Rate My Professor Adam McCluskey

Professor Adam McCluskey is a teaching and research active Professor in the School of Science (Chemistry) at the University of Newcastle, Australia. He earned his BSc (Hons) and PhD in chemistry from the University of Strathclyde, Scotland. His career trajectory at the University of Newcastle encompasses serving as Associate Professor in Chemistry from December 1995 and Professor in the School of Environmental and Life Sciences since January 2010. He also holds the position of Honorary Scientist in Chemical Biology at The University of Sydney's Children's Medical Research Institute from January 2010. In recognition of his educational contributions, McCluskey was awarded the Vice Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence in Science and Information Technology in 2005.

McCluskey's research expertise lies in medicinal chemistry and chemical biology, with a primary emphasis on developing tool compounds and therapeutic drugs that target endocytosis. As team leader of the dynamin modulators platform, he provides endocytosis inhibitors to research collaborations worldwide, including teams in the UK, USA, Germany, and Denmark. He spearheaded the establishment of the Centre for Kinomics, a world-first research facility with laboratories at the University of Newcastle and the Children's Medical Research Institute in Westmead, supported by $1 million from the Ramaciotti Foundation and $3.1 million from the Australian Cancer Research Foundation. This centre utilizes Kinobeads technology to expedite kinase-inhibitor profiling, from months to days, facilitating the design of advanced drugs for epilepsy, cancer, and neuropathic pain. His efforts include partnerships with the Hunter Medical Research Institute's Cancer Research Program and involvement in developing new anti-epileptic drugs with the US National Institutes of Health. Fields of research allocation: organic chemical synthesis (25%), protein trafficking (20%), biologically active molecules (55%). Key publications include 'Building a Better Dynasore: The Dyngo Compounds Potently Inhibit Dynamin and Endocytosis' (Traffic, 2013), 'Synthesis of the Pitstop family of clathrin inhibitors' (Nature Protocols, 2014), 'Chalcones: Potential Anticancer Agents' (2021), 'Next-generation of BBQ analogues that selectively target breast cancer' (Frontiers in Chemistry, 2024), and 'Amino alcohol acrylonitriles as broad spectrum and tumour selective cytotoxic agents' (RSC Medicinal Chemistry, 2021).