Professor Payne is an internationally recognised leader in development of enabling technologies for chemical synthesis of peptides and proteins for applications in biology and medicine. His research has been recognised through award of >15 prestigious prizes and medals since 2008, including the Prime Minister’s Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year in 2016. CI Payne leads a highly-productive research group of >20 members, has extensive ties to industry and has held several leadership roles, including Deputy Associate Dean of Research in the Faculty of Science, University of Sydney. He will be Deputy Director and will co-lead the Develop theme, spearheading development and translation of (bio)synthetic technologies.