معرفی
Dr Matthew Baker is a Scientia Associate Professor in the School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). His research focuses on biophysics, bacterial motility, evolution, and synthetic biology, with particular emphasis on understanding the bacterial flagellar motor and force-sensitive proteins. His work bridges physics, biology, and nanotechnology to explore fundamental mechanisms of cellular machinery and their evolutionary trajectories.
- Research Themes: Bacterial flagellar motor mechanics, ion selectivity evolution, DNA-lipid interactions, and mechanosensitive protein function across scales of life.
- Collaborations: Works with Dr Shelley Wickham to probe membrane dynamics using DNA nanotechnology for controlling membrane communication.
- Awards: 2023 Promotion to Associate Professor; 2021-24 International Union of Pure and Applied Biophysics Councillor; 2018 Scientia Research Fellowship; 2016 Google News Lab Fellowship.
- Teaching: Co-convener of BABS3200 synthetic biology course at UNSW. Regular science presenter on ABC Nightlife and Radio New Zealand Saturday Morning.
Grant Funding: Currently funded by Human Frontier Science Program (RGY0072), Australian Research Council (DP190100497, DP210101892), CSIRO Synthetic Biology Platform Project Grant (2018-2021), and Medical Advances Without Animals (2020-2021). His lab group includes 5 PhD students, 4 postdocs, and 2 Hons students working on flagellar dynamics and in vitro lipid/DNA projects.
