Professor Pakes is Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Research and Innovation) at La Trobe University, with responsibility for research, research training, research partnerships, industry engagement and innovation. He serves as non-executive director on several boards. 

Professor Pakes received his PhD in condensed matter physics from the University of Birmingham (UK) in 1999 and subsequently held positions at the National Physical Laboratory (UK) and The University of Melbourne before joining La Trobe University in 2007. 

As Professor of Physics at La Trobe, his research focuses on the development of diamond as a material for spintronics and quantum materials, utilising atom-scale engineering, synchrotron spectroscopy techniques and quantum transport.