Rate My Professor Alan Payne

Dr Alan Payne serves as a Senior Lecturer in the School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, at Curtin University, where he has been employed since 2009. His research specializations encompass synthetic organic chemistry, with a strong emphasis on medicinal chemistry for drug discovery. Payne designs novel compounds targeting infectious diseases, notably Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and paediatric brain tumour cells. He has co-authored impactful papers such as 'Design, synthesis and evaluation of novel indole-2-carboxamides for growth inhibition of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and paediatric brain tumour cells' (2021, RSC Advances), 'Facile synthesis and antimycobacterial activity of isoniazid, pyrazinamide and ciprofloxacin derivatives' (2021, Chemical Biology & Drug Design), 'Direct Inhibition of MmpL3 by Novel Antitubercular Compounds' (2019, ACS Infectious Diseases), and 'Synthesis and evaluation of tetrahydroisoquinoline-tetrazole hybrids as potential antitubercular agents' (2021, European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry). Additionally, his work extends to natural products chemistry, including the isolation and synthesis of compounds from Dodonaea species, exemplified by 'An unusual triterpene fatty acid conjugate from Dodonaea caespitosa' (2025, Australian Journal of Chemistry) and 'Chemistry of Diterpenes from Dodonaea Species' (PhD thesis supervision, Curtin University).

Payne's contributions also include agrochemical innovations, developing non-toxic ethylene inhibitors in collaboration with Professor Zora Singh to extend the shelf life of fruits and vegetables by preventing ripening reactions. This research secured the top prize at the 2017 WA Innovator of the Year Awards. In recognition of his teaching excellence, he received the 2020 Curtin Student Guild Excellence in Teaching and Research Supervisor Award in the Science and Engineering category. Payne has redesigned undergraduate biological chemistry curricula to enhance student engagement and has supervised multiple PhD theses on topics like fungal sterol biosynthesis inhibitors, troponoid natural products, and antiprotozoal agents. His scholarly output exceeds 48 publications with over 800 citations, demonstrating significant influence in organic synthesis, drug development, and interdisciplinary applications in health sciences and agriculture.