Professor Cripps has a first class honours degree in Physiology and a PhD in Immunology. He is a Fellow of the Australian Society for Microbiology, a Fellow of the Australian institute of Medical Scientists and an Associate Fellow of Australian College of Health Service Executives.

He has had almost 20 years experience in the Health and Pharmaceutical industries before becoming a full-time academic at the University of Canberra in 1994 where he continued research with colleagues in the fields of human infectious diseases and mucosal immunity.

Professor Cripps moved to Griffiths University in May 2003 as the Pro-Vice Chancellor (Health Planning) to take a lead role in the roll out of the Medicine and Dentistry and Oral Health Programs. In addition to these responsibilities, he maintains an active research program and peer reviews competitive research grants and manuscripts.

Professor Cripps has published over 200 peer reviewed scientific papers, has been the recipient of a large number of competitive and industry research grants and has generated a number of international patents in the fields of diagnostics and vaccine protein antigens. He has undertaken contract research programs for a number of pharmaceutical companies.

His research directions have been in the development of animal models to study immune mechanisms in the respiratory tract, the identification and characterisation of the protective antigens, the development of delivery systems to induce optimal mucosal immune responses, and the development of diagnostic kits to determine infection status.