed BSc (Honours) year at the University of Tasmania in the field of marine chemical ecology under the tutelage of David Ritz and Adrian Blackman. This was followed by some time away from university working as an analytical chemist, including stints at Rosemount Estate and Coldstream Hills wineries. The lure of research saw him return to academia at The University of Newcastle (the one in Australia not the one in England) from where I received my PhD in Chemistry in 2003 – still marine and natural products related but this time looking at the chemotaxonomy of Australian seaweeds with Ian van Altena. That then led to a two year postdoctoral position in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Utah in the group of Professor Chris Ireland, isolating and characterising compounds from marine invertebrates (mainly sponges) that showed potential application in cancer treatment before he returned to Australia and took up my position at Murdoch.

Research Interest

Isolation and Characterisation of Natural Products, Analysis and Reactivity of Organic Compounds in Industrial Processes, Resource Recovery and Utilisation from Industrial Waste Streams, Production and Functionalisation of Novel Nanoparticle Materials