Adam McCluskey studied chemistry, BSc(Hons) and PhD, at the University of Strathclyde, Scotland. After completing a PhD in matrix isolation photochemistry in 1988 he took up a postdoctoral position with Professor Curt Wentrup (Queensland) and later joined Professor Rona Quinn's medicinal chemistry team. In 1995 he moved to the University of Newcastle where is is now Professor and Director of the Centre for Chemical Biology and co-director of the Australian Cancer Research Foundation Centre for Kinomics. His current focus understanding the basic mechanisms of clathrin mediated endocytosis and its role in human diseases such as cancer, epilepsy, anti-viral agents and kidney disease.