Mark received a BSc (Hons) in Zoology and a PhD in Molecular Parasitology from Queen's University, Belfast.  He then worked on the chemical analysis of shellfish toxins as a postdoctoral researcher within the Department of Veterinary Sciences at Queens.  Following this, Mark worked on nematode proteomics and molecular biology at the University of Aberdeen before being awarded a prestigious BBSRC Wain International Fellowship to continue his proteomics research at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS).  Mark then won a UTS Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellowship which he held as an independent researcher at the Infection, Immunity and Innovation (ithree) Institute until his appointment as lecturer at Queens in 2012.

Throughout his career Mark has been committed to the study of infectious diseases with the view of developing new methods of treatment. Of particular interest are molecules secreted by pathogenic organisms as these function at the host-pathogen interface and have critical roles during infection and pathogenesis.  Mark uses a range of molecular biology and proteomics tools to identify and characterise proteins secreted by medically-important helminth parasites, and other pathogens, as well as investigating their effects on host cell function. His main research interests include:

• Proteomics of host-pathogen interactions
• Biochemistry of pathogen proteases
• Structure-function relationships of parasite immunomodulatory peptides