Rate My Professor Jennifer Baker

Dr Jennifer Baker is an Honorary Associate Lecturer in the School of Science (Chemistry) within the College of Engineering, Science and Environment at the University of Newcastle, Australia. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry in 2014, followed by a Bachelor of Science with Honours Class I in 2016, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Medicinal Chemistry in 2020, all from the University of Newcastle, under the supervision of Prof. Adam McCluskey and Dr. Jennette Sakoff. Upon completing her PhD, she began working as a postdoctoral researcher, focusing on the development of small molecules targeting anti-cancer pathways. Her career includes teaching roles such as lecturing first-year introductory chemistry courses CHEM1010 and CHEM1120, third-year Medicinal and Biological Chemistry (CHEM3550), and course coordination in the university's enabling programs. She has also contributed to outreach initiatives, including Experiment Fest and ASSETS events co-hosted by CSIRO for high school students.

Dr Baker's research specializations encompass medicinal chemistry, computational biological chemistry, drug design, molecular modelling, and organic chemistry. Her primary interests involve in silico modelling for anti-cancer drug design, flow chemistry for synthesis and scale-up of biologically active molecules, and targeting proteins such as histone demethylase KDM4 and the Arylhydrocarbon Receptor linked to breast cancer. Key publications include 'Next-generation of BBQ analogues that selectively target breast cancer' in Frontiers in Chemistry (2024), 'An Expedient Flow Chemistry Approach to Substituted 1,4-Dimethylcarbazoles' in ChemistrySelect (2025), and contributions to Nature Communications on histone methyltransferase PRDM9 in glioblastoma (2025). Other notable works feature chapters on 1,3-Thiazines (2022) and flow hydrogenation in medicinal chemistry (2017), alongside journal articles in RSC Medicinal Chemistry and European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. She received the Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2024. Her work has appeared in high-impact journals, contributing to advancements in chemical biology probes and cancer therapeutics.