Meet the NSW Group Chairs
August 2021
Chair - Bioactive Discovery and Development Group
Jonathan is a medicinal chemist with 15 years of experience in the
pharmaceutical industry. He currently holds the position of Project
Leader/Senior Research Chemist at Pharmaxis Ltd. in Sydney, a company
that specialises in developing new drugs for the treatment of
inflammatory and fibrotic diseases. Within this role, Jonathan’s focus
is on drug discovery; designing, synthesizing and bringing through
preclinical development potential new drug molecules.
Jonathan trained as a synthetic organic chemist at the University of
Edinburgh (MSc) and the University of York (PhD), where he gained
experience of working as a medicinal chemist through placements at both
AstraZeneca (1999/2000) and GlaxoSmithKline (2003). After a postdoctoral
appointment at the Research School of Chemistry at the ANU in 2005,
Jonathan joined Pharmaxis in 2006. In 2009, Jonathan took a twelve month
sabbatical at the University of Toronto working as a postdoctoral
researcher in a biological chemistry group, working on protein
modification methods in the application of synthetic blood.
Jonathan has been a member of the RACI since 2005, and since 2016 has
served on the executive committee of the NSW Bioactive Discovery and
Development Group (BDDG), becoming chair in 2019. The BDDG was
established to promote better interactions between the academic,
government and industrial arms of biotech research in Sydney and the
state of New South Wales, and is a forum for researchers to
address/discuss the current paradigm for collaborations in drug
discovery and development. The group aims to provide regular networking
events for scientists and professionals from academia, industry,
research institutes, government organisations, etc., involved in all
stages of discovery and development of bioactive molecules.
Markus Müllner
Chair - Polymer Group
Markus grew up on a farm in a small village of twelve houses in southern Germany. He studied polymer and colloid chemistry at the University of Bayreuth and received his PhD in polymer chemistry from the Bayreuth Graduate School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences in 2012. After almost 9 years in Bayreuth, Markus joined the University of Melbourne, where he was a McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow from 2013-2015. After three years in Melbourne, Markus moved to Sydney to start the Polymer Nanostructures Group (@PolymerNano on Twitter) at the University of Sydney. He is currently an ARC Future Fellow and Senior Lecturer in the School of Chemistry and an investigator at the University of Sydney Nano Institute.
In addition to chairing the NSW Polymer Group (@PolyNSW on Twitter), Markus contributes to the broader polymer community through the organisation of polymer symposia and summer schools, and as part of the International Advisory Board of leading publications in the field.
Outside of work, Markus enjoys cooking, anything to do with music (especially drums), and a well-scripted TV show (with Arrested Development still the reigning favourite). Before the pandemic, Markus regularly volunteered in the disability sector.
In the NSW Polymer Group, we are constantly looking for new members or anyone with a passion for polymers and education. The entire group meets at least twice a year and holds annual events to meet new members, foster networking, and exchange ideas. Please join us or follow us on Twitter.