Professor Emily Parker received her PhD in Biological Chemistry at University of Cambridge in 1996, and joined the Ferrier Research Institute in June 2017 to lead the Synthetic and Chemical Biology Research Team. Emily is a Principal Investigator of the Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery which harnesses and links New Zealand’s outstanding expertise in biomedical research to develop cutting-edge drugs and vaccines, tools for early diagnosis and prevention, and new models of disease.

The research team focuses on understanding and utlising the complex chemistry catalysed by enzymes. This multidisciplinary work usings molecular and structural biology techniques, compuational design and analytical chemistry to aid the development of new treatments for diseases and using the natural biosynthetic machinery for the efficient generation of valuable products. Her team has also studied the molecular details of communication networks in proteins. In 2024 she co-founded start-up company Bontia Bio.

Her current projects include developing new, more potent inhibitors that have potential as anti-tuberculosis drug, and new treatments for meningitis.

Emily also teaches at a number of undergraduate courses within Victoria’s School of Chemical and Physical Sciences. In 2010 she won an Ako Aotearoa teaching award for ‘Sustained Excellence’.