Rate My Professor luke smithers

Dr. Luke Smithers is a Lecturer and teaching-intensive academic in the School of Molecular Sciences at the University of Western Australia. He coordinates the Master of Biotechnology (Molecular Science Specialisations). Smithers obtained his PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from UWA in 2020, focusing on the structural and biophysical characterisation of the Neisserial capsular polysaccharide export complex. He also holds a BSc (Hons) in the same discipline from UWA, awarded in 2016. Following his doctorate, he held a Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship at Trinity College Dublin from 2020 to 2022 and served as a postdoctoral researcher at UWA. His research specializations encompass structural biology, protein chemistry, biophysics, enzymology, and membrane proteins, with particular emphasis on membrane protein targets, cell-derived vesicles for biomolecule delivery, gene cluster expression, in meso crystallization, and SAM domain structures.

Smithers has been honored with the Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship (2021), Lugg Travel Award (2018), Australian Postgraduate Award (2016), and Helen Hosking Summer Research Scholarship (2015). Notable publications include: "A New Era for PPARγ: Covalent Ligands and Therapeutic Applications" (Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 2025, with J.L. King et al.); "Heterologous expression of an in planta-upregulated gene cluster in the wheat pathogen Parastagonospora nodorum establishes the biosynthesis of methylene-bridged depsides" (Chemical Science, 2025, with H. Nguyen et al.); "Structural analysis of the SAM domain of the Arabidopsis mitochondrial tRNA import receptor" (The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2024, with B. Olasz et al.); "7.10 MAG. A Novel Host Monoacylglyceride for In Meso Crystallization of Membrane Proteins" (Crystal Growth & Design, 2024, with P. Krawinski et al.); and "Preparation of cell-derived vesicles from eukaryotic and prokaryotic origins for the delivery of biomolecules" (Artificial Cells, Nanomedicine and Biotechnology, 2026, with J. Atienza-Garriga et al.). Additionally, he leads projects for advanced laboratory equipment and actively participates in conferences like the Lorne Conference on Protein Structure and Function (2017, 2018) and INSTRUCT workshops.