Ian Van Altena

Dr. Ian Van Altena is an Honorary Lecturer in the School of Medicine and Public Health and a Lecturer in the School of Environmental and Life Sciences at the University of Newcastle. He holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Alberta (Canada) and has extensive postdoctoral and academic experience, including roles at the University of Adelaide and University of British Columbia. His research focuses on natural products chemistry, chemical ecology, and marine algae, with a particular emphasis on bioactive compounds from marine organisms and their applications in cancer research. Dr. Van Altena has supervised over a dozen PhD and Master’s students in areas such as marine natural products, anticancer agents, and phytochemical analysis. He has secured grants totaling AUD $202,778 for research infrastructure and natural product studies. His work bridges chemistry, biology, and environmental science, contributing to drug discovery and sustainable resource utilization.

Education: BSc (James Cook University, 1972), BSc (Hons) under Prof. John Coll (1975), PhD (University of Alberta, 1976). Postdoctoral research at the University of British Columbia (1982–1984) on dinoflagellates. Professional memberships include the Royal Society of Chemistry and American Chemical Society.

Research interests include isolation and characterization of bioactive metabolites from marine and terrestrial organisms, chemical ecology of algae, and development of extraction techniques for phytochemicals. His publications span natural products chemistry, pharmacology, and analytical methods, with a focus on compounds with pharmaceutical potential. Dr. Van Altena collaborates internationally, contributing to projects on pancreatic cancer therapies and traditional medicine analyses.

Grants include AUD $190,000 for high-field NMR facilities (1994) and AUD $4,778 for teaching innovations (1995). His supervision spans marine natural products, anticancer agents, and chemotaxonomy. Notable contributions include studies on Cystophora spp. metabolites and bioactive compounds from Vietnamese medicinal plants.