Professor Frances Separovic AO

Sylvia Urban obtained her Ph.D. in marine natural products chemistry from The University of Melbourne with Professor Robert Capon. She was then appointed as a research fellow with Professor Ronald Quinn in a natural product drug discovery venture between Griffith University and AstraZeneca. A subsequent post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Canterbury (Christchurch, New Zealand) with Professors Murray Munro and John Blunt and PharmaMar followed, focussed on the discovery of anticancer marine natural products. Joining RMIT University in 2002, she is currently an Associate Professor in the School of Science. Her field of research is in bioactive natural product discovery and strategies that expedite their discovery. Sylvia is also the Program Manager of the Bachelor of Science degree at RMIT University and is a passionate chemistry educator. She has received various awards for innovative learning and teaching methodologies to engage her students.