The Scholar-Practitioner: Dr. Andrew Wotherspoon

Academic Portfolio

The Scholar-Practitioner: A Journey of Applied Excellence

Dr. Andrew Wotherspoon’s academic journey was forged in the research hubs of Edinburgh and Glasgow. After completing his undergraduate degree in Chemistry at Heriot-Watt University, he earned an MSc in Analytical Chemistry with Distinction from Glasgow Caledonian University.

His expertise coalesced through a Joint PhD between Glasgow Caledonian University and the University of Glasgow. Conducted within the Department of Pathological Biochemistry at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, his thesis—“The Analysis of oxygenated sterols in human plasma lipoproteins”—contributed to the landmark WOSCOPS statin study. This high-stakes clinical environment defined his commitment to First Principles reasoning and analytical precision.

The transition to the global stage was a natural evolution of this research. As a Post-Doctoral Merit Fellow at McGill University in Montréal, Andrew continued his research into Oxysterol biochemistry, operating at the intersection of molecular precision and clinical application.

This expertise in high-resolution analysis eventually led to international appointments with global stakes, including serving as a Principal Investigator for a major IAEA Coordinated Research Project and as a Lead Scientist for Australia within the ITWG. In these roles, heading Australia’s contribution to global collaborative exercises in nuclear forensics required a standard where "close enough" was never an option.

Now based in Inner West Sydney, Andrew recognised that high-level scientific reasoning was often locked behind university doors, while secondary students were left with rote memorisation. He chose to bridge that gap. A dual recipient of the Commonwealth Teaching Scholarship and the All Points to Teaching (APTT) Scholarship (an exceptionally rarely awarded dual accolade), Andrew is integrating over 20 years of clinical and laboratory experience into the Australian curriculum through his Master of Teaching (Secondary) at ACU.

Global Appointments

Lead Scientist for Australia
International Technical Working Group (ITWG) for Nuclear Forensics

Principal Investigator
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Coordinated Research Project

Post-Doctoral Merit Fellow
McGill University, Montréal (Oxysterol & Lipidomics Research)

Academic & Clinical Foundation

PhD (Joint)
University of Glasgow & Glasgow Caledonian University (Pathological Biochemistry)

MSc Analytical Chemistry (Distinction)
Glasgow Caledonian University

MSc Diagnostic Radiography (Distinction)
University of Sydney

BSc Chemistry
Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh

National Recognition & Scholarships

Commonwealth Government Teaching Grant recipient

All Points to Teaching (APTT) Scholarship
— awarded for outstanding subject matter expertise

AHPRA Registered Diagnostic Radiographer

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Dr. Andrew Wotherspoon

Selected publications from academic and research career

Wilkinson, D. A., Holowachuk, S. A., Corbett, C., Antonation, K., Rostek, L., Wotherspoon, A., Toole, K., Unsworth, N., Coumbaros, J., Rastogi, V., Donais, B., Osmond, J., & Baxter, C. M. (2020). Effect of decontamination agents following biological contamination on fingermarks, footwear, documents and DNA. Canadian Society of Forensic Science Journal , 53(4), 173–209.
DOI: 10.1080/00085030.2020.1834755 →

Wotherspoon, A., Murphy, R. B., Wyatt, N. A., Fraser, B. H., Yepuri, N. R., Holden, P. J., & Darwish, T. A. (2019). A rapid MS/MS method to assess the deuterium kinetic isotope effect and associated improvement in the metabolic stability of deuterated biological and pharmacological molecules as applied to an imaging agent. Analytica Chimica Acta , 1064, 65–70.
DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2019.02.025 →

Goodwin, C., Wotherspoon, A., Gahan, M., & McNevin, D. (2019). Degradation of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA after gamma-irradiation and the effect on forensic genotyping. International Journal of Legal Medicine.

Wotherspoon, A., Safavi-Naeini, M., & Banati, R. (2017). Microdosing, Isotopic labelling, Radiotracers, and Metabolomics: Relevance in drug discovery, development and safety. Bioanalysis , 9(23), 1913-1933.

Wotherspoon, A., Reeves, K., & Crawford, J. (2018). A comparison of structural-functional equation models to identify fatty acids on three common gas chromatography columns. Analytical Methods , 10, 1747-1759. NRC Manuscript No.: 54088.

Goodwin, C., Higgins, D., Tobe, S., Austin, J., Wotherspoon, A., Gahan, M., & McNevin, D. (2018). Singleplex quantitative real-time PCR for the assessment of human mitochondrial DNA quantity and quality. Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology , 14, 70-75.

Griffiths, G., Keegan, E., Young, E., Wotherspoon, A., et al. (2018). Physical characterization of uranium oxide pellets and powder applied in the Nuclear Forensics International Technical Working Group Collaborative Materials Exercise 4. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry , 315.
DOI: 10.1007/s10967-017-5678-z →

Wotherspoon, A., Keegan, E., Stopic, A., & Bennett, J. (2017). Investigation of various signatures and their application to the provenancing of materials at the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle. In: Identification of High Confidence Nuclear Forensics Signatures. Results of a Coordinated Research Project and Related Research. IAEA TECDOC No. 1820.
View Publication →

Scarratt, M., Michaud, S., Starr, M., Measures, L. N., Wotherspoon, A., Reeves, K. L., Lair, S., Beland, P., & Quilliam, M. (2017). Unusual mortalities of marine mammals in the St. Lawrence estuary associated with saxitoxins produced by a bloom of Alexandrium tamarense. PLOS ONE , 12(5), 1-18.

Ditcham, T., Wotherspoon, A., Kirkbride, P., Lenehan, C., & Popelka-Filcoff, R. S. (2016). Thermal analysis of Australian uranium ore concentrates for materials provenancing in nuclear forensic science. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry , 310, 725-732.

Wotherspoon, A., Karatchevtseva, I., Griffiths, G., Gregg, D., Vance, L., & Zhang, Y. (2014). Investigating macro- and micro-scale material provenancing signatures in uranium ore concentrates/yellowcake (IAEA-CN-218/010). IAEA International Conference on Advances in Nuclear Forensics: Countering the Evolving Threat of Nuclear and Other Radioactive Material out of Regulatory Control. Vienna, Austria, 7–10 July 2014.

Van de Riet, J., et al. (including Wotherspoon, A. as collaborator). (2011). Liquid chromatography post-column oxidation (PCOX) method for the determination of paralytic shellfish toxins in mussels, clams, oysters, and scallops: collaborative study. Journal of AOAC International , 94(4), 1154-1176.

Cockell, K. A., Wotherspoon, A., Belonje, B., Fritz, M. E., Madere, R., Hidiroglou, N., Plouffe, L. J., Ratnayake, W. M., & Kubow, S. (2005). Limited effects of combined dietary copper deficiency/iron overload on oxidative stress parameters in rat liver and plasma. The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry , 16(12), 750-756.

MacLachlan, J., Wotherspoon, A., Ansell, R. O., & Brooks, C. J. W. (2000). Cholesterol oxidase: sources, physical properties and analytical applications. The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology , 72(5), 169-195.

Wotherspoon, A.(2000). The Analysis of Oxygenated Sterols in Human Plasma Lipoproteins (PhD Thesis). Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, Scotland, UK.