Professor Frances Separovic AO

Frances Separovic (Franica Šeparović) was born in 1954 in Blato, Korcula, in the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia, People’s Republic of Croatia. She emigrated to Australia with her family in 1957 and settled in Broken Hill, western New South Wales. Frances excelled in school and was awarded both a Commonwealth and teacher’s scholarship. She began her tertiary studies at the University of Sydney, but then left to work at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), where she began her career in science. At the CSIRO, she began working as a technical assistant in a microbiology laboratory (1972–78). Frances had an incredible capacity with mathematics and so she was recommended to join a section of the department involved in modelling lipid membranes. It was whilst working on this project that Frances first encountered a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometer. At that time (the 1970s), NMR spectroscopy was a new technique, giving her the opportunity to be at the cutting edge of new frontiers in science. NMR spectroscopy went on to play a major role in her research. It was while Frances was at the CSIRO that she made her first contribution to a scientific paper.

In 1978, Frances completed a technical certificate in biology at Sydney Technical College and continued to work at the CSIRO as a technical officer while studying part-time for a bachelor of arts degree at Macquarie University, with majors in mathematics and physics. She completed her undergraduate degree in 1984, at which time she became an experimental scientist at CSIRO. In 1986, she finished an honours qualification in physics (also at Macquarie University). Between 1986 and 1992, in addition to being a single parent and working full-time at the CSIRO, she completed a Ph.D. (part-time) in physics at the University of New South Wales. Following a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, USA), Frances returned briefly to CSIRO before moving to the University of Melbourne as an Associate Professor and Reader in 1996.

Frances went on to forge her academic career at the University of Melbourne (1996–2019) as a biophysical chemist, with expertise in solid-state NMR and membrane physics, and she taught physical chemistry and graduate students in her field. Her research publications are devoted to understanding the membrane structure and mechanism of membrane-active peptides and proteins, with a focus on antimicrobial peptides, amyloid peptides, membrane proteins, and pore-forming toxins. To this end, she has studied lipid–peptide interactions using a range of biophysical techniques, but primarily using solid-state NMR spectroscopy. Frances is credited with developing a technique that utilises NMR spectroscopy to study peptides in aligned lipid bilayers, which has applications in the study of the structure of membrane proteins and their effects on the membrane. Her more recent research is centred on the structure and interactions of amyloid peptides from Alzheimer’s disease, pore-forming toxins, and antibiotic peptides in model biological membranes.

Frances has organised over 45 major national and international conferences and published more than 230 peer reviewed papers (H index of 54, >9900 citations). Her expertise in NMR spectroscopy has contributed to the success of several major infrastructure grants for the Bio21 NMR Facility at the University of Melbourne, which includes nine spectrometers ranging from 400 to 800 MHz.

During her time at the University of Melbourne, Frances went on to become Professor of Chemistry, Deputy Director of the Bio21 Institute and Head of the School of Chemistry (2010–2015). In 2019, Frances retired and is currently Professor Emeritus of Chemistry.

Frances has received numerous awards and accolades in her academic career, a testament to her being a science leader. In 2005, Frances became the first woman to be appointed to a professorship in chemistry in Victoria and she was the third female professor in chemistry in Australia. She served as President of the Australian and New Zealand Magnetic Society for Resonance (ANZMAG), Treasurer of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, President of the Australian Society for Biophysics, Secretary of Biophysical Society (USA) and chaired the board of the Centre for Chemistry and Biotechnology at Deakin University. She has been on the editorial board of Biochimica et Biophysica Acta and an editor of European Biophysics Journal and a member of the editorial advisory board of Accounts of Chemical Research and Chemical Reviews.

In 2012, Frances was made a Fellow of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance (ISMAR), the Biophysical Society (USA) and the Australian Academy of Science (AAS). She was the first woman to be elected to the AAS in the field of chemistry. In 2017, Frances was one of 12 IUPAC Distinguished Women in Chemistry/Chemical Engineering awardees and received a University of New South Wales Alumni Award for Science and Technology. In March 2018, she was inducted into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women, and became Professor Emeritus in February 2019. Frances was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the 2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours for her ‘distinguished service to science education, particularly to biophysical chemistry, as an academic, and to young women scientists’.

Frances is an ambassador and role model for Women in Chemistry and Women in STEM (Fig. 1), and is a passionate advocate for improving gender equity in science. In November 2019, Frances was a participant in the 4th Homeward Bound (HB4) journey to Antarctica. Homeward Bound is a ground-breaking, global leadership initiative, set against the backdrop of Antarctica, which aims to heighten the influence and impact of women in making decisions that shape our planet. On a personal level, Frances has been a role model and a mentor to not only myself, but to many Australian female chemists.

This special issue of the Australian Journal of Chemistry is a collection of contributions from various people who have collaborated with Frances over the years. The issue is dedicated to Frances as an acknowledgement of her enormous contribution to chemistry in Australia and for her continued work to advocate for gender equity in chemistry and in science. With the World Health Organisation (WHO) declaring 2020 as the Year of Women in STEM, this special issue is especially timely.

The author declares no conflicts of interest.