Rate My Professor Mark Lucock

Mark Lucock is an Honorary Associate Professor in the School of Science (Applied Sciences) at the University of Newcastle, Australia, where he joined in 2003. He earned his PhD from the University of Leeds, United Kingdom, and a Bachelor of Science with Honours from the University of Bradford, United Kingdom. Lucock has established an international reputation in nutritional genetics and epigenetics related to genes coding for proteins in vitamin D and folate/B vitamin metabolism. His research explores the role of diet in human ecology, including health, disease, and evolutionary biology, with emphasis on vitamin chemistry, biochemistry, genetics, and their significance. Key areas include vitamins in developmental and degenerative disorders, evolutionary medicine contrasting ancestral genes with contemporary diets, developmental origins of adult disease, epigenetics, nutrients for healthy ageing, nutritional pharmacology, vitamin D and UV exposure, folic acid and dependent genes, nutrigenomics, personalised nutrition, and biological adaptation.

Lucock authored the book Molecular Nutrition and Genomics: Nutrition and the Ascent of Mankind (2007) and over 195 articles, chapters, and books. Notable publications include "Folic acid: Beyond metabolism" (Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2011), "Vitamin D: Beyond Metabolism" (Journal of Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine, 2015), "The evolution of human skin pigmentation: A changing medley of vitamins, genetic variability, and UV radiation during human expansion" (American Journal of Biological Anthropology, 2023), and "Vitomics: A novel paradigm for examining the role of vitamins in human biology" (BioEssays, 2023). His work has been cited over 5,881 times according to Google Scholar, with an h-index of 27 (as of 2017). He secured 28 research grants worth $1,247,181 at the University and supervised numerous students, including 10 PhD and 10 Honours students. Awards include the Vice-Chancellor's Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning (2006) and the Faculty of Science and Information Technology Teaching and Learning Award (2005). He holds fellowships as Chartered Biologist and Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology and the Royal College of Pathologists. Lucock served as Deputy Head of School, on various committees, program leader, and scientific advisor to Food Standards Australia New Zealand on folic acid fortification. He has delivered public lectures on folate-related topics.