Rate My Professor Megan Maher

Professor Megan Maher is Professor in Chemical Biology and Deputy Head of School in the School of Chemistry, Faculty of Science at the University of Melbourne, and a researcher at the Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute. She was awarded a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Melbourne in 1998, followed by postdoctoral research at the University of Sydney. From 2008 to 2011, she held the position of Cancer Institute of NSW Senior Research Fellow and Group Leader at the Centenary Institute. In early 2012, she relocated to La Trobe University as Senior Lecturer in the Department of Biochemistry, later advancing to Associate Professor. In 2019, Maher joined the School of Chemistry and Bio21 at the University of Melbourne as part of the Driving Research Momentum strategy and received an ARC Future Fellowship. Her research employs bioinorganic chemistry, biochemistry, biophysics, and structural biology, particularly X-ray crystallography, to elucidate how biological systems acquire, balance, and utilize trace elements such as iron, copper, and zinc. These elements are essential for cellular function, immunity, and medicine but toxic in excess, with dysregulation linked to neurological disorders including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and prion diseases.