Rate My Professor Mark Connor

Professor Mark Connor is Professor of Pharmacology and Associate Dean, Higher Degree Research, Macquarie Medical School at Macquarie University. He earned his PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Washington in 1992 for his thesis titled 'Identification of endogenous ligands for the haloperidol-sensitive sigma receptor in rat brain' and his BSc (Hons) in Pharmacology and Genetics from the University of Sydney in 1988 for 'An investigation of the neurotoxicity of textilotoxin and its subunits'. His career includes serving as Group Leader at the Pain Management Research Institute, Royal North Shore Hospital from 2003 to 2009, a position at the University of Sydney Brain and Mind Research Institute from 2008 to 2009, and roles in the Australian School of Advanced Medicine at Macquarie University since 2009. He is also Chief Investigator in the ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Facilitated Advancement of Australia's Bioactives (FAAB).

A pharmacologist specializing in psychoactive drugs, Professor Connor's laboratory studies how cannabinoids, opioids, and psychedelics interact with G protein-coupled receptors and ion channels. His current research examines the pharmacology and toxicity of synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists such as Spice and K2, molecular mechanisms underlying the therapeutic actions of phytocannabinoids, pharmacology of novel psychedelics, and interactions of clinically used opioids with naturally occurring variants of opioid receptors. He has authored 145 research outputs, including 112 articles and 19 review articles. Key publications include 'Single nucleotide polymorphisms in the cannabinoid CB2 receptor: molecular pharmacology and disease associations' (British Journal of Pharmacology, 2024), 'Uncovering the antifungal potential of Cannabidiol and Cannabidivarin' (PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 2025), 'Activation of CB2 receptors by (−)-Cannabichromene but not (+)-Cannabichromene' (Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, 2025), and 'Polyunsaturated fatty acids and their endocannabinoid-related metabolites activity at human TRPV1 and TRPA1 ion channels expressed in HEK-293 cells' (PeerJ, 2025). His work has received over 11,650 citations on Google Scholar and an h-index of 48 on Scopus with 8,249 citations. In 2019, he was named one of the world's most highly cited researchers in Pharmacology and Toxicology. Professor Connor has chaired the Macquarie University Animal Ethics Committee and serves as a Research Integrity Advisor.