Rate My Professor Mikey Whittaker

Dr. Mikey Whittaker is a Senior Research Fellow in the Drug Delivery, Disposition and Dynamics group at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University. He earned his PhD in polymer chemistry from the University of Queensland in 2000 for work investigating molecular dynamics and diffusion within hydrogel polymer networks using advanced solid-state NMR techniques. In 2001, he joined Bio-Layer Pty Ltd as Senior Research Scientist, developing methods for modification, synthesis, and self-assembly of polymer interfaces to orientate antibodies, while holding an adjunct lecturer position at the University of New South Wales. From 2004, he was a Research Fellow at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology at the University of Queensland. Between 2008 and May 2013, he served as Research Manager and Senior Research Fellow at the Centre of Advanced Macromolecular Design and Australian Centre for Nanomedicine at the University of New South Wales. He is also a visiting academic at the University of Warwick in the UK and a visiting Professor with Prof. Laurent Fontaine's group at the University du Maine in France. He founded and chairs the PolymerVic symposium series.

Dr. Whittaker specializes in advanced polymerisation techniques and the synthesis, modification, and characterisation of functional soft and hard matter to form smart polymer materials and hybrid organic/inorganic nanoparticles. His research applies these to precision nanomedicines for therapeutic drug, DNA, RNA delivery, and clinical imaging, as well as bio-coatings and environmental remediation. Key interests include nanoparticle toxicology, hybrid nanomaterial synthesis, theranostic nanomedicine, and soil/water remediation. Awards include the Australian/Shell Innovation Challenge and Australian Mining Awards in 2011, and UniQuest Trailblazer Finalist in 2006 and 2008. Notable publications are 'Cholesterol-terminated cationic lipidated oligomers (CLOs) as a new class of antifungals' (2025), 'Cyclic and linear cationic polymers based on metathesis polymerization for antibacterial and antifungal applications' (2025), 'Functionalisation of brush polyethylene glycol polymers with specific lipids extends their elimination half-life through association with natural lipid trafficking pathways' (2024), and 'The Influence of Cell Isolation and Culturing on Natriuretic Peptide Receptors in Aortic Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells' (2025). Current projects address neuroinflammation after stroke, ischaemic stroke nanomedicine, pH-responsive nanoparticles, lipid transport pathways, and antibacterial material design. He has organised conferences like the International Nanomedicine Conference 2018 and served as an invited speaker at events including the International Symposium on Polymer Therapeutics 2018.