[1] He is a professor at the School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales.
His previous appointments include Director of the Australian Museum 1999–2004[2] and Dean of Science at the University of New South Wales 2004–2009.
[3] Archer was born in Sydney but raised in the United States and studied at Princeton University.
During his time as director of the Australian Museum, he was the initiator of attempts to clone the Thylacinus cynocephalus, the Tasmanian tiger, an animal extinct since 1936.
[6][7] Archer has stated that he is obsessed with bringing the thylacine back to life via cloning.