Rate My Professor Peter Scammells

Professor Peter Scammells is a Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at Monash University, serving as Medicinal Chemistry Theme Leader at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Associate Dean of Research in the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. He earned his B.Sc. (Hons) from Griffith University in 1986 and his PhD from the same institution in 1991. Scammells has built a distinguished career in drug discovery, leading innovative research programs that have secured external project grant funding exceeding A$20 million.

His research specializations include allosteric modulators and bitopic ligands acting at G protein-coupled receptors, the design and synthesis of cancer therapeutics based on noscapine, new methodologies for the preparation of semi-synthetic opioid pharmaceuticals, the development of M1 and M17 aminopeptidase inhibitors as antimalarial agents, and applications of ionic liquids in pharmaceutical synthesis and drug delivery. Scammells has produced over 220 peer-reviewed research articles, 8 review articles, and 2 book chapters, achieving more than 11,000 citations and an h-index of 56. Key publications encompass 'Ionic liquids: the neglected issues' (2005), 'Chemoproteomics validates selective targeting of Plasmodium M1 alanyl aminopeptidase as an antimalarial strategy' (2024), and 'Structure-based discovery of positive allosteric modulators of the A1 adenosine receptor' (2025). His impactful contributions to medicinal chemistry were recognized with the Adrien Albert Award from the Royal Australian Chemical Institute in 2025 for sustained outstanding research. In 2024, he was appointed to the Australian Research Council College of Experts, where he assists in assessing grant applications and providing strategic advice on emerging disciplines.