Scientia Professor Justin Gooding
B.Sc. (Hons) UniMelb, D.Phil (Oxon)
Scientia Professor Justin Gooding is currently an NHMRC Leadership Fellow and a co-director of the Australian Centre for NanoMedicine. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering and the International Society of Electrochemistry. He is the inaugural editor-in-chief of the journal ACS Sensors.
He graduated with a B.Sc. (Hons) from Melbourne University before spending two years working for ICI Research. He then returned to University obtaining a D.Phil. from the University of Oxford and received post-doctoral training at the Institute of Biotechnology in Cambridge University. He returned to Australia in 1997 as a Vice-Chancellor’s Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) before commencing a lectureship at Flinders University in 1998 and then UNSW in 1999. He was promoted to full professor in 2006 and in 2011 he was promoted to Scientia Professor, the highest award for research performance given by UNSW.
He has published over 550 research papers including Nature Nanotechnology, Nature Biotechnology, Nature Photonics, Nature Immunology, Nature Communications and Science Advances. He has also authored 19 patents and one text book. His papers have been cited more than 35000 times and his H-index (Scopus) is 93. He has won numerous awards including three Eureka Prizes in Scientific Research, Mentoring of Young Researchers and Innovative Use of Technology, The David Craig Medal from the Australian Academy of Science, the Faraday Medal of the Royal Society of Chemistry, twice won the Elsevier Biosensors and Bioelectronics Award, the Katsumi Niki Prize in Bioelectrochemistry and the Heyrovsky Prize for Molecular Electrochemistry, both from the International Society of Electrochemistry. He has been part of the commercialization teams for a glucose biosensor that is sold worldwide and an Australian based 3D bioprinting company. He leads a research team of over 30 researchers interested in surface modification and nanotechnology for biosensors, biomaterials, electron transfer and medical applications.
- Publications
- Media
- Grants
- Awards
- Research Activities
- Engagement
- Teaching and Supervision
Year |
AUD |
Grant |
2025-2029 |
3,749,892 |
ARC Industry Laureate Fellowship, IL240100091, A biosensing technology for continuous monitoring of many different species, Gooding |
2023-2028 |
5,000,000 |
NHMRC Synergy Grant, GNT2019056, Advancing the treatment of brain cancer in children, Kavallaris, Ziegler, Gooding, McCarroll, Davis, Qiao, Thuretch, Moles, Khan |
2023 |
1,009,078 |
ARC LIEF LE230100157 Poole, Whan, Gooding, Kilian, Ananthanarayanan, Weiss, Braet, Mueller, Lee, Swaminatha-Iyer, Bioprinting and advanced visualisation of novel 3D model systems. |
2022-2025 |
499,000 |
ARC Linkage Grant, LP170100623, Bioinks that Advance 3D bioprinting of cells to the 4th dimension, Gooding, Kilian, Ribeiro, Engel, Utama |
2022-2024 |
432,386 |
ARC Discovery Grant, DP220103024, How electric fields can facilitate reversible protein binding to surfaces, Gooding, Gaus |
2022-2024 |
447,650 |
Cancer Council New South Wales, Development of biosensors for the non-invasive and ultrasensitive detection of leukaemia in liquid biopsies, Lock, Gooding, Bayat, Sutton, Trahair |
2022-2023 |
260,000 |
Anthony Rothe Memorial Trust, Biosensors for the sensitive detection of leukemia in liquid biopsies, Gooding, Bayat |
2022-2026 |
5,000,000 |
ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hub, IH210100040, ARC Research Hub For Connected Sensors For Health, Wang, Lovell, Gooding, Bhaskaran, Delbaere, Cheng, Gu, Xi, Minichiello, Wu, Chu, Celler, Sriram, Wu. Li. Kou, Peng, Zhang, Bilson, Stevens, Wright, Egglestone, Liu, Mao, Argha, Raad, Han, Brodie, Mawad, Neff, Lord, Yeoh, Carroll, Parameswaran, Hill |
