Professor Gary Schenk
Primary research interest
My main research interests focus on the discovery, characterisation and optimisation of enzymes (i.e. biocatalysts) for processes that are relevant for applications in the bioeconomy. Specifically, I am interested in establishing enzyme-based reactions that enable the conversion of renewable feedstocks or waste streams into valuable products. In parallel, I am also interested in developing specific inhibitors for enzymes that contribute to major health problems, including the resistance to antibiotics, infections and bone-related disorders.
Additional roles
- Senior group leader in protein chemistry and enzymology (since 2003)
- Secretary, Global Bioeconomy Alliance (since 2023)
- Chair, Industry Engagement Board, SCMB (since 2019)
- Chair, Engagement & Advancement Committee, SCMB (since 2019-2024)
- Chair, Bioeconomy Community, UQ (since 2020)
- Member of the Academic Board, UQ (2018-2020)
- Head, International Engagement, SCMB (2014-2019)
- Chair, HDR Committee (2009-2011)
About me
I obtained my Diploma in Chemistry from the University of Bern in Switzerland in 1992. Upon receiving the award of an International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (IPRS) I joined The University of Queensland (UQ) in 1993 to carry out research towards a PhD in Biochemistry (supervisors: Assoc. Profs. Peter Nixon and Ron Duggleby). I graduated in 1997 and continued postdoctoral research at UQ under the guidance of Profs John de Jersey, Susan Hamilton and Graeme Hanson. During this period, I was awarded Fellowships from both the Wellcome Trust and UQ. In 2000 I spent several months in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, collaborating with Prof. Geoff Sykes, and later that year I commenced a Senior Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Chemistry Department at Stanford University (advisor: Prof. Edward Solomon). In 2003 I was appointed to a Lectureship in (Bio)Physical Chemistry at UQ. In 2006 I was promoted to Senior Lecturer. Following the award of a UQ Foundation Research Excellence Award (in 2007) I was promoted to Associate Professor (in 2008), and between 2011 and 2013 I was also on a fractional professorial appointment (50%) at Maynooth University, Ireland. From 2013 to 2017 I held a Future Fellowship from the Australian Research Council, and during this period I was promoted to Full Professor at UQ (2015).
Research focus and collaborations
I have successfully focused my research on the investigation of enzyme-catalysed reactions, their optimisation for applications in biotechnology and the synthesis of small molecules that mimic their structure and catalytic function (i.e. biomimetics). I advanced understanding of the contribution of metals to enzyme-catalysed reactions and employed state-of-the-art technologies (e.g. cryo-EM, ancestral gene reconstruction) to develop enzyme inhibitors as leads for novel biocides (herbicides, fungicides, antibacterial compounds) and engineer enzymes with enhanced catalytic properties for industrial applications in the advanced manufacturing sector (i.e. cell-free enzyme cascades, next-gen fertilisers). My seminal work into enzyme mechanisms, regulation and engineering received international acclaim evidenced by invitations to provide plenary and keynote lectures and review articles in prestigious journals. I have published over 250 peer-reviewed articles, including over 40 papers in the ACS staple (J. Am. Chem. Soc, ACS Catalysis, ACS Sus. Chem. Eng., Inorg. Chem, Chem. Rev., Acc. Chem. Rev.) as well as landmark studies in Nature, Nature Catalysis, Nature Communications and Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (USA). For my leadership in enzymology I was awarded a Future Fellowship by the Australian Research Council, a Foundation Research Excellence Award by UQ and, most recently, the prestigious role as Ambassador for the Technical University of Munich (TUM), an honour bestowed upon me also for my leading role in building an extensive network of collaborations between UQ and TUM in the areas of bioengineering and bioeconomy. The network has since evolved into the Global Bioeconomy Alliance, for which I currently act as secretary.
