David Wilson

Dr Wilson obtained his undergraduate degree in chemistry and biochemistry from the University of Melbourne, with Honours in physical chemisty. He then completed a PhD at The University of Queensland in 2001 on ‘The identification and characterisation of Australian funnel-web spider venom’. Upon completion of these studies he held a research position at Xenome Ltd, a start-up biopharmaceutical company. This work involved the identification of venom molecules from marine cone snails, spiders and scorpions with potential as therapeutics for the treatment of pain. One outcome from this work was the development of a small cone snail venom molecule to clinical trials for the treatment of acute postoperative pain and chronic pain (e.g. pain associated with cancer). He has since held positions as a postdoctoral researcher investigating the use of spider venom molecules as pesticides, and as a professional officer (administrative and laboratory support) at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland. In 2009 he completed a MBA at the Queensland University of Technology, concentrating on finance entrepreneurship. He has been awarded an ARC Linkage grant and a National Breast Cancer Foundation Novel Concept grant. In January 2012, he accepted a position to manage the Advanced Proteomics and NMR Facility at the Queensland Tropical Health Alliance, James Cook University. His research interests include exploring the potential of venom molecules, particularly spiders, as novel drug leads for the treatment of diseases such as cancer.