Before joining the University of Malta's Dept. of Anatomy, Prof Schembri-Wismayer worked in St Luke's teaching hospital in Accident and Emergency medicine as well as in the National Blood Transfusion centre, amongst others. He also worked Atheneum biotechnology where he was involved in isolating and freezing cells from the last pure Maltese ox.
He read for his undergraduate degree at the University of Malta and after receiving his warrant, did some voluntary medical work in Kenya and then pursued his PhD in molecular Oncology at the Beatson Institute for Cancer Research in affiliation with Glasgow University.
Prof Schembri-Wismayer is a great believer in science education and won a contract with the EU's FP6 to produce an international television series, later called X-lab, broadcast in Malta and Cyprus to encourage youngsters to take part up science as a career. Including this, Prof Schembri-Wismayer has been involved in bringing in more than 1 million worth of grants funding to the University.
Prof Schembri-Wismayer was for a long time the nation EU contact organisation (MCST) expert in relation to the Life sciences. He regularly takes part in Teen Science cafe to encourage children to take up science, talks on TV and Radio shows about research and contributes to other science communication fora.
His research develops novel methods of immunotherapy and differentiation as cancer therapeutics. He is also developing new methods of producing pluripotent stem cells. He has a strong interest in anatomical biomechanics, where he is developing a novel hip joint, which is close to being patented. He supervises and has supervised several Ph.D's and Masters students. He is regular post-graduate thesis examiner. He teaches undergraduate students in the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery and the Faculty of Health sciences in Gross Anatomy and Cell Biology. He also contributes to a number of post-graduate medical and scientific courses.
He regularly collaborates in research with local industry, particularly, AgriBiotech Ltd and is presently writing a number of Local and European research grant proposals. He also sits of 3 different European COST actions