University of Queensland collaborators
- Prof. Mikael Boden (SCMB)
- Dr Birgitta Ebert (AIBN)
- Prof. Peter Erskine (SMI)
- Dr Paul Evans (SCMB)
- Prof. Elizabeth Gillam (SCMB)
- Prof. Ian Godwin (QAAFI)
- Prof. Luke Guddat (SCMB)
- Prof. Ben Hankamer (IMB)
- Assoc. Prof. Jeff Harmer (CAI)
- Prof. Sue Harrison (EAIT)
- Prof. Robert Henry (QAAFI)
- Prof. Damian Hine (QAAFI)
- Prof. Philip Hugenholtz (ACE, SCMB)
- Prof. Esteban Marcellin (AIBN)
- Assoc. Prof. Adrian Oehmen (ChemEng)
- Prof. Susanne Schmidt (AGFS)
- Assoc. Prof. Simon Smart (ChemEng)
- Prof. Gordon Southam (SENV)
- Prof. Yasmina Sultanbawa (QAAFI)
- Dr Denys Villa Gomez
- Dr Bernardino Virdis (AWMC)
- Prof. James De Voss (SCMB)
National Collaborators
- Prof. Jacques Eksteen, Curtin University
- Prof. Bernd Rehm, Griffith University
- Dr Frank Sainsbury, Griffith University
- Prof. Colin Scott, CSIRO
- Prof. Rob Speight, CSIRO
- Prof. Gene Tyson, Queensland University of Technology
- Prof. Claudia Vickers, CSIRO
International research collaborations
- Prof. Volker Sieber, Technical University of Munich, Straubing, Germany
- Prof. Thomas Brück, Technical University of Munich, Garching, Germany
- Prof. Christopher Schofield, Oxford University, Oxford, UK
- Prof. Anne Meyer, Danish Technical University, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Dr Jane Agger, Danish Technical University, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Prof. Rajeev Parbhakar, University of Miami, Coral Gables, USA
- Prof. Bin Wu, Nanjing Tech University, China
- Prof. Adolfo Horn, Universidade de Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, Brazil
- Prof. Elena Uribe, Universidad de Concepcion, Concepcion, Chile
- Prof. Jim Larrabee, Middlebury College, Middlebury, USA
- Prof. David Tierney, Miami University, Oxford, USA
- Prof. Peter Comba, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
Funded projects
- ARC Industry Transformation Research hub 2025-2030, ARC Research Hub for Engineering Plants to Replace Fossil Carbon, Total value of grant: $10,000,000
- Queensland Germany Bioeconomy Collaborative Science Program 2024-2027, Bio-based solutions for a sustainable agriculture, Total value of grant: $1,640,000
- Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Germany 2022-2025, REDEFINE - Renewable Electricity Dispatch and Expendable Feedstock-Integrated Net-Zero-Emission (Hydrogen Economy), Total value of grant: $7,730,000
- NHMRC Ideas Grant 2022-2025, Cryo-EM inspired drug discovery to treat human fungal pathogenic infections, Total value of grant: $990,000
- NHMRC Ideas Grant 2022-2025, Dual-function ribonucleases: unexpected agents of antibiotic resistance, Total value of grant: $740,000
- ARC Discovery Project 2022-2025, Light-driven biocatalytic cell factories, Total value of grant: $470,000
- CSIRO (SynBio FSP) 2021-2022, Blueprints for cheaper biocatalyst, Total value of grant: $69,000
- ARC Discovery Grant 2021-2025, EnzOnomy – an enzyme-based production pipeline for the bioeconomy, Total value of grant: $690,000
- CSIRO (SynBio FSP) 2021-2022, Investigating the impact of enzyme spatial organisation on metabolic pathway behaviour and productivity, Total value of grant: $102,000
- Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Germany 2021-2024, BINOM - Biocatalytic nanomachines, Total value of grant: $717,000
- NHMRC Ideas Grant 2021-2024, Cryo-EM inspired drug discovery to treat human fungal pathogenic infections, Total value of grant: $988,000
- IGSSE Program (Technical University of Munich) 2019-2022, Evolving synthetic enzymatic cascades for applications for a sustainable bioeconomy, Total value of grant: $320,000
- NHMRC Ideas Grant 2018-2021, Ketol-acid reductoisomerase: An important antituberculosis drug target, Total value of grant: $680,000
- NHMRC Project Grant 2015-2018, An integrated approach to combat antibiotic resistance, Total value of grant: $380,000
- ARC Discovery Grant 2015-2017, Harnessing the potential of metal ions in biocatalysis, Total value of grant: $420,000
- Science without Borders, Brazil 2014-2016, Bioinspired pesticide-degrading catalysts, Total value of grant: $210,000
- ARC Future Fellowship 2013-2017, Metals in biocatalysis, Total value of grant: $821,000
- ARC Discovery Grant 2012-2014, Organophosphate pesticide degradation: evolved enzymes and biomimetics for bioremediation and medicine, Total value of grant: $285,000
- NHMRC Project Grant 2010-2012, Metallo-β-lactamases: predicting and combating antibiotic resistance, Total value of grant: $512,000
Teaching interests
My teaching interest lie in the areas of biophysical and bioinorganic chemistry, including chemical and enzyme kinetics. I also enjoy providing students with insights about the multidisciplinary nature of biotechnology, connecting the study of reaction mechanisms to the optimisation of biocatalysts for applications in biotechnology.
Student supervision
To date I have supervised 43 PhD students (31 completions [6 Dean’s commendations], 10 current). In addition, I have also mentored 18 postdoctoral researchers and 32 Honours students (26 graduated with a First-Class award). My graduates received jobs in the government sector (e.g. IP Australia, DSTO) or postdoctoral/academic positions in prestigious research institutes (e.g. Oxford, UC Berkeley, Harvard, Karolinska Institute, TUM, Ludwig Maximilian University) or industry (e.g. L’Oreal). Two students were awarded prestigious Humboldt Fellowships from the German Science Foundation and their theses were also selected by the publisher Springer Verlag for publication within their "Outstanding PhD theses" series.
Achievements and awards
- 2020: Ambassador for the Technical University of Munich - TUM
- 2019: Erasmus+ Visiting Professor Fellowship (TUM)
- 2017: August Wilhelm Scheer Visiting Professorship (TUM)
- 2017: SCMB Award for Outstanding Contribution to Engagement
- 2017: Erasmus+ Visiting Professor Fellowship (TUM)
- 2014: SCMB Award for Outstanding Contribution to Engagement
- 2013: Australian Research Council Future Fellowship
- 2007: University of Queensland Foundation Research Excellence Award
- 2001: University of Queensland Strategic Research Fellowship (deferred)
- 2000: Wellcome Trust Visiting Professor Fellowship (University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne)
Featured publications
- Mapping of the Reaction Trajectory catalysed by Class I Ketol-Acid Reductoisomerase. ACS Catal. 14 (2024): 6827–6841.
- Improving the Catalytic Efficiency of a GH5 Processive Endoglucanase by a Combinatorial Strategy using Consensus Mutagenesis and Loop Engineering. ACS Catal. 14 (2024): 6856–6867.
- Development of a highly selective NAD+-dependent glyceraldehyde dehydrogenase and its application in minimal cell-free enzyme cascades. ChemSusChem (2023): e202301132.
- Product profiles of promiscuous enzymes can be altered by controlling in vivo spatial organisation. Adv. Sci. 10 (2023): 2303415.
- Realising the Circular Phosphorus Economy Delivers for Sustainable Development Goals. NPJ Sust. Agri. 1 (2023): 2.
- Elucidating the Roles of Distinct Chemical Factors in the Hydrolytic Activities of Hetero- and Homonuclear Synthetic Analogues of Binuclear Metalloenzymes. ACS Catal. 13 (2023): 3131-3147.
- Structural basis of resistance to herbicides that target acetohydroxyacid synthase. Nature Comm. 13 (2022): 3368.
- Sequence and structure and structure guided improvement of the catalytic performance of a GH11 xylanase from Bacillus subtilis. J. Biol. Chem. 297 (2021): 101262.
- Structures of fungal and plant acetohydroxyacid synthases. Nature 586 (2020): 317-321.
- Structural elements that modulate the substrate specificity of plant purple acid phosphatases: avenues for improved phosphorus acquisition in crops. Plant Sci. 294 (2020): 110445.
- A sustainable, biotechnological route towards pseudopterosin-type bioactive. Green Chem. 22 (2020): 6033-6046.
- Broad spectrum antibiotic-degrading metallo-β-lactamases are phylogenetically diverse. Prot. Cell 11 (2020): 613-617.
- Enabling the direct enzymatic dehydration of d-Glycerate to pyruvate as the key step in synthetic enzyme cascades used in the cell-free production of fine chemicals ACS Catal. 10 (2020): 3110-3118.
- Phosphate forms an unusual tripodal complex with the Fe-Mn center of sweet potato purple acid phosphatase Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 102 (2005): 273-278.
- Engineering thermostable proteins using combinatorial libraries of ancestors. Nature Catal. 1 (2018): 878-888.
- Processivity and enzymatic mode of a multifunctional family 5 endoglucanase from Bacillus subtilis BS-5 with potential applications in the saccharification of cellulosic substrates. Biotechnol. Biofuels. 11 (2018): 1-15.
Researcher biography
I obtained a Diploma in Chemistry from the University of Bern in Switzerland in 1992. Upon receiving the award of an International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (IPRS) I joined The University of Queensland (UQ) in 1993 to carry out research towards a PhD in Biochemistry(supervisors: Assoc. Profs. Peter Nixon and Ron Duggleby). I graduated in 1997 and continued postdoctoral research at UQ under the guidance of Profs John de Jersey, Susan Hamilton and Graeme Hanson. During this period, I was awarded Fellowships from both the Wellcome Trust and UQ. In 2000 I spent several months in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, collaborating with Prof. Geoff Sykes, and later that year I commenced a Senior Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Chemistry Department at Stanford University (advisor: Prof. Edward Solomon). In 2003 I was appointed to a Lectureship in (Bio)Physical Chemistry at UQ. In 2006 I was promoted to Senior Lecturer. Following the award of a UQ Foundation Research Excellence Award (in 2007) I was promoted to Associate Professor (in 2008), and between 2011 and 2013 I was also on a fractional professorial appointment (50%) at Maynooth University, Ireland. From 2013 to 2017 I held a Future Fellowship from the Australian Research Council, and during this period I was promoted to Full Professor at UQ (2015). I also hold affiliate professorships in the Sustainable Minerals Institute and the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, both located at UQ.
I have successfully focused my research on the investigation of enzyme-catalysed reactions, their optimisation for applications in biotechnology and the synthesis of small molecules that mimic their structure and catalytic function (i.e. biomimetics). I advanced understanding of the contribution of metals to enzyme-catalysed reactions and employed state-of-the-art technologies (e.g. cryo-EM, ancestral gene reconstruction) to develop enzyme inhibitors as leads for novel biocides (herbicides, fungicides, antibacterial compounds) and engineer enzymes with enhanced catalytic properties for industrial applications in the advanced manufacturing sector (i.e. cell-free enzyme cascades, next-gen fertilisers). My work into enzyme mechanisms, regulation and engineering received international acclaim evidenced by invitations to provide plenary and keynote lectures and review articles in prestigious journals. I have published over 250 peer-reviewed articles, including over 40 papers in the ACS staple (J. Am. Chem. Soc, ACS Catalysis, ACS Sus. Chem. Eng., Inorg. Chem, Chem. Rev., Acc. Chem. Rev.) as well as landmark studies in Nature, Nature Catalysis, Nature Communications and Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (USA). For my leadership in enzymology I was awarded a Future Fellowship by the Australian Research Council, a Foundation Research Excellence Award by UQ and, most recently, the prestigious role as Ambassador for the Technical University of Munich (TUM), an honour bestowed upon me also for my leading role in building an extensive network of collaborations between UQ and TUM in the areas of bioengineering and bioeconomy. The network has since evolved into the Global Bioeconomy Alliance.