Prof. Frances Separovic
Frances Separovic is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, Deputy Director of the Bio21 Institute and former Head of School at the University of Melbourne. Frances was a Visiting Professor at Harvard Medical School, Honorary Fellow of Birkbeck College UCL, and a Senior Member of St Hugh’s College, Oxford. Frances has a BA (Hons) in Math & Physics from Macquarie University and a PhD (Physics) from University of NSW. Her tertiary training in biology, mathematics and physics, provides a strong foundation for research in biophysical chemistry and NMR spectroscopy.
Her primary research interest is determination of the structure & dynamics of membrane components in situ using solid-state NMR spectroscopy. Frances played a key role in determining the molecular structure of the antibiotic gramicidin A and the bee toxin melittin within phospholipid membranes. Using novel solid-state NMR methods Frances was able to determine the structure & dynamics of membrane polypeptides for biomolecular engineering applications.
She is very active in the area of membrane biophysics and structural biology and is Past President of the Biophysical Society, Foreign Secretary of the Australian Academy of Science, former President of Australian & New Zealand Society for Magnetic Resonance (ANZMAG) and the Australian Society for Biophysics (ASB); a committee member of International Society for Magnetic Resonance (ISMAR); and former treasurer of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) and the Lorne Protein Conference.
Frances has organized over 50 major national & international conferences and published over 250 peer reviewed papers. Her contributions to biophysics and NMR have been recognized by award of the 2009 ASB Robertson Medal and 2011 ANZMAG Medal. In 2012 she was elected a Fellow of the Biophysical Society, Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (FAA) and an ISMAR Fellow; in 2017 Frances was named an IUPAC Distinguished Woman of Chemistry/Chemical Engineering and in 2018 inducted in the Victorian Honour Roll of Women; and appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2019.
School of Chemistry Academic Staff list. Contact fs @ unimelb.edu.au
Separovic Career Profile and LinkedIn
Media links and Twitter
The Protein Society newsletter, Under the Microscope Member Spotlight, Nov 2022
Womanthology interview Diversity drives science forward!, Feb 2022
Biophysical Society newsletter, BPS Bulletin Biophysicist in Profile, Feb 2021
New book, ‘Solid-State NMR: Applications in Biomembrane Structure’, Dec 2020
Scientists Without Labels profile, August 2020
Metro Tunnel VIC art work Parkville Storytelling Project, Feb 2020
IUPAC Global Women’s Breakfast 2020 video interview
STEMinists in Antarctica Barrier Daily Truth OpEd, Feb 2020
Frances receives RACI Margaret Sheil Leadership Award
Hello Bio career interview with Frances
Australian Academy of Science career video on Frances
Frances, President-elect of Biophysical Society, BPS election results
Interview on STEM Women database, SBS News link and video
Deputy-director reflects on IUPAC & IYPT Bio21 Digest, Aug 2019
‘When an artist looks at a chemical element, what do they see?’, The Conversation, Jul 2019
Deputy-director on Diversity & Inclusion Bio21 2018 Annual Report
‘Officer of the Order of Australia (AO)’, Queen’s Birthday Honours 2019 and BDT article
‘Alumnae off to Antarctica with women leadership program’, UNSW Newsroom article
‘Peptide antibiotics from frog skin’, ABC Illawarra Drivetime chat, Mar 2019
‘Don’t ask women leaders to act like men’ International Women’s Day 2019, interview
The Year That Made Me: Frances Separovic 1996, ABC Radio National interview, October 2018
The Advocate NTEU interview, Jul 2018
Barrier Daily Truth Broken Hill interview, May 2018
Eavesdrop on Experts podcast: ‘Smashing through science’s glass ceiling’
Women in STEMM Australia STEMM Profile
Induction as a Trailblazer for Women in Science into Victorian Honour Roll of Women; see stories of 2018 Awardees and group photo. Read the ‘Pursuit‘ article
International Women’s Day 2018 Award
Deputy-director on Women of Bio21 Bio21 2017 Annual Report
Frances featured as University of Melbourne scientist on Croatian TV (HTV1)
Women leaders, President of Croatia visits Bio21, Aug 2017
2017 UNSW Alumni Science & Technology Award UNSW celebrates its star graduates
Distinguished Women in Chemistry IUPAC 2017 Award
ANZMAGazine interview, Dec 2016
Celebrating arrival of DNP-NMR
Address at Gender Equity forum
Frances reflects on Head of School interview
Get to know Frances Separovic, new BPS Secretary
New NMR installed: Everyday quantum mechanics & the study of cell membranes
Frances elected Secretary of Biophysical Society
Voice interview, The chemistry of curiosity, May 2014
New book, ‘Advances in Biological Solid-State NMR: Proteins & Membrane-Active Peptides’
Up Close episode 272, interview: Pore me another: Understanding how toxins target & overcome membranes, Oct 2013
Maths of Planet Earth interview See article, May 2013
Frances elected 2012 ISMAR Fellow
Bluestocking Interview in ‘The Advocate‘, Nov 2012
Frances elected to Australian Academy of Science UniNews ARC news
Frogs thwart superbugs in the news: SMH, ABC, UniMelb, The Age
Frances Fellow of Biophysical Society See press release
Celebrating our women in science interview – 2011 ANZMAG Medal
Chemistry in Australia interview: 2009 Robertson Medal
Profiled in Biophysical Society Newsletter, Apr 2009
Interview in ‘Croatian Herald‘, 29 Jan 2007