Dr Packer is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, Division of Environmental and Life Sciences at Macquarie University, North Ryde.  

Formerly she was Executive Vice President of Proteome Systems Limited with 20 years experience in glycobiology and biochemistry. She had an extensive career in research at Macquarie University as a Senior Research Scientist and was part of the team that established the Australian Proteome Analysis Facility, a Major National Research Facility at Macquarie University, Sydney in 1996. She left the university in 1999 to co-found Proteome Systems Limited, an Australian biotechnology company specialising in the development and application of proteomic technology for drug discovery.

She has collaborated with major biotechnology corporations and is on the Editorial Board of the Proteomics journal, serving as Guest Editor for a special issue on post translational modifications in proteomics. Nicolle has consulted widely to Universities, CSIRO, CRCs and industry, and has been called as an expert witness in a patent case. She collaborates on a number of projects which involves glycosylation and the techniques used for their analysis and leads the Company’s programs in this area.

Nicolle’s research interests have included the analysis of glycoconjugates and she holds several key patents in glycobiology. She has lectured extensively in this area, supervised postgraduate students and has been invited as a guest speaker to several international conferences. More recently she has co-ordinated the development of a curated and annotated relational database on published glycan structures on proteins.

Nicolle received a BSc and PhD from Sydney University, has authored 48 publications in refereed journals, 10 book chapters, is an editor of a book and journal issue, and holds 6 patents.