About Professor Frances Separovic
Emeritus Professor Frances Separovic studies disease-related proteins and peptides by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Solid-state NMR techniques allow her to understand the structure of peptides down to atomic detail, which helps reveal how they function.
With antibiotic resistance on the rise, research into the biological mechanisms that are involved in fighting bacteria is in demand.
Recently, Frances has been studying antimicrobial peptides in live bacteria. Such peptides are usually studied in solution, as crystals or in model (artificial) membranes. By enhancing the NMR signal, Frances and co-workers were able to study these peptides in live cells. This method improves the researchers’ understanding of their antimicrobial activity by providing important structural context.
As Margaret Sheil Lecturer, Frances hopes to promote greater recognition of the many contributions made by women to chemistry. Chemistry needs more women, she believes. The only way to retain them is by encouraging a cultural change and not just by instructing women to act more assertively, she says.
Frances was the third woman to be appointed Professor of Chemistry in Australia, and the first in Victoria. She was the first woman elected as Fellow to the Australian Academy of Science as a chemist.
Frances is the Deputy Director of the Bio21 Institute at the University of Melbourne.
She has been a member of the RACI since 1996 and a Fellow since 2017. She has held a number of leadership positions within the Institute, including the office of Honorary General Treasurer (2008-10). She recently served on the Inclusion & Diversity Committee (2016-19).