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Dr Luke Gray Whiley

Senior Lecturer
Diagnostic and Therapeutic Sciences

Metabolic and Lipid Systems Biology Group

Dr Luke Whiley is a Dementia Australia Royce Simmons Foundation Mid-Career Research Fellow and Senior Lecturer in Biochemistry at the Curtin Medical School and the Curtin Medical Research Institute. He also holds adjunct appointments at the Centre for Computational and Systems Medicine and the Australian National Phenome Centre, both at Murdoch University. Dr Whiley’s research investigates why some individuals are more susceptible to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, while others maintain cognitive health throughout ageing. His work examines the intricate relationships between genetics, lifestyle, and environmental influences, with the goal of identifying key biological and modifiable factors that contribute to the development and progression of dementia.  

About

Dr Whiley has over fifteen years of experience in metabolomics and bioanalysis, having worked across both academic and industrial laboratories. Prior to joining Curtin University in July 2025, Luke held research positions at the Australian National Phenome Centre (ANPC), Murdoch University, the UK National Phenome Centre (NPC) and the UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) at Imperial College London. His industry roles include analytical chemistry positions at the UK anti-doping laboratory, where he contributed to drug testing during the Olympic Games, and as a mass spectrometry specialist with the UK Ministry of Defence, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL).

Dr Whiley’s research employs an analytical technique known as metabolic phenotyping, which involves analysing blood and urine samples using advanced technology platforms including mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. These analyses produce metabolic signatures that reflect an individual’s health status and are shaped by factors such as genetics, diet, lifestyle, and disease - making each signature as unique as a fingerprint. By comparing these signatures across populations, Dr Whiley seeks to uncover biological insights into health and disease, particularly the factors that influence the risk of developing neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

In addition, Dr Whiley is committed to advancing the analytical capabilities and developing applications across the field of metabolic phenotyping. This area of work focuses on developing new robust and reliable bioanalytical methods that can be applied in large-scale epidemiological and clinical studies, ensuring the generation of high-quality, population-wide data that can be used to further understand.

Dr. Whiley's experience and expertise led him to be named as a rising star in proteomics and metabolomics by the Journal of Proteome Research/American Chemical Society in 2021.

Dr Whiley is also active in science communication and public outreach. He currently serves as the project officer for the Perth and Sydney Pint of Science festivals and has participated in public engagement initiatives for dementia charities. His media appearances include ABC Perth Radio and podcasts such as The Naked Scientists, Curiosity Killed the Rat, and Avid Research. In recognition of his contributions to research and community engagement, Dr Whiley was named a Tall Poppy by the Australian Institute of Policy and Science (AIPS) in 2024.
  • Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry
  • Member of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Mass Spectrometry (elected general member of the committee, 2025-present)
  • Member of the Australian and New Zealand Metabolomics Society (elected society secretary, 2020-2022
  • Editorial Advisory Board Member, Journal of Proteome Research, American Chemical Society, 2021-present
    Youth Editorial Board Member, Phenomics, Elsevier, 2022-present
    Associate editor; Frontiers in Analytical Sciences (omics), Frontiers publishing, 2022-present
  • Western Australia Tall Poppy Award; Australian Institute of Policy and Science (AIPS); 2024; [https://aips.org.au/tall-poppy-campaign/wa-tall-poppies]
  • Rising star in proteomics and metabolomics; Journal of Proteome Research/American Chemical Society; 2021; [https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jproteome.0c01026]
  • Mass Spectrometry & Advances in the Clinical Lab (MSACL), EU Educational Travel Award, 2018
  • Dementia Platforms UK, Early Career Development Award, 2018

Email: Luke.Whiley@curtin.edu.au
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Research Focus

Dr Luke Whiley’s research explores the interconnected roles of metabolism, genetics, and physiology in health and disease. Using advanced metabolomics, lipidomics, and multi-omics technologies, his team characterises metabolic phenotypes across a range of biological contexts, including neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, as well as ageing, infection, trauma, and cardiometabolic health.

By integrating large-scale molecular, clinical, and genetic datasets, his research applies systems biology approaches to uncover key pathways influencing disease risk, resilience, and progression. The overarching goal is to identify biomarkers, therapeutic targets, and mechanistic insights that advance precision medicine and deepen our understanding of human biology.

Research Interests:

 

Publications

ABSTRACT

SARS-CoV-2 infections in children lead to symptoms from mild respiratory illness to severe postacute sequelae of COVID-19, including multisystem inflammatory syndrome in Children (MIS-C). We conducted a metabolic profiling of 147 children’s serum samples, including acute COVID-19 patients, MIS-C patients, and healthy controls. Using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry, we measured 1101 metabolites. The results revealed distinct metabolic profiles in acute COVID-19 and MIS-C patients, with significant alterations in lipid classes. Both conditions exhibited an elevated Apo-B100/Apo-A1 ratio and increased serum inflammatory markers. MIS-C patients showed unique disruptions, including increased triglycerides and altered lipoprotein composition. Despite milder clinical respiratory symptoms, children’s metabolic disturbances mirrored those seen in severe adult COVID-19 patients, indicating a shared inflammatory response to SARS-CoV-2. This suggests potential long-term health impacts, underscoring the need for continued research into the metabolic consequences of COVID-19 in children.

Lawler, N. G., L. M. Yonker, S. Lodge, P. Nitschke, M. M. Leonard, N. Gray, L. Whiley, R. Masuda, E. Holmes, J. Wist, and 2 more contributors. 2025. Children with Post COVID-19 Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome Display Unique Pathophysiological Metabolic Phenotypes.Journal of Proteome Research 24 (7): 3470-3483.
ABSTRACT

Whilst wound repair in severe burns has received substantial research attention, non-severe burns (<20 % total body surface area) remain relatively understudied, despite causing considerable physiological impact and constituting most of the hospital admissions for burns. Early prediction of healing outcomes would decrease financial and patient burden, and aid in preventing long-term complications from poor wound healing. Lipids have been implicated in inflammation and tissue repair and may play essential roles in burn wound healing. In this study, plasma samples were collected from 20 non-severe burn patients over six weeks from admission, including surgery, and analysed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to identify 850 lipids and 112 lipoproteins. Orthogonal projections to latent structures-discriminant analysis was performed to identify changes associated with re-epithelialisation and delayed re-epithelisation. We demonstrated that the lipid and lipoprotein profiles at admission could predict re-epithelisation outcomes at two weeks post-surgery, and that these discriminatory profiles were maintained up to six weeks post-surgery. Inflammatory markers GlycB and C-reactive protein indicated divergent systemic responses to the burn injury at admission. Triacylglycerols, diacylglycerols and low-density lipoprotein subfractions were associated with re-epithelisation (p-value 0.7), whilst high-density lipoprotein subfractions, phosphatidylinositols, phosphatidylcholines, and phosphatidylserines were associated with delayed wound closure at two weeks post-surgery (p-value <0.01, Cliff’s delta <−0.7). Further model validation will potentially lead to personalised intervention strategies to reduce the risk of chronic complications post-burn injury.

Ryan, M. J., E. Raby, R. Masuda, S. Lodge, P. Nitschke, G. L. Maker, J. Wist, M. W. Fear, E. Holmes, J. K. Nicholson, and 3 more contributors. 2025. Clinical prediction of wound re-epithelisation outcomes in non-severe burn injury using the plasma lipidome.Burns 51 (1)

Metabolic phenotyping & bioinformatics for Alzheimer's disease 

Dr Luke Gray Whiley

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