Aaron Oakley

Aaron Oakley is an Associate Professor in the School of Chemistry and Molecular Bioscience at the University of Wollongong. He holds a BSc (Hons) from the University of Tasmania (1994) and a PhD from the University of Melbourne (1997). His research focuses on structural biology, particularly bacterial DNA replication proteins, glutathione transferases, and their roles in antibacterial mechanisms. He also explores educational strategies in structural biology for visually-impaired students and chemical education innovations.

Dr. Oakley’s work spans structural analysis of proteins like sliding clamps, primosomes, and GST enzymes, with a focus on their functional dynamics. Key grants include studies on DNA clamp inhibitors, transcription conflicts, and GSTO1-1 inhibitors for inflammatory diseases. He supervises PhD and Master’s research on topics such as primosome structure and viral DNA recombination mechanisms.

• Education:
  • BSc (Hons), University of Tasmania, 1994
  • PhD, University of Melbourne, 1997
• Grants:
  • In vitro evaluation of bacterial DNA-clamp inhibitor resistance (2022)
  • Structures to Solve Conflicts of DNA Replication and RNA Transcription (2021–2024)
  • Small molecule inhibitors of GSTO1-1 (2019–2021)
• Teaching/Research Interests:
  • Inhibitors of GST omega-1
  • Cryo-EM structural analysis
  • Luciferase chemistry

His lab investigates protein interactions, enzymatic mechanisms, and drug design for antibacterial and anti-inflammatory targets, with a focus on structural biology techniques like cryo-EM and X-ray crystallography.