2022-2026 |
937,500 |
UNSW Contribution, ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hub, IH210100040, ARC Research Hub For Connected Sensors For Health, Wang, Lovell, Gooding, Bhaskaran, Delbaere, Cheng, Gu, Xi, Minichiello, Wu, Chu, Celler, Sriram, Wu. Li. Kou, Peng, Zhang, Bilson, Stevens, Wright, Egglestone, Liu, Mao, Argha, Raad, Han, Brodie, Mawad, Neff, Lord, Yeoh, Carroll, Parameswaran, Hill |
2022-2025 |
3,975,864 |
ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Next-Gen Technologies in Biomedical Analysis, IC200100070, Iyer, Tilley, Voelcker, Geddes, Gooding, Gaus, Smith, Juiang, Stubbs, Chua, Bond, Elnathan, Gu |
2022-2025 |
1,076,000 |
Industry Contribution, ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Next-Gen Technologies in Biomedical Analysis, IC200100070, Iyer, Tilley, Voelcker, Geddes, Gooding, Gaus, Smith, Juiang, Stubbs, Chua, Bond, Elnathan, Gu |
2021-2023 |
390,000 |
ARC Discovery Grant, DP210102698, Understanding how nanoconfinement can enhance electrochemical reactions, Gooding, Ho |
2021-2025 |
3,764,215 |
NHMRC Investigator Grant, APP1196648, An in vitro pipeline for liquid biopsy biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and therapy |
2024-2029: Winner, ARC Industry Laureate Fellowship.
2024: Winner, David Craig Medal and Lecture.
2023: Winner, Elsevier Biosensors and Bioelectronics Prize for the most original contribution at the World Biosensor Congress.
2022: Winner Research Australia’s Health and Medical Research Awards, Frontier Research Award
2021-2025 Recipient of a Level 3 NHMRC Investigator award
2021: Winner, Australia Museum ANSTO Eureka Prize for Innovative Use of Technology
2021: Special Commendation, Australian Council for Graduate Research Award for Excellence in Promoting Industry Engagement in Graduate Research
2021: Winner, The Royal Australian Chemical Institute 2021, Applied Research Medal
2021: Winner, Vice Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Promoting Industry Engagement in Higher Degree Research from the University of New South Wales.
2021: Runner-up Elsevier Biosensors and Bioelectronics Award for the best paper at the World Biosensor Congress.
2020: Winner, Jaroslav Heyrovsky Prize for Molecular Electrochemistry from the International Society of Electrochemistry
2018: Elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering
2018: Finalist, Australia Museum Eureka Prize for Innovative Use of Technology
2018: Winner, ACS Publications Editors-in-Chief Awards: Author’s Best Friend award
2017: Winner, UNSW Innovation Enterprise Award for Engagement.
2017: Winner, Bertram Dillon Steel Lectureship from University of Queensland School of Chemistry.
2017: Winner, Australia Museum Eureka Prize for Outstanding Mentor of Young Researchers
2017: Finalist, Australia Museum Eureka Prize for Innovative Use of Technology
2017: Winner, Katsumi Niki Prize in Bioelectrochemistry from the International Society of Electrochemistry
2017: Special Commendation, Australian Council for Graduate Research Award for Excellence in Promoting Industry Engagement in Graduate Research
2016: Winner, Elsevier Biosensors and Bioelectronics Award for the best paper at the World Biosensor Congress.
2016: Winner, Archibald Liversidge Medal for Chemistry from the Royal Society of New South Wales
2016: Winner, Walter Burfitt Prize for Science from the Royal Society of New South Wales
2016: Elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science
2016: Elected Fellow of the International Society of Electrochemistry
2016: Faraday Medal of the Royal Society of Chemistry Electrochemistry Division.
2015-2020: Awarded ARC Australian Laureate Fellowship
2015: Listed in The Analytical Scientist magazine as one of the top 100 most influential analytical scientists worldwide for 2015.
2014: Finalist, 2014 Australia Museum Eureka Prize for Interdisciplinary Science
2014: Listed in ISI Highly Cited Researcher list for 2014
2014: Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales
2013: Winner, 2013 NSW Science and Engineering Award for Emerging Research
2013: Finalist, 2013 Australia Museum Eureka Prize for Interdisciplinary Science
2013: Listed in The Analytical Scientist magazine as one of the top 100 most influential analytical scientists worldwide for 2013
2013: Conferred the title of Guest Professor, Qingdao University, China
2012: Elected Fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute
2012: Recipient, The Royal Society of Chemistry, Australasian Lecturer for 2012
2012: Winner, The Royal Australian Chemical Institute 2012, R.H. Stokes Medal for Electrochemistry
2011: Winner, The Royal Australian Chemical Institute 2011, H.G. Smith Medal for Chemistry
2011: Finalist, 2011 Australia Museum Eureka Prize for Interdisciplinary Science
2010: Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry
2010-2014: Awarded ARC Australian Professorial Fellowship
2009-2013: Awarded ARC Future Fellowship (Level E) (not accepted)
2009: Winner, 2009 Australia Museum Eureka Prize for Scientific Research
2008: Winner, Vice-Chancellors Award for Teaching Excellence for Postgraduate Research Supervision
2008: Visiting Professor, University Kenbangssaan Malaysia
2007: Winner, The Royal Australian Chemical Institute 2007 Lloyd Smythe Medal for Analytical Chemistry
2007: Named as Distinguished Erskine Fellow, University of Canterbury, New Zealand
2005: Recipient, Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship
2004: Winner, NSW Young Tall Poppy Science Award
2004: Winner, Award for Best Oral Presentation on Chemical Sensors E. Chow, D.B. Hibbert, J.J. Gooding, Development of Peptide-Modified Electrochemical Sensors for the Detection of Heavy Metal Ions, Eurosensors XVIII, Rome, Italy, September 13-15 (2004).
1998: Winner, Research Medal of the Worshipful Company of Dyers for years best research paper relating to dyeing.
1997-1998: Recipient, Vice-Chancellors Post-doctoral Research Fellow, The University of New South Wales.
Professor Gooding's approach to research is to identify systems where highly controlled molecular modification of surfaces can provide new knowledge and new, better performing, devices. This quest has led to significant contributions and conceptual advances in (a) biosensing research including concepts now incorporated into commercial biosensors, (b) understanding electron transfer near surfaces, (c) the interactions of cells with man-made materials and how to control those interactions, and more recently to (d) cell based sensing devices that can not only provide cell-chips that can monitor the effect of drugs or toxins but provide fundamental knowledge on the heterogeneity between individual cells.
Professor Gooding’s research has also led to successful startup companies that have had considerable economic success. These include:
AgaMatrix Inc. The glucose biosensing company AgaMatrix Inc. with the first experiments performed in Prof Gooding’s lab at UNSW in 2001 was founded by his first PhD student Dr Sridhar Iyengar. The company remained embedded in his laboratory for over a year and worked with UNSW for the next 15 years. AgaMatrix has commercialized several generations of glucose biosensors including the first glucose meter that integrated with an iPhone and was the first biomedical device sold in Apple stores. AgaMatrix has since grown into a global biotech company with >$200M in annual turnover. They sell over a million glucose biosensors every month.
Inventia Life Sciences (ILS). ILS produce a 3D bioprinter that won the entire Australian Good Design Awards and was recognized with a Fast Company award – the world's leading progressive business media brand –as one of 26 ideas in their ‘World Changing Awards 2020’. The ILS bioprinter was developed in close collaboration with the Australian Centre for NanoMedicine through the Gooding group with ILS engineers embedded in the Gooding Group working with chemists and cell biologists. The Gooding group developed the bioinks and conducted the cell biology whilst the ILS engineering team designed the printer. This printer is expected to revolutionise 3D cell cultures and provides unprecedented control over the types, number and placement of cells. For example, the printer can produce 96 matrix-embedded cancer spheroids in 80 minutes in a highly reproducible fashion.
ILS has now sold the over 50 printers.
Nutromics. Nutromics are developing a wearable biosensor that monitors biomarkers directly in interstitial fluid. The Melbourne based company again work closely with the Gooding laboratory that helps in guiding the sensing strategy of the company as well as developing many of the sensors. Still in their technology development phase, Nutromics are following the same successful model as Agamatrix and ILS in working intimately with the Gooding lab. Nutromics are currently doing the first on human trials of the technology for therapeutic drug monitoring.
My Research Supervision
Our team of 3 academics, seven post-doctoral fellows and a laboratory manager are currently supervising 25 PhD students and 4 honours students