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Mark Blaskovich

Senior Research Officer, The University of Queensland
Mark tweets at @Mark_Blaskovich

Dr. Mark Blaskovich is a Senior Research Officer at the University of Queensland.

He has extensive medicinal chemistry expertise resulting from more than 16 years of industrial drug development experience.

As Chief Operating Officer at Mimetica (Australia), he managed the drug discovery and development program for melanocortin-5 receptor antagonists, leading to a compound currently in Phase II human trials.

In his role at CEPTYR (Seattle) he led a multidisciplinary team that developed a preclinical candidate that inhibited protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B for the treatment of diabetes, while at Molecumetics (Seattle) he headed a $2m/yr industrial collaboration on peptidomimetic compounds targeting proteases and GPCRs.

Mark is currently project leader for a Wellcome Trust and NHMRC-funded program that is developing new antibiotics to treat drug resistant pathogens.

He has published more than 30 articles and patents, and is author of 'The Handbook on Syntheses of Amino Acids'.

How do bacteria actually become resistant to antibiotics?

Nov 08, 2023 12:01 pm UTC| Science

Antimicrobial resistance is one of the biggest global threats to health, food security and development. This month, The Conversations experts explore how we got here and the potential solutions. What doesnt kill me...

When an artist looks at a chemical element, what do they see?

Jul 18, 2019 07:19 am UTC| Insights & Views Entertainment

Artistic depictions of several chemical elements feature in a new exhibition from today as part of Australias celebrations for the International Year of the Periodic Table. They are the work of artists Damon Kowarsky...

From peaceful coexistence to potential peril: the bacteria that live in and on us

Oct 20, 2018 06:04 am UTC| Insights & Views Health

Bacteria are everywhere, including in and on our bodies. There are estimated to be as many bacteria in a human body as there are human cells. Much like Pig Pen in the comic strip Peanuts, we actually carry around a...

Economy

Trump Pushes China Market Access During High-Stakes Xi Summit

U.S. President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that his top priority during his state visit to China will be urging President Xi Jinping to open the Chinese market further to Western companies. Speaking aboard Air Force...

Asian Currencies Hold Steady as Strong U.S. Inflation Data Boosts Dollar

Asian currencies traded mostly flat on Wednesday after posting strong gains in the previous session, as higher-than-expected U.S. inflation data strengthened the U.S. dollar and pushed Treasury yields higher. Investors...

Asian Stocks Steady as Iran War Concerns Persist Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit

Asian stock markets traded in a narrow range on Wednesday as investors remained cautious over the ongoing Iran conflict and its potential impact on global inflation. Market sentiment also stayed focused on the upcoming...

Australia Housing Tax Reform Sparks Debate Over Property Investor Tax Breaks

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has triggered a major political and economic debate after announcing plans to scale back tax breaks for property investors, a move welcomed by many aspiring homebuyers but...

New Zealand Budget 2026 Focuses on Fiscal Discipline and Infrastructure Investment

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced that the government will maintain strict control over day-to-day spending in Budget 2026 while significantly increasing capital investment to strengthen the countrys...

Politics

Trump Administration Appoints David Venturella as Acting ICE Director Amid Immigration Crackdown

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official David Venturella will become the agencys new acting director following the departure of Todd Lyons at the...

Bahamas Election 2026: Prime Minister Philip Davis Secures Historic Second Term

Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis and the ruling Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) secured a decisive victory in the 2026 Bahamas general election, marking the first time in nearly three decades that a Bahamian leader has...

Tennessee Republicans Remove Democrats From Committees After Redistricting Protest

Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton removed Democratic lawmakers from all committee and subcommittee assignments following protests over the states controversial congressional redistricting plan. The disciplinary action...

Russia Resumes Heavy Drone Attacks on Ukraine After Ceasefire Ends

Russian forces launched a new wave of attacks across Ukraines Dnipropetrovsk region on Tuesday, killing at least six people and injuring several others shortly after a temporary U.S.-mediated ceasefire expired. Ukrainian...

US-China Trade Talks Begin in South Korea Ahead of Trump-Xi Beijing Summit

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent arrived in South Korea on Wednesday for high-level trade discussions with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng ahead of the much-anticipated summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and...

Science

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

NASA Artemis II: First Crewed Moon Mission Since Apollo Takes Four Astronauts on 10-Day Lunar Journey

NASAs Artemis II mission launched Wednesday, marking humanitys return to crewed lunar exploration for the first time since the Apollo era. Carrying four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft, this historic 10-day mission...

NASA's Artemis II Mission: First Crewed Lunar Journey Since Apollo

NASA's Artemis II Crew Arrives in Florida for Historic Moon Mission

The four astronauts chosen for NASAs Artemis II mission have touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the beginning of final launch preparations for the first crewed lunar journey in over 50 years. NASA...

Technology

Japan’s Top Banks to Gain Access to Anthropic’s Claude Mythos AI Model

Japans three largest banking institutions are expected to receive access to Claude Mythos, the advanced artificial intelligence model created by U.S.-based AI startup Anthropic, according to a report published by Nikkei on...

Samsung Shares Slide as Wage Talks Collapse, Raising Strike Fears

Samsung Electronics shares fell sharply on Wednesday after negotiations between the company and its largest labour union failed to produce a wage agreement, increasing concerns over a possible large-scale strike that could...

Arteris Stock Surges After Strong Q1 Earnings Beat and Higher 2026 Outlook

Arteris Inc. (NASDAQ: AIP) shares surged in after-hours trading on Tuesday after the semiconductor software company reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter 2026 earnings and raised its full-year revenue forecast. The...

Anthropic Eyes $300M Stainless Acquisition Amid Enterprise AI Expansion

Anthropic is reportedly in advanced discussions to acquire developer tools startup Stainless in a deal valued at more than $300 million, according to a report from The Information. The potential acquisition highlights the...

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to Join Trump’s China Visit Amid AI Chip Tensions

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is expected to join a group of top American business leaders accompanying U.S. President Donald Trump during his upcoming visit to China, according to two Reuters sources familiar with the matter....