He was formerly a group leader at the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) in Vienna, Austria, Keays studied Science and Law at the University of Queensland, graduating with a BSc majoring in neuroscience and LLB (Hons) in 1998.
He received his honours degree in science from the University of Melbourne in 2001 with a thesis describing the isolation and discovery of a novel conotoxin with analgesic activity from the cone shell Conus victoriae.
In 2002, Keays was appointed as Christopher Welch Scholar by the University of Oxford and joined the lab of Jonathan Flint at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics to conduct research for a DPhil degree.
He has identified a highly sensitive electroceptor (CaV1.3) within the pigeon inner ear, that would enable the detection of minute electric currents generated by movement through the Earth's magnetic field.
David Attenborough refers to research findings from the Keays lab in Natural Curiosities Episode 2, Series 4[10] and the group's work has been featured in articles in the Economist,[11] the New Yorker,[12] BBC Radio 4,[13] as well as NBC News [14] and ABC Australia.