Professor Wheate completed a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree with 1st class honours from the University of New South Wales whilst at the Australian Defence Force Academy (1998) before he completed a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in medicinal chemistry under Professor J. Grant Collins (2002). He has since been awarded a Doctor of Science (DSc) in 2020 and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in 2021 both from The University of Sydney.

Since completing his PhD in 2002, he has worked in the School of Biomedical and Health Sciences at Western Sydney University (2005-2007) and the Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Science in Scotland (2007-2011) before taking up a position in the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Sydney (Australia) in 2012. During this time, he held roles as Program Director of the pharmacy undergraduate degrees, Head of Cancer Research, and MPharm Director.

Currently he is a professor in the School of National Sciences at Macquarie University.