Rate My Professor Nick Magon

Dr. Nick Magon is a Research Fellow at Mātai Hāora – Centre for Redox Biology and Medicine, Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Otago, Christchurch. He earned a BSc (Hons) from the University of Canterbury and a PhD from the University of Otago, where his doctoral thesis, supervised by Professors Mark Hampton, Tony Kettle, and Richard Gearry, examined inflammatory biomarkers produced from neutrophil activation using protein purification and mass spectrometry techniques. Following his PhD, Dr. Magon completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Pathology and Immunology at the University of Geneva, focusing on the molecular mechanisms of red blood cell ageing during cold storage through flow cytometry analysis. In his current position, he applies mass spectrometry expertise to characterize oxidative modifications to the neutrophil protein calprotectin as potential inflammation biomarkers, identifies proteins oxidatively modified during early necroptosis, and maintains and develops a commercial ELISA kit for oxidative biomarkers.

Dr. Magon's research centers on redox biology, particularly oxidative protein modifications in inflammation and related processes. His publications appear in leading journals such as Journal of Biological Chemistry, Free Radical Biology and Medicine, and Redox Biology. Notable works include '2-thioxanthines are mechanism-based inactivators of myeloperoxidase that block oxidative stress during inflammation' (2011, Journal of Biological Chemistry), 'Neutrophil-vascular interactions drive myeloperoxidase accumulation in the brain in Alzheimer’s disease' (2022, Acta Neuropathologica Communications), 'Oxidation of calprotectin by hypochlorous acid prevents chelation of essential metal ions and allows bacterial growth: relevance to infections in cystic fibrosis' (2015, Free Radical Biology and Medicine), and 'Cross-linking between cysteine and lysine, tryptophan or tyrosine in peptides and proteins treated with hypochlorous acid and other reactive halogens' (2023, Redox Biochemistry and Chemistry). In 2024, he received the Paper of the Year award from Redox Biochemistry and Chemistry at the Society for Redox Biology and Medicine’s annual conference for the latter paper. His contributions advance understanding of oxidative stress mechanisms in disease, supporting biomarker development and therapeutic strategies in inflammatory conditions.