Lou's interest in Chemistry was sparked at a very young age with the gift of an oversized chemistry set, well before OH&S laws were enacted. He received his BSc(Hons I) and PhD degrees from the Australian National University. After seeing a seminar presented by the organometallic chemist Prof. Martin A. Bennett, FRS, Lou convinced Martin that a bio-inorganic chemist was exactly the sort of person who should be working on the mechanistic chemistry of organoplatinum-hydroxo complexes. For some reason, Martin accepted the challenge and offered Lou a project he’d never forget. Lou was then awarded a prestigious NSERC Canada International Fellowship and he journeyed to UWO in Canada to undertake fundamental research concerning the oxidative addition reaction with the renowned organometallic chemist Prof. Richard J. Puddephatt, FRS. The bitter cold of two Canadian winters finally got to Lou and he returned to Australia and took up an academic position at the University of Adelaide. In 2003, he moved to the School of Chemistry, The University of Sydney.

Lou is a Professor in the School of Chemistry and an Adjunct Professor at the International Institute of Nano and Molecular Medicine (I2NM2) in the US. He has established a sustained national and international reputation for his original contributions to medicinal chemistry, specifically pertaining to the exploitation of Main Group (boron) and Lanthanoid elements (gadolinium). Due to his seminal research contributions to two fields of Chemistry, he has received numerous awards and fellowships, including two prestigious national awards (RACI Biota Medal for Medicinal Chemistry and RACI Organometallic Chemistry Award) from the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI), the only time an individual has received both awards. Lou has been awarded a number of distinguished international fellowships, including a Royal Society JWT Jones Fellowship (Oxford University) and a University of Osaka Distinguished Professorial Fellowship. He is a Fellow of the RACI (FRACI, C. Chem.) and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, UK (FRSC). In 2014, he was the recipient of a prestigious Chancellor’s Distinguished Fellowship from the International Institute of Nano and Molecular Medicine (I2NM2 ) and the University of Missouri (US), the first Australian chemist to have been honoured by this award. Further recognition of his international standing was his recent appointment as an Adjunct Professor at I2NM2, the first Australian scientist to be appointed to the Institute and one of only two international appointees. His national and international research standing has been further recognised by his appointment to the ARC College of Experts (2014-16).