Note: This is my scientific research page, here is the link to the website of my industry & expedition film production safety company BGF Safety Consulting

Welcome to my world. One filled with an obsession for venom. A passion I use as my fuel for scientific research into venom and antivenom.  It is  a life spent living and working with snakes. Lots of very, very toxic snakes and a myriad of other venomous creatures. Everything from the Malaysian king cobra to deadly scorpions. I am passionate about venomous animals, in all their glorious shapes and sizes. When asked what it’s like to live my childhood dream of working with these animals I like to quote from Calvin & Hobbes  “‘I am obeying the inscrutable exhortations of my inner-most soul, and my mandate also includes weird bugs’.

I graduated from the Portland State University Honours Program with a dual degree in Molecular Biology (BSc) and Scientific Philosophy (BA), with a minor in Psychology (BA) in 1995. I then completed a PhD from the University of Queensland in 2002 on the toxic natriuretic peptides present in taipan venoms, I am now a Professor of Toxicology at the University of Queensland where direct the Adaptive Biotoxicology Lab.

I have conducted field research in over 40 countries, from Norway to Antarctica and all points in between ranging from the Amazon basin to the Sindh desert of Pakistan. The field work is hazardous and things don't always go according to plan. But the perseverance in the scientific quests in the face of such obstacles has led to me being inducted into the elite adventurer society The Explorers Club.

My papers have been published in leading scientific journals such as Nature. In the popular press I have been featured in over 100 documentaries on channels such as Animal Planet, BBC, Discovery Channel and National Geographic TV and  written about in Wired, Cosmos, National Geographic in addition to numerous newspapers. Look for two episodes of Will Smith’s Pole to Pole series featuring me coming out in early 2025 emerging from the month long Amazonian expedition I guided him through, which has already led to the publication of a new species of green anaconda and followup paper clarifying the nomenclature.

I have written two books so far, the textbook 'Venomous Reptiles & Their Toxins' published by Oxford University Press and the extremely twisted memoir ‘Venom Doc’,

Both of these books are infused with my passion for learning more about these toxic creatures I find so amazing. 

CV

[insert here typical disclaimer about opinions on this site being my own and do not reflect that of other entities I may be involved with ranging from the BBC through to University of Queensland]