Professor Lewis started his PhD research on polyether sodium channel activator toxins known as ciguatoxins, which are responsible for ciguatera fish poisoning. He then spent 10 years researching ciguatera at the Queensland Department of Primary Industries before moving back to The University of Queensland in 1995 to initiate research into the chemistry and phamacology of conotoxins, small venom peptides produced by cone snails. This research led to the development of Xen2174 as a new class of non-competitive norepinephrine transporter inhibitors for the treatment of severe pain at Xenome Ltd, a company  he co-founded. Professor Lewis’ current research interests include the origins and detection of ciguatoxins and the discovery, evolution and pharmacology of novel classes of venom peptides that may be useful for the treatment of pain.  Much of this research is enabled by advances in mass spectrometry. Professor Lewis was the inaugural Director of the IMB Centre for Pain Research at The University of Queensland and is currently Professor of Molecular Pharmacology at the IMB