Mani Naiker

Dr Mani Naiker is an Associate Professor of Chemistry in the School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences at CQUniversity Australia. His research focuses on the chemistry and functional properties of natural products, with particular emphasis on bioactive compounds in foods, agricultural systems and traditional plant resources. His work integrates analytical chemistry, metabolomics and food science to better understand how processing, provenance and cultivation influence the nutritional and functional value of plant-based products.

Dr Naiker completed his Bachelor of Applied Science (Honours) at the University of Western Sydney before undertaking a PhD at Charles Sturt University in collaboration with the Australian Wine Research Institute, where his research focused on flavour chemistry and natural product analysis.

Following his doctoral studies, he joined the University of the South Pacific in Fiji, where he taught chemistry and supported the delivery of science programs across the Pacific region. During this period, he travelled extensively through several Pacific Island nations including the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Samoa and Kiribati, contributing to the development and management of science laboratories supporting distance and flexible learning programs.

In addition to his academic career, Dr Naiker has extensive experience working in commercial analytical laboratories, gaining practical expertise in applied chemistry, quality assurance and industry-facing research.

Before joining CQUniversity, he held academic positions at Federation University Australia and the Australian Catholic University (Brisbane). At CQUniversity he leads research focused on bioactive compounds and functional foods, including collaborative work with First Nations partners investigating native Australian plants such as Pittosporum angustifolium (Gumbi Gumbi). His work spans phytochemical profiling, bioactivity evaluation and the development of value-added food and health products derived from natural resources.

Dr Naiker is actively involved in supervising higher degree research students, developing industry collaborations and integrating research with teaching in food science, chemistry and agricultural systems.