Rate My Professor Rob Capon

With over 35 years in biodiscovery science, Professor Capon's research centers on natural products chemistry, specializing in the detection, isolation, identification, and evaluation of biologically active small molecules from Australian marine invertebrates, algae, bacteria, and fungi. His multidisciplinary group employs advanced techniques in microbiology, organic chemistry, spectroscopy, and bioassays to characterize thousands of natural products, many rare or new to science. These efforts have yielded preclinical candidates such as wollamides, cyclic peptides active against multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (2014), and biased analgesics targeting the μ-opioid receptor from an Australian fungus (PNAS, 2019). Key publications include 'Extracting value: Mechanistic insights into the formation of natural product artifacts – case studies in marine natural products' (Natural Product Reports, 2020), 'Roseopurpurins: chemical diversity enhanced by convergent biosynthesis and forward and reverse Michael additions' (Organic Letters, 2016), and 'Viridicatumtoxins: Expanding on a Rare Tetracycline Antibiotic Scaffold' (Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2015). His work has attracted over 14,900 citations and supports pharmaceutical and agrochemical development for infectious diseases, cancer, pain, animal health, and crop protection. Professor Capon leads citizen science initiatives including the Cane Toad Challenge, which developed patented pheromonal tadpole trapping technology, and Soils for Science, collecting Queensland soil samples to uncover new antibiotics